Recipes for cooking American shad

[Joshua]

I've mostly lurked on here over the years, seriously awed by the skill of you folks and thinking that I don't really have much to offer. But, it occurred to me just now that you all might be interested in reading up on some cooking methods for dealing with shad bones (or not!) and serving what is, really, the best tasting fish you can catch here in fresh water.

The first links are to a former local guy and amazing cookbook author Hank Shaw. Here's his recipe for smoking:

https://honest-food.net/smoked-shad/

Next, here is a recipe with a wildly successful trick he took from Japanese chefs for dealing with bones. I've used this every year for years, and it makes shad the best fish fry you'll ever have:

https://honest-food.net/fried-shad-recipe/

Here is a strange one that is also very entertaining! It so happens that the most eaten fish in Bangladesh is also a large herring. It is the ilish. This woman wrote a fun little ditty about ilish, the national fish of Bangladesh, and it includes a recipe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igLxfCH8GF8

There are also good recipes for shad roe (including one by Mr. Shaw, above, for dried roe to be grated) and even milt (ew!). I'm sure some folks probably have tried cooking their scales, too (they are very large). I know a ton of you can your shad, and I'd love some recipes, tips and tricks on how to do that (I've got a pressure canner, but haven't yet put it to use).

What recipes might you all have?

[Ed Wahl]

Thanks for the post Joshua, I saved the links to Hank Shaw's recipes to try this season.
Ed

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Shad Roe is excellent.

https://www.melangery.com/2015/03/blackened-shad-roe-sauteed-in-butter.html#:~:text=Shad%20has%20a%20rich%2C%20swe et%2C%20very%20distinctive,shad%20%E2%80%93%20the% 20delicious%20and%20delicate%20roe.


Lots of receipts on the Internet.






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Back in the 1960s, the local fly club, the CFFU, California Fly Fishermen Unlimited, had a Shad outing every Spring.


It was held at the Goethe Park (River Bend Park today).

There was no bridge over the river back then.

The top of Goethe Park was the popular Shad run at that time.

There were wooden picnic benches on the high ground in those days.

Someone would get smoked Shad from a smoke house down the Sacramento River.

I think they had beer too, but that was "back in the day."



This was when ~50 fly fishers would line up, and you could land 100 fish in a day.


We used 9' #9 line, 2-piece fiberglass fly rods, a large reel, Dacron backing, mono shooting line, and 30-foot factory shooting heads.

Firefighter Joe Shirshac tied most of the flies for all the sporting goods stores, and they were huge, 2x long, size 4s.



There were no fly shops back then.


Locals fished before and after work.

Retired folks fished Monday through Friday.

Us locals left the weekends for the out-of-towners.


The lower American River was one of the top destinations for fly fishing for American Shad so people came from all over the USA,

Famous fly fishers came from the Bay Area.

Tournament caster Jimmy Green came and tested new Fenwick fly rods with our Walt Bennett.

I heard Ted Trueblood came to fish, too, but sadly never met him.



Back then, the river was full of Steelhead, Stripers, and salmon.

It was easier to learn how to fly fish in the 1960s.

[lee s.]

Well Bill,
Not sure about LEARNING to fly fish as we have so many more clubs and soooo much more available info on the internet to teach us how. BUT to be successful at it is another story with our ever dwindling piscatorial resource to test that gained knowledge on.
I envy you your "invasive" species, especially in south Florida!
....lee s.

[Joshua]

Here's the link to a YouTube video on the Japanese bone cutting technique, honegiri. It's super easy -- I use my $12 Rapala knife nice and sharp and it zips through them no problem. Then, fry up the chunks in a tempura batter (or even just flour, or flour and corn meal if you're an Okie like us) and no more bones! It even helps in getting kids who might fear the bones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4ptT-1cacI

I have no personal connection to the guy who did this video, I just Googled him up.

[Joshua]

Here is a fun throwback 2-video lesson on boning shad by Captain Vincent Russo down in Georgia. I honestly think folks here will enjoy these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTAgJWTTm4I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djw_zVslELg