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Shad Roe


jparrott

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Whole Paycheck is still selling it for about $12 a "set."  If you don't like it straight, break open one of the sacs and mix a generous glop of the roe into a couple of best quality eggs when scrambling.  It adds a depth and richness to the eggs beyond what you get with cream.  But then I like kimchee in my eggs as well.

Mmmmmmm. You should post more often!

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Shad roe deteriorates quickly, and is easily overcooked so I'm guessing that the people who complained about it tasting "fishy" or livery were eating shad roe that was not totally fresh, or was over cooked. Or both.

I would be a bit suspicious of someplace selling it cheap. My recommendation would be to get some at BlackSalt* or some other high quality fish purveyor (*yes, I used to work there, but I have no connection with it anymore) where they get small quantities on a frequent basis. That way you know it hasn't been sitting around for a few days. Scott Weinstein at BlackSalt recently told me that he has been selling out every day that he gets it in.

The shad roe that is for sale now is coming from Georgia. The Carolinas will be next. It'll be a while yet, before true local shad and shad roe are for sale.

I never had it when I was growing up on the West Coast. But it is "traditional" in my husband's Pennsylvania-DC family. It has to be sauteed in bacon fat and served on toasted English muffins with a little squeeze of lemon juice, just like his mother used to make it. The one time I added some sauteed shallots, white wine and a little bit of fresh tarragon, my husband was furious at me: "You RUINED it!!!" I thought it was delicious, but I had blundered into sacred territory with my fancy-schmancy gourmet pretensions. Now, when I do make it for him, the only thing I change is that I use better bacon than his mother used to buy. That seems to be ok with him.

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Harris Teeter in Ballston had them today for $7.99 each.

I can't comment on quality because never having seen or tried them, I don't know how they're supposed to look.

But I thought I'd let those who are looking know that they're out there.

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I got mine at the Giant in Olney. I forgot to look at the per pound price, but a smallish set was $6.00 or so (there is only me to feed).

The sell by date was 4 days away, the set was nice and fresh. Sauteed them in butter and bacon fat, served with bacon. I have to do this every spring as I have since I shared the sets with my father as a child. He's gone now, so eating shad roe in spring (like the first oyster in the fall) is ceremonial as well. This was the freshest and best shad roe I have had in years.

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Harris Teeter's Fresh Catch Newsletter today has shad roe for $8.99 Thursday through Sunday.

I bought a set at HT (Citadel) last night and they were amazingly fresh. If you go past the seafood counter they also sell thick-sliced salt pork at the end of the meat section. Next to the fatback. Good combination.

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Got some from Wholefoods at the weekend. Making Bottarga with it (worked really well last year).

63rd Annual Ruritan Inter-community Shad Planking April 20, 2011,in Wakefield Va. Traditionally aspiring Virginia politicians all appear at this meet-and-greet, and chow down on shad and shad roe. This year the governor is the keynote speaker. I have yet to go, but hope to one day.
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Just a mention, information on shad sustainability is not abundant {Monterrey Bay does not list shad} But here is the best resource I found with a few minutes googling Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Comission Report

To sum up:

Quote

Shad and river herring once supported the largest and most important commercial and recreational fisheries along the Atlantic coast.

 

The last coastwide stock assessment for American shad was completed in 2007, which found that stocks are currently at all-time lows and do not appear to be recovering. Recent declines in stock abundance were reported for Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Georgia, and for the Hudson (NY), Susquehanna (PA), James (VA) and Edisto (SC) Rivers. Low and stable stock abundance was indicated for Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Chesapeake Bay, the Rappahannock River (VA) and some South Carolina and Florida stocks. The Potomac River stock has shown rebuilding in recent years.

Primary causes for stock decline were identified, including overfishing, pollution and habitat loss due to dam construction. A peer review panel recommended that current restoration actions should be reviewed and new ones should be identified and applied, and suggested considering a reduction of fishing mortality, enhancement of dam passage and mitigation of dam-related fish mortality, stocking and habitat restoration.

This tells a story of a lack of management. Well managed fisheries can repopulate the stock quickly and then sustainable fishing can occur, often at higher levels than were being harvested before the plan was put in place. But for now, there is an ongoing Mid Atlantic assessment going on due to be finished after this year. Unless that shows major improvement, I would think twice about eating shad. Well actually I would not eat it myself. 

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