Shad Roasted on a Board
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the board
Heat the oak board in front of the fire until very hot, almost charred.
Roast the shad
Season the shad with salt and fasten it skin-side down to the hot board with small nails.
Position the board before the fire with the head of the shad down.
Once the juices begin to run, turn the board with the tail down, turning frequently to retain juices.
Serve
When cooked, butter the shad and serve it hot on the board.
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
- Is the main fish, cooked whole-split so its flesh becomes tender and moist in the heat.
- Oak board
- Acts as the cooking surface, holding heat and flavoring the fish as it roasts.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat to the hot fish at serving, softening its flavor.
The step that matters
Turning the board as the juices run. Turning the board frequently, with the tail down once juices begin to run, helps the fish cook evenly and keeps moisture in the flesh rather than letting it dry out near the fire.
“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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