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Shad Roasted on a Board

A whole shad is seasoned, fastened to a heated oak board, and roasted over a fire, served with butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Shad Roasted on a Board

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the board

  1. Heat the oak board in front of the fire until very hot, almost charred.

  2. Season the shad with coarse sea salt.

  3. Fasten the shad to the hot board with small nails, skin side down.

Roast

  1. Place the board before the fire with the head of the shad down.

  2. Once the juices begin to run, turn the board with the tail down.

  3. Turn the shad frequently to retain the juices.

Serve

  1. When done, butter the shad and serve it hot on the board.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Shad
Forms the main body of the dish; its flesh cooks gently over the fire and stays moist when turned.
Butter
Adds richness and a smooth, moist finish to the hot fish at serving.

The step that matters

Turn the shad frequently. Turning exposes each side to the fire in turn and keeps the juices from running out. Letting one side dry or scorch leaves the flesh tough and uneven.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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