Smoked Shad Aioli
One of my favorite canapes, this defeats the zillion bones in the shad by flaking out the smoked meat and mixing it with a rich, sharp garlic aioli. This dish also works well with smoked trout, bluefish or mackerel. You could do it with smoked salmon, too. It takes some time and some doing if you don’t buy pre-smoked fish – but with pre-smoked fish, it’s a snap. Here’s how to do it from scratch.
- Flake the smoked shad into pieces, discarding bones and skin.
- In a mortar, add three minced garlic cloves, a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of mustard. The mustard need not be grand; I use whatever I have around. Mash them together. Add 1 tablespoon of minced fresh oregano leaves and mash to mix.
- SLOWLY add olive oil to the mixture. I drizzle a little in, then mash and mix, then add a bit more oil, mix, and so on. Take your time and add enough oil to make is less of a mayonnaise and more of a thick sauce.
- Mix this with the flaked shad and serve on crackers or crusty toasted bread. For an elegant touch, garnish with bright orange flying fish roe.
More Shad & Other Bony Fish Recipes
