Can I eat shad??

JD

–Mike

Mike, well I must say that, though I’ve caught a zillion of them, I’ve never eaten one. On the East Coast (where shad originated) they are an important food fish and in fact, their scientific name, alosa sapidissima means “most savory.”

I don’t think there’s any question that the shad has some value as a food fish…after all, people eat other herrings all around the world. However, the big issue here is they’re full of bones — three rows of Y bones to be exact. In doing some internet searching for shad recipes, here are some of the quotes I found that may tell you all you need to know…

Jay Harlow at sallybernstein.com starts his article on cooking shad with this quote:

“Some foods seem to have been put on earth to challenge the ingenuity of the cook…”

Hank Shaw on about.com has this to say:

“From an eating standpoint, the American or White Shad is a mixed blessing. Shad are richly flavored thanks to a good bit of omega-3 laden fat, but they are among the boniest fish in the world. An old Indian saying has it that a porcupine fled into the water and was turned inside out to become the shad. It is not far off.”

So, I guess you can make your mind up from there…