Old-School Barbecue: Planked Shad

I actually like shad--back in the 60s, when in Ft. Lauderdale FL, we would go to the Sea Grille and order the shad.

The Virginia Shad Planking politico-fest could well be named: Liar's Convention.

Depoe Bay Oregon has a BBQ like this one every year. September I believe. It's called the Salmon Bake and has been going on for 60 years or so. BBQ pit looks the same though.

This started down in Texas in the late 1800's. But I noticed those silly Yankees, unlike us Texans, threw the shad aside and ate the planks, which were more flavorful and less bony.

What you have there is a good old-fashioned Maryland Eastern Shore "shad planking."

Shad are cooked as shown, smoked on standing oak boards and basted with the cook's special sauce, served with "beaten biscuits." There are two schools of thought about the menu: some think it exquisite, others think it inexcusable.

The whole ritual sparked an annual Virginia political picnic every April, where pols and their supporters gather to plank some shad and speechify.

[Thanks muchly. I knew someone out there would enlighten me. - Dave]