Smoked shad is, in the absence of a properly deboned shad fillet, the best way to eat this most bony of fishes. Shad is little more than a giant herring, and is nearly as oily as a mackerel or a bluefish — and oily fish make the best smoked fish.
The method I describe below is for a hybrid between hot and cold-smoking. It results in luscious, smoky shad, with a hint of the flavorings. It will keep, wrapped in plastic, for two weeks in the fridge. Smoked shad also freezes well.
How to eat this? Remember, there are still lots of bones in the “fillets.” My method is to flake out the meat into a bowl, then use the flaked, smoked shad for croquettes, in pasta or as a sort of dip when mixed with a garlicky aioli.
You will need a way to smoke the fish. I use a Traeger smoker, but I’ve used offset smokers and even Webers before with good success. You want the temperature of the chamber to get no hotter than 180°F, but you want to hold it around 150°F for 2 to 3 hours.
When in doubt, smoke longer and cooler. Alder is my preferred wood, but oak and maple are also good choices.
Smoked Shad
Ingredients
- 3 pounds shad fillets (or similar oily fish)
FIRST BRINE
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 2 quarts water
SECOND BRINE
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 2 quarts water
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 chopped onion
- 3 smashed garlic cloves
- Juice of a lemon
- 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 2-3 crushed dried hot chiles
- 5 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
Instructions
- Mix the first brine together and soak the shad fillets in it for 30 minutes, then drain.
- Meanwhile, bring the second brine to a simmer, stir well to combine and turn off the heat. Set this in a drafty or cool place to chill it down fast. When the second brine is cool, pour it over the shad and brine for 1-2 hours.
- Drain and rinse off the fillets, then pat dry with a towel. Air dry in a drafty place -- use a fan if need be -- for 2-3 hours, or until the meat looks a bit shiny. This is an important step; you are creating a sort of a second skin called a pellicle that is necessary to seal the fillets. If you skip this step, you will have problems with the proteins leaking out from between the flakes of the meat, forming a white icky stuff that will need to be scraped off.
- Smoke over alder or hardwoods for 1-3 hours, depending on the heat. You want the shad to slowly collect smoke, and cook very slowly. Under no circumstances do you want the heat to get above 180°F. Remove and let cool at room temperature before packing away in the fridge or freezer.
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What a delicious recipe. Gotta get the hubs to make this for us this w/end!
I’m more into this smoked shad recipe than my smoked salmon lately. Delicious. And a welcome change of pace. Thank you.
Hi Hank,
Love your website and have made quite a few things that always turn out phenomenal. Would it ruin the fish if I brined them (in the second one, of course) for about 24 hours? Thanks for your amazing work, I plan on purchasing your cookbooks soon! A fellow Sacramentian
Troy: 24 hours is a long time for shad fillets. I’d avoid it if at all possible. You can rinse the fish and pat them dry and leave them in the fridge for a day or two, though.
Thanks for the recipe. The Shad are starting to run up the Delaware river, and I want to try smoking them in my Bradley Smoker. I had shad taco’s at the shad festival in Lambertville Pa. and they were horrible. Lol!
what would be the brine times for herring
When reviewing this recipe, what are the 2 cloves of? I see garlic cloves but what are the other 2 cloves?
Mason: They are cloves. You know, like in pumpkin pie spice? The little teeny dried flower buds you get in the spice aisle?
Dan,
Look up a UDS or Ugly Drum Smoker on the internet. I just built one. It’s an easy vertical design. If you want a separate firebox, you can do that. I made mine electric with PID controls. Lots of fun stuff there. If you are a machinist there are a ton of things you can do, building a smoker is as simple as a place to have a fire, a place to put food, and some kind of connection between the two. Sometimes even in the same chamber. Temp control is important so you need the ability turn the heat up and down with fuel, air, or electricity. Lots of free plans on the web.
Do you smoke them skin on or off?
Kurt: Skin on.
hi love smoked fish almost as much as my wife my friend an I would love to build a smoker I’m builder machinist this seems fascinating any plan’s or what I did pictures it’s so nice to know what not to do an where to consentrate on like to make this big enough to be worthwhile as we are along side a major river an fish is good food my sincere thanks dan
I bet this would be excellent for goldeye or mooneye that I used to catch on the Red River system in Manitoba.
Anthony: I bet it would. Carp tends toward being fatty. so give it a go.
Would this method also work well for carp?
I used this recipe to smoke some eel. Great taste , and thanks for the recipe. Would it be OK to cut boack on the salt in the second brine.
Forgive me I am new to smoking and there arn’t many people you can ask in Australia.
P.S We had smoked duck for xmas and my 88 year old Mum said it was the best duck she had ever had Thanks again for the recipe, I am getting requests for smoked duck from anyone who tries it.
Shad are also excellent canned after being smoked those tiny bone just melt away
Thanks for the recipe, I just fired up the smoker should be ready in about three hours.
Brad: They are American shad, which are anadromous. They live in saltwater but come up the rivers to spawn.
R these fresh water shad
The first brine is to leach out blood and slime from the fillets. The second is to extract moisture and add flavor to them.
2 separate brines? Interesting, care to explain the reason?
Can’t wait to try next year. Here on the East Coast the Shad are long gone!