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To Bake a Shad

A historical recipe from The Virginia Housewife, by Mary Randolph (1860).

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A historical recipe

The Virginia Housewife; Or, Methodical Cook, by Mary Randolph (1860). Project Gutenberg eBook #12519.

From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards.

United States

Known as an American recipe, with similar versions prepared across other nations.

Ingredients 2 ingredients

  1. a pint of water
  2. a gill of red wine

Cook safely

  • Sharp knives. Cut on a board that doesn't slip (a damp cloth under it helps), and curl the fingers of the hand that holds the food.

Method

  1. The shad is a very indifferent fish unless it be large and fat;
  2. when you get a good one, prepare it nicely, put some forcemeat inside, and lay it at full length in a pan with a pint of water, a gill of red wine, one of mushroom catsup, a little pepper, vinegar, salt, a few cloves of garlic, and six cloves: stew it gently till the gravy is sufficiently reduced;
  3. there should always be a fish-slice with holes to lay the fish on, for the convenience of dishing without breaking it;
  4. when the fish is taken up, slip it carefully into the dish;
  5. thicken the gravy with butter and brown flour, and pour over it.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Chef's knife
  • Cutting board
Source Public domain in the USA
Credit

From The Virginia Housewife, by Mary Randolph (1860). Digitised by Project Gutenberg, eBook #12519 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12519). Public domain in the USA; its status may differ elsewhere.

What was changed: As printed, from the book's text; Project Gutenberg's header and licence removed. Ingredient lines were read out of the text by a program. A historical recipe, not current advice.