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Shadroe Salad
Boil 1 pair of roes for half an hour in salted water. Then plunge into ice water, drain, skin, and cut into thin slices. Arrange on lettuce leaves, pour over some thick mayonnaise dressing, and garnish with a cucumber cut into cubes.
A cold composed salad built on poached shad roe, which was a cheap spring staple when the book was written and is now a short-season delicacy. The one thing worth changing is the cooking time.
- Half an hour is far too longA pair of shad roes poached thirty minutes turns dry, grainy and faintly livery. Bring salted water barely to a shiver, slide the roes in, and hold them at 170-180F for 8-12 minutes depending on size, until firm to the touch and no longer red at the centre. That is the hinge of the dish.
- Never let it boilA rolling boil bursts the membrane and scatters the eggs through the pot. Keep the surface still, with only an occasional bubble, and lift the roes with a skimmer rather than pouring them into a colander.
- "A pair of roes"Shad roe is sold as a joined pair, two lobes attached by a thin membrane; pairs vary in size, commonly somewhere between about 6 and 16 oz. Leave the pair intact while poaching so the lobes protect one another, and separate them only after chilling.
- SkinningThe "skin" is the enclosing membrane. It peels most easily when the roe is cold and firm, straight out of the ice water; attempted warm, it is more likely to tear the lobe. Slice crosswise about a quarter inch thick with a thin, wet knife.
- The poaching liquidSalted water alone is bland. A little lemon juice or white wine vinegar in the pot firms the exterior and cuts the iron note that puts some people off roe.
- The dressing"Thick mayonnaise" here means a stiff, hand-beaten emulsion that will sit on the slices rather than run off. Commercial mayonnaise thinned slightly with lemon juice works; a spoonful of chopped capers or tarragon is in keeping with the period.
- SourcingAmerican shad stocks are much reduced from their nineteenth-century abundance and several Atlantic states now restrict or prohibit the fishery. Roe is available in spring from reputable fishmongers, and frozen roe thaws well enough for a cold salad.
- YieldOne pair dressed this way serves two as a first course, or three on a mixed salad plate.
Shad ran up the rivers of the eastern United States in enormous spring numbers through the nineteenth century, and the fish was cheap enough to be considered common eating while the roe was prized above the flesh. Shad roe appears frequently in American cookbooks of the period: broiled on toast, sauteed in butter, creamed, made into croquettes, and, as here, poached and chilled for the salad course. The salad's construction is typical of its moment, with a heavy hand-made mayonnaise over the main ingredient and a garnish of diced cucumber. The dish reads as thrift now only because the run has thinned.