# Shad Roe (Best Ever)



## Bearcarver (May 16, 2013)

*Shad Roe* (The Best Ever)

*This Stuff Was Perfect !!!!*

I showed you all how I make my Pan Fried Shad Roe:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/104682/shad-roe-bears-favorite-food

And I showed you how I make my Broiled Shad Roe:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/105827/broiled-shad-roe-with-bacon


But the Shad Roe I made this time is even better than either of them, or any other Shad Roe I ever ate in my 55+ years of eating Shad Roe.
The two previous methods are cooking the Roe in their sacks, and you have to fry or broil them long enough to get the outer portion of the sacks a little too done in order to get the inside done to my liking.
The method I tried with these ended up just out of this world !!!! It all ends up nice and tender, yet completely done.
And the flavor is just so good, it's hard to even describe!!!--
	

	
	
		
		



		
			














---One of the best things I have eaten in my entire life!!!

My "Step by Step" will be in the captions with the pictures:

Note: I did a few of these since this batch, and I put two slices of buttered toast on the plate first, then dumped the Bacon & Shad roe right on top-----Awesome-----I will be doing that from now on!!!


Thanks For Looking,
Bear



First, I always soak fresh Shad Roe in ice cold salt water over night.
This will draw the excess blood out of the sets:







Then I drain the salt water, and soak it in plain ice water for a few hours, changing the ice water a few times.
This will ensure that they won't be salty tasting from soaking in salt water:







Then I get a pot of water boiling, and put about 3 sets in at a time for about 3 minutes,
or however long it takes to not be raw & bloody inside.
I use a large slotted spoon to check, and to remove to paper towels when they get to that point.
On these you can see how they blossomed a lot, because I removed all the joining tissue before boiling.
That doesn't matter with these, because we're going to cut the Roe up in small pieces before frying.
Also----Notice that I put all the extra Roe in one of my freezer drawers, after lining it with plastic wrap.
I leave them in that drawer for 3 or 4 hours, before vacuum packing & freezing them.
I put the amount in each package that I figure I will eat for a meal.
In this case, it came out exactly the same as the number of sets----10 packages.
So, in other words, this picture shows 9 meals for me and/or my Son, not counting the pack I'm making today:







Now----Back to the ones I'm making now;
Cut up the amount of Roe you're going to make.







Then put a bunch of Home Smoked Belly Bacon in a frying pan, and get it started frying.
At this point I also add a tsp or two of butter:







Now dump the Shad Roe pieces into the pan with the Bacon.
Stir & flip the whole works a number of times with a spatula, until it's all nice and hot & bubbly.
Keep a lid on, or a splatter shield, because Shad Roe eggs are like gun powder.
Only remove the lid long enough to flip & stir the Eggs & Bacon.
If you look close you can see little eggs stuck to the inside of my Pan Lid.
Without the lid, those hot eggs could go into your eyes or on your kitchen ceiling!!!!
And yes, depending on how good your reflexes are, it might be a good idea to wear some kind of glasses!







All done in the pan:







Plated and ready to eat.
OMG, The Bear's eating good tonight!! This Stuff Is Awesome!!!


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## chef jimmyj (May 16, 2013)

Great post John but...I still ain't convinced!...
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





...JJ


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## snorkelinggirl (May 16, 2013)

Hey Bear!

What a great post and step-by-step!  Between you and Mick, I feel like my life cannot go on until I can acquire some roe and try it out. Unfortunately, I do not know how to fish....but I'll hit up my local fish guy and see if he can get a hold of some shad roe....DaveOmak says shad should be coming into the Columbia soon.

I loved your pictures, and also the detailed safety instructions.  And here I thought that cutting or burning yourself were the only dangers in cooking!  "You'll shoot your eye out" never occured to me.

Thanks for your post, and have a great day!

Clarissa


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## Bearcarver (May 16, 2013)

Chef JimmyJ said:


> Great post John but...I still ain't convinced!...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


LOL----I told this story before, but I'll tell it again:

Many moons ago (about 20 years ago), I was sitting at the bar, at Spinnerstown Hotel. That had been my after work hang-out for decades, as I also built the bar, two kitchens, and all of the waitress stations there. Then in comes a young lady, and she sits right next to me. She orders a beer, and then orders "Shad Roe". The bartender looks at me, and laughs, because although many people ordered Shad Roe in the Dining Room, I was about the only one who ordered it at the bar. The young lady says,"What, you guys don't like Shad Roe???" I replied, "I love Shad Roe, but I was laughing because none of the wimps around here eat Shad Roe, and until just now, the only females I know who eat Shad Roe are my two Sisters. She said, "Well I just moved into the area, and found out they serve Shad Roe here, so you can plan on my showing up here every Spring, when the Shad are in season, and BTW you have two very intelligent Sisters."

Bear


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## frosty (May 16, 2013)

I knew who posted this before I even opened it!  The Bearcarver is BACK!  Good to hear that you are making great things again Bear!!!


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## Bearcarver (May 16, 2013)

SnorkelingGirl said:


> Hey Bear!
> 
> What a great post and step-by-step!  Between you and Mick, I feel like my life cannot go on until I can acquire some roe and try it out. Unfortunately, I do not know how to fish....but I'll hit up my local fish guy and see if he can get a hold of some shad roe....DaveOmak says shad should be coming into the Columbia soon.
> 
> ...


Thanks Clarissa!!!

I don't know about the West Coast Shad, but with these Delaware River Shad, you gotta know what you're doing to catch them. I never did good catching them, so I've been buying them ($10 per set). However my Son ran into an old guy at a Pool match, who is about the best there is at catching Shad. He was the President of the "Delaware River Shad Fishing Association"----They call him "Shad-Pappy". He took my Son with him one day last week, and my Son caught 25 Shad---18 of them were Roe Shad. My Son has a Bass Boat, with a Jet motor, which is perfect for the rocky Delaware River (No Prop').

Bear


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## Bearcarver (May 17, 2013)

Frosty said:


> I knew who posted this before I even opened it!  The Bearcarver is BACK!  Good to hear that you are making great things again Bear!!!


Thanks Frosty!!!

LOL--How did you know?

I missed you too!!

Bear


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## seenred (May 17, 2013)

Hey, Bear...as always, great and detailed post!  I gotta say I'm with JJ on this one...not sure I'm convinced yet.  But there was a time I would have said that about lamb fries too, and now I can't imagine a world without 'em.

Red


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## woodcutter (May 17, 2013)

You definitely make it look and sound good. Thanks for sharing.


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## Bearcarver (May 17, 2013)

SeenRed said:


> Hey, Bear...as always, great and detailed post!  I gotta say I'm with JJ on this one...not sure I'm convinced yet.  But there was a time I would have said that about lamb fries too, and now I can't imagine a world without 'em.
> 
> Red


Yeah, I know----I had some Buddies who went "Yuck" for years, but it was just in their heads. I made them some, and got them to try it, and they loved it !!!

Now they order it in restaurants, if the price isn't too outrageous !!!

I was weaned on that kind of thing, as were my siblings, because our Dad was a hunting & fishing machine.

We were eating Catfish long before it was accepted above the Mason-Dixon Line-----My favorite fish!!!

Thanks Red,

Bear


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## Bearcarver (May 17, 2013)

Woodcutter said:


> You definitely make it look and sound good. Thanks for sharing.


Thank You Much, Todd!!!

Bear


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## Bearcarver (May 18, 2013)

Woodcutter said:


> You definitely make it look and sound good. Thanks for sharing.


Thanks Todd !!

I still have to try some smoked----Both marinated & smoked and TQ cured & smoked.

Bear


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## threemuch (May 24, 2015)

20150523_143006.jpg



__ threemuch
__ May 24, 2015





Making my first ones tomorrow!


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## Bearcarver (May 24, 2015)

threemuch said:


> 20150523_143006.jpg
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's Great !!

You'll love it !!

Those look small---Are they Hickory Shad?  Ours are called American Shad, and average 19" to 24".

Thanks for letting me know---I'll be watching for it.

Bear


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## bdskelly (May 24, 2015)

Bear

These are the best step by step instructions, that I have ever read, on something I'll never do, !!!  LOL

Brian


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## Bearcarver (May 24, 2015)

BDSkelly said:


> Bear
> 
> These are the best step by step instructions, that I have ever read, on something I'll never do, !!!  LOL
> 
> Brian


Thanks Brian!!

I Appreciate That !!

Stop up here one Spring & I'll make you some Shad Roe. Then you'll be scouring all the Texas Fish Markets looking for more!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## bear55 (May 24, 2015)

I've never had, but would try it.

Richard


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## Bearcarver (May 25, 2015)

Bear55 said:


> I've never had, but would try it.
> 
> Richard


You can get a Preview of how good they are by taking the Roe sacks from some of those monster Mississippi Crappies & BlueGills. Be careful to not tear the membrane. Then soak in salt water for a few hours to overnight. Then into plain cold water for an hour or so. Then Fry them in butter in a Pan---Not too rare & not well done. Keep the lid on the Pan except when flipping them over, or they'll spit at you!!! They're a little like Gun Powder!!

Now taste that, and tell me how much you liked it. I don't know if Spawning season is over down there for this year, but you might want to get some quick!!

Bear


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## WaterinHoleBrew (May 25, 2015)

Nice thread Bear, I've never seen this one before !  I don't think I could find Shad Roe here.... If I could I sure give er a try !   Thumbs Up


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## pilch (May 25, 2015)

Bear I'm sure that I would not like the fried row but in saying that I wouldn't know as I have never tried it.

The reason for me sticking my nose in here is to just say how well you explain yourself when you do a show and tell. The only time I'm not on the same page as you is when you name something that we Aussies have another name for.

I must admit that finding this forum was one of the best finds around and I would like to thank you and the rest of the forum for introducing me to a whole new world of food.

Cheers from Down Under


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## Bearcarver (May 25, 2015)

WaterinHoleBrew said:


> Nice thread Bear, I've never seen this one before ! I don't think I could find Shad Roe here.... If I could I sure give er a try !


Thanks Justin!!

And like I said above to "Bear55", you can always try it on a number of other fish----My favorites are Sucker Roe, Shad, Bluegill, Crappies, Perch, Bass (LM and SM).

Ones I don't eat are Trout & Salmon.

And for all the guys who never had it & tell us they don't like it, read my little True Story in Post #4 above.

Bear


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## Bearcarver (May 26, 2015)

Pilch said:


> Bear I'm sure that I would not like the fried row but in saying that I wouldn't know as I have never tried it.
> 
> The reason for me sticking my nose in here is to just say how well you explain yourself when you do a show and tell. The only time I'm not on the same page as you is when you name something that we Aussies have another name for.
> 
> ...


Thank You Sir!!!

I figured Various Fish Roe would be a common Staple in Australia!!

And Thank You for the kind words!!

I Appreciate them.

Bear


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## threemuch (May 26, 2015)

Well,I tried.  I think there must be a difference in American shad in the Pacific versus the Atlantic.   It was edible.  Even not bad.  But that isn't good enough for me.

Texture was as expected, soft but with little "poppers" and the flavor definitely had some bacon, some fish, but then something I couldn't put my finger on.  Not unpleasant, but not great either.

So it's likely I won't do it again.  Getting the skeins out and soaking them and boiling them and frying them seemed like too much work for food that I wasn't crazy about. 

My friends think I am crazy.  I tried to like it, it just didn't work out.  I could understand if someone else liked it, but it just seemed like quite a bit of work for what was mediocre food.

Bear, I clearly have to get to the east coast in May/June so I can eat some proper shad roe from their native waters.


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## Bearcarver (May 26, 2015)

threemuch said:


> Well,I tried. I think there must be a difference in American shad in the Pacific versus the Atlantic. It was edible. Even not bad. But that isn't good enough for me.
> 
> Texture was as expected, soft but with little "poppers" and the flavor definitely had some bacon, some fish, but then something I couldn't put my finger on. Not unpleasant, but not great either.
> 
> ...


Well at least you tried.

Must be the difference in Shad. I only blanch them if I have a whole mess of them & want to freeze them. If I get one or 2 sets I just soak them in salt water first like I do a lot of fish. Then right to the Pan or broiler.

If you want to run into them in PA and NJ, better make that March & April in stores & restaurants, and April & May in the River.

Thanks for getting back to me. Yours looked like the Hickory Shad that run in out Susquehanna River. They're smaller & I never tried them.

Do you have Suckers out there---Those are actually my favorite of all Roe. I used to shoot them with Bow & Arrow, take the Roe out, and give the bodies to my Grandfather to rototill into his garden.

Bear


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## leah elisheva (May 28, 2015)

Hi Bear. I STILL have not been able to get shad roe here at all and must try some when that opportunity presents itself.

Meanwhile, I am living vicariously through your posts of such and loving it! Thanks for the education! I am so excited to sample it when it appears!

Great post! Cheers! - Leah


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## Bearcarver (May 29, 2015)

Leah Elisheva said:


> Hi Bear. I STILL have not been able to get shad roe here at all and must try some when that opportunity presents itself.
> 
> Meanwhile, I am living vicariously through your posts of such and loving it! Thanks for the education! I am so excited to sample it when it appears!
> 
> Great post! Cheers! - Leah


Thank You Leah!!

The season's winding down here in the Delaware----Maybe two weeks left in the Northern part of the Delaware. I haven't checked the stores around here lately, but I'm sure they're not getting them any more this late in the season, as they get them from the Bay, before they make the run  up the Delaware River.

Bear


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