The East Coast’s spring breakfast: a brined, floured sac of shad roe fried slowly in bacon fat, served over buttered grits with bacon-caramelised onions. It works with herring, perch and other sac roes too.
Untested: I have not cooked this one yet. It is here because the Offal dive needed it, and it is adapted from the source named in the Notes.
Ingredients
- 2 shad roe sets (at least 1 sac per person)
Brine
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 pint cold water
- 1/4 pound bacon
- 2 onions, sliced root to tip
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt
- 2 teaspoons honey, optional
- 1 cup grits
- 4 cups water
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Flour, for dusting
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- Lemon juice
Directions
- Brine the roe. Dissolve the salt in the water and submerge the roe for about 2 hours.
- Bacon. Cook the bacon slowly until crisp. Lift it out and keep about 3 tablespoons of fat in the pan (reserve the rest).
- Onions. Cook the onions in the bacon fat over medium-low heat until soft and caramelised, 20 to 35 minutes. About 15 minutes in, add the thyme, a pinch of salt and the honey.
- Grits. Meanwhile cook the grits in the water, about 20 minutes, stirring often. Finish with the butter and salt.
- Fry the roe. Pat the roe dry and dust it with flour. In a separate skillet, heat at least 3 tablespoons of bacon fat over medium heat. Fry the roe gently, “like bacon: slowly, at a nice, calm sizzle,” 5 to 8 minutes in all, turning once. “It’s better to have slightly underdone roe than roe that’s been cooked to hell.”
- Serve. Finish the onions with the parsley and a squeeze of lemon. Spoon grits onto plates, top with the roe and onions, and crumble over the bacon.
Notes
Source Adapted from Hank Shaw, “Shad Roe with Bacon and Grits,” Hunter Angler Gardener Cook (honest-food.net).
Fresh, not frozen Shaw warns that roe that has been frozen “loses its texture and gets fishy.” Shad roe is a spring food: the runs start in Georgia in January and reach New England in May and June. Roes thicker than about 1 1/2 inches can be poached very gently first (never boiled).
Also try Scrambled with eggs, which Shaw says is a common way to serve shad roe.
The Offal dive on the Food site covers this part in depth.