First, a housekeeping note: If you click the “Recipes,” tab on our home page, it no longer says “Under Construction,” but “Recipes From Pot Roast Day.” We’ve got the recipe page up and running, and I’ll be expanding it over the next few weeks and months as time permits. One feature in the planning for that page is a short, regular feature simply called “In Season”, where we’ll discuss locally seasonal food products from asparagus to strawberries to shrimp and tomatoes.

We’ll welcome your input: if there’s a foodstuff that puzzles, pleases, or even repulses you a little, send us a note and we’ll consider it for an In Season feature.

Right now, what’s in season is shad. Their annual run up the Ogeechee River to their ancestral spawning ground began last month (once upon a time, bacon wrapped shad roe was a traditional New Year’s Day breakfast for many locals), and continues until March or April.

Though shad make this run up rivers all along the eastern seaboard, the Ogeechee is one of their major spawning grounds, and shad was once a local favorite. It is unhappily not as popular as it once was: for people who’ve become accustomed to mild white fish like flounder, grouper, whiting, and sole, shad’s unique flavor takes some getting used to. It is, however, a taste well worth acquiring.

Right now, Russo’s market is offering the fish expertly filleted, with the prized pairs of roes sold both separately and alongside the fillets. It’s well worth going out of your way and paying a little extra for these fillets, because shad has more than a thousand bones, and unless you know how they run and have some experience in removing them, your fish will end up looking like something two cats have fought over, you’ll inevitably end up with a mouthful of bones when you try to eat it.

One of the best ways to use both the fillet and roe is to make a stuffing with the roe. First poach them in lemon juice until they’re just cooked through, scrape them out of their connective membrane, and then mix in a few crumbs, a splash of wine, and a generous seasoning of minced green onion, garlic, herbs, and cayenne pepper. Fill the cavities of the fillet with this mixture (where those pesky rows of bones once resided) and bake it, adding a little wine around the edges to keep it moist. Some people lay bacon over the top—but personally, I think that’s a bit over the top.

The full recipe is in The Savannah Cookbook. For the most exquisitely simple way of enjoying shad, simply brush it with melted butter, broil it, and serve it forth with the roes wrapped in bacon and broiled separately.

Another lovely and nearly lost way of cooking the fillets is on a plank.

Planked Shad

Fish and steak cooked on aromatic wood planks were once standards in American cookery. When it went out of fashion, planks for cooking became a bit hard to find, but fortunately, the method has made something of a comeback. In open-hearth days, the fish was tacked to the board and propped in front of a roaring hot fire, but today it is done lying flat in the oven or on a grill rack, and restraining hardware isn’t needed. Use a cedar plank specially made for cooking—such as those we carry here in the store.

Serves 2

1 shad fillet, weighing about ¾ pound

2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Salt and whole black pepper in a peppermill

1 lemon, cut into wedges

1 small bunch watercress, washed and drained

1. Soak a cedar plank specifically designed for cooking in water until it is saturated—at least an hour. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat it to 400° F or prepare the grill. Drain the plank and put it on a rimmed baking sheet (if baking in the oven). Rub it well with butter and warm it in the oven for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, rinse the shad under cold running water and pat it dry.

2. Rub the plank with more butter and lay the fillet on it, skin side down. Brush it liberally with butter and season well with salt and pepper. Bake or grill covered until the fish is cooked through, about 15 to 18 minutes in the oven—the grill should take less time. Serve at once garnished with the lemon and cress.