Shad roe season

[roryrabbitfield]

http://www.lambertville.org/Pages/lambertv...tents/shad.html

The Shad festival in Lambertville, NJ, last weekend in April (It's right across the river from New Hope, PA.). I attended last year, and it's more street fair than shad fest. You can get shad chowder and shad sandwiches, but I was hoping to see interesting preparations with roe, which there were not.

Shad roe is the roe from the shad fish. A pair of roe is about a half pound, it's dark red. I'm sure some NYC restaurants are serving it.

[Ron Johnson]

Can someone describe the flavor?

The fact that Wilfrid enjoys it is no guarantee that it actually tastes good.

Edited March 17, 2003 by Ron Johnson (log)

[SobaAddict70]

Jean-Louis Palladin used to serve shad roe, sauteed in butter with some asparagus and morels on the side. I remember seeing one of his preparations on one of the Great Chef series on PBS. I think it might have been his place in DC, not sure though.

Soba

[Wilfrid]

Oh, Ron, Ron, Ron. What are we to do with you? Have you ever had cod roe or tuna roe? Just to get you in shape for the texture: as with those fish, the roe of the shad consists of innumerable miniscule eggs contained in a very thin membrane. So it's nothing like caviar or salmon roe, where the eggs are large and easily distinguishable. Shad roe is more like a sort of grainy paste. The flavor is somewhat fishy - no surprises there - I would say it's richer than cod or tuna roe, but I don't know what else to compare it with. Something about the texture makes it cry out for creams and butters as cooking environments. A small portion goes a long way.

[Ron Johnson]

I have had bottarga, which sounds similar.

We have paddlefish roe down here, but it is more like caviar.

[Wilfrid]

Bottarga is usually smoked, right? But think fresh bottarga, red in color, and you're on the right lines.

[Kim WB]

and it's more street fair than shad fest. You can get shad chowder and shad sandwiches, but I was hoping to see interesting preparations with roe, which there were not.

Shad roe is the roe from the shad fish. A pair of roe is about a half pound, it's dark red. I'm sure some NYC restaurants are serving it.

Hi Rory,

I attend every year, too..and it is more Street Fair than Shad fest. However, all the restaurnts have excelletn shad specials during the season..Manon had a poached shad roe that was sublime last year, and Hamilton Grill does some great specials..Wegman's in Princeton has shad and roe already, but its not Delaware Shad..

edited to add that we discussed it here :http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=6&t=17696&

Edited March 17, 2003 by Kim WB (log)

[Wilfrid]

Poached a pair of roe in rose wine with a mire poix. Served one hot, with the wine reduced to make a simple pan sauce. Ate the other cold the next day, sliced like a superior fish sausage over a salad.

Edited March 27, 2003 by Wilfrid (log)

[roryrabbitfield]

I made shad roe today for the first time ever. I coated it lightly with flour, then sauteed it in butter. Served it with lemon and chives. It was...okay. I was hoping for more. I think that the richer recipes mentioned earlier in this thread (with cream and/or bacon) would be better. I'll try that tomorrow with the unused half. It had the annoying tendency to "explode"; a piece of it would pop in the cooking process, sending butter and bits of roe quite far. might want to use a screened cover if you have one. I was surprised that it was easy to handle it. Expected it to fall apart while I was separating the two halves, and dredging the piece iin the flour, but it didn't do tht at all.

[SFJoe]

Very important to prick it all over to avoid explosions.

Beurre blanc is very good on top.

[roryrabbitfield]

Thanks, SFJoe, for the tip about pricking the shad roe to prevent explosions.

I just made the other half of the roe tonight, using a different recipe. I chopped up some pancetta, cooked it up in a small saute pan, then added the roe, browning it on both sides. THen added some half and half, about a half inch worth. Cooked it till thicker. I thought then to cut up the had roe crosswise in half inch thick slices, so I could put them in the cream cut-side down to soak it up. Then turned them to soak the other side. Served with little pieces of chive. It was much better than yesterday's plain version. I'll definitely make this again next year. Yum.

[Wilfrid]

Yes, it does need to be well seasoned and flavored.

[Varmint]

Our local paper has a good story about boning shad in today's edition: Click for the Boning Trick

[JosephB]

Shad roe is in season again, at least in the Northeast. Anyone have a new and exciting idea about how to prepare it?

[loper]

The appendix of John McPhee's "The Founding Fish" has some notes on cooking shad roe (a hybrid sautee/steaming on top of a bed of bacon), as well as milt and the rest of the fish in various forms. I've yet to read the book, but I have to say I like the appendix - "The bacon may be undercooked. Sometimes it isn't. Sometimes it is. I have no idea why. This is not a perfect world." And his suggestion to take a lemon and "render it hexapartite"...