Shad Roe a Seasonal Spring Delight
Gustatory Rite of Spring, Shad Fests Welcome the Warm Weather
Shad Roe is a culinary harbinger of Spring. Try this savory treat if you dare.
Shad Roe Season is Spring
Eating everything you want is not that much fun. When you live a life with no boundaries, there’s less joy. If you can eat anything you want to, what’s the fun in eating anything you want to? Tom Hanks, 2006 Esquire
Seasonality is one of the boundaries that help us to appreciate certain foods. Foodies will swoon with each season's delights: asparagus, morels, truffles, shad roe; each season delivers its treats.
It doesn't look like Spring when you see 9 inches of snow on the ground, but if there's Shad Roe in the grocer's, Spring can't be far behind. This year they seem to be running early.
American Shad are Anadromous Like Salmon
There's a short period in the Spring when Alosa Sapidissima run. American Shad, which are anadromous like Salmon, leave the ocean and swim up fresh water rivers to mate. There's even a bush called the shad bush which blossoms about the same time of year. People look for the signs with eager anticipation of this once a year treat. Huge festivals celebrate the shad up and down the rivers where they run. Both the fish and roe are featured at these fish fests.
Alosa Sapidissima, “most savory”, is member of the herring family. It is a very bony fish, some call it the boniest fish in the world. According to the NY seafood organization, some Native Americans claim that the shad began as an unhappy porcupine. The Great Spirit, tired of its complaining, turned it inside out and voila, shad. Note to self: complain less.
Shad Roe
The large double roe sac is a delicacy that appears on many upscale menus during Spring. Hot spots for seafood lovers like the Grand Central Oyster Bar will proudly proclaim when the first shad roe is available with banners to lure in diners who wait for this annual, seasonal delicacy. The roe has the added benefit of being free of bones that appear in that savory shad flesh like so many porcupine quills.
Diners who have never tasted this springtime delicacy might be put off by its odd appearance. It resembles a ruffled liver, more than other fish roe. Each of the double sacs contain millions of tiny eggs held together with a fine membrane. The texture is more delicate than foie gras but similar and slightly melting. It's taste is ever so slightly of the sea with a unique richness that somehow is not heavy at all.
Cooking it with a light dusting of flour gives the roe a nice, fine crust that lends a balance to the ephemeral texture. Bacon is often paired with shad roe. Lemon and parsley brighten and finish the dish.
Good news for sustainable seafood fans: shad roe is a good choice.
Can other Spring treats like ramps, morels and spargel be far behind?
