Performance Enhancing Shad Roe

When I saw the shad roe in the fish display at a local Whole Foods, I couldn't resist. It was like a portent of good things to come (and to perhaps even arrive ahead of schedule - like being at mid-season riding weight two months before "the season" commences). Because March is way too early for local shad roe. I presume this batch was from much further south, the Chesapeake maybe, or probably even further down the eastern seaboard, possibly even Florida. For although we associate the great shad runs with the mid-Atlantic rivers all the way north to Maine, it's true that some Florida rivers host shad runs as well.

The thing is, shad roe is a Super Food. Certainly, it's a Super Food for me, the original Shad Rides. There is some ethical speculation about whether my consumption of shad roe constitutes cannibalism but I'm not worried about that. Besides, in cycling, there is only one cannibal, the original, Eddie Merckx. Some say he earned that moniker because of his "insatiable appetite" for victory, while others maintain he was called that simply because he devoured his competition.

Regardless, I feel ethically sound in consuming hundreds of thousands of shad eggs at a sitting. I am absorbing the tenacity of the shad itself, or so I hope. I want to be that smallish, silvery dart that for much of the year inhabits the mysterious dark of the ocean depths but that eventually becomes obsessed with returning to fresh water and so joins a mad crusading peloton and launches an attack on whatever fresh water river is programmed into its DNA.

The nutrition facts on shad roe are positive. So much so that the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) permits the following statements to be made for shad roe:

"Fish, shad, american, raw is an excellent source of Vitamin B6, Vitamin D, Vitamin D (D2 + D3), Riboflavin, Niacin, Phosphorus, Selenium and Protein. This means that the food contains 20% or more of your RDI for these nutrients.

Fish, shad, american, raw is a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha-tocopherol), Thiamin, Pantothenic Acid, Iron, Magnesium and Potassium. This means that the food contains 10% or more of your RDI for these nutrients."

There are tricks to preparing shad roe, and I share those tricks below.

*** WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOD IMAGERY TO FOLLOW ***

The appearance of raw shad roe is not to everyone's liking. However, if you're a fan of offal then you'll have no compunction about shad roe which actually comes in two oblong sacs, the hundreds of thousands of eggs contained within a transparent membrane.

Raw Shad Roe

A key step in preparing shad roe is to deal with the membrane. This is done by placing the roe sacs in a bowl and then pouring boiling water down the side of the bowl until the sac is covered. This tightens and seals the membrane so that the whole sac can be easily sauteed. In the event that the membrane is damaged, the boiling water treatment causes the roe to "bloom" or burst out of the casing. This results in what looks like a growth of sea anemone. Luckily, this particular membrane was flawless so that once sealed it was ready for the buttery skillet.

Membrane Sealed

The next step in the process is simple and involves butter, parsley, garlic, and salt. Not hard to figure out what to do with that. 

Ready for the skillet

All you need to do is saute it in a hot skillet with some butter (and/or olive oil) and preferably some minced garlic. I added some turmeric & paprika for both color and flavor, and also threw in a handful of freshly chopped parsley.

Ready to Plate

The result? The perfect shad training meal. (That's a wedge of chard Parmesan gratin alongside).

Super Food