Baked Stuffed Shad Recipe

Serves/Makes: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 whole (about 2 ponds / 1 kg) shad, uncleaned
• 3 tablespoons parsley and chives, chopped
• 3 ounces (90 g) butter
• Breadcrumbs previously soaked in milk and then squeezed (a quantity equal to half the volume of roe/milt)
• 1/2 pint (1/4 liter) dry cider
• Sprigs of parsley
• Slices of lemon for garnish

How to cook Baked Stuffed Shad:

• The shad is to be scaled, gutted and washed.
• Take out the gills and trim of the fins.
• Mash the roe or milt with a fork and mix in the chopped herbs and prepared breadcrumbs.
• The result should be a fairly thick paste, which you as a stuffing in the gut cavity and gill cavities of the fish.
• Butter an oven dish, place the stuffed shad in it, season it again and sprinkle any surplus sniffing around it.
• Add 2 tablespoon of cider and a few knobs of butter on top of it.
• Cook in a slow oven 290°F / 145°C (gas 1) for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, basting the fish often with more cider and more knobs of butter.
• Garnish the Baked Stuffed Shad with slices of lemon and serve.

Note:
The French name of this recipe is Alose au Four.

Comments:
The long, slow cooking of this dish results in the dissolution of the tiresome small bones, which abound in shad. The recipe belongs to the region of the Seine, although nowadays no shad spawn in the Seine itself. It is necessary to choose a shad with plenty of roe or milt, which makes this a dish for the spring or early summer.

This recipe for Baked Stuffed Shad serves/makes: 4

Main Ingredient: Shad
Preparation Method: Baked
Cuisine: French