Smoked Canned Shad

[daddy-o]

Clean, de-scale, and fillet 10 average sized shad. Leaving the skin on, brine fillets overnight in refrigerator using following brine recipe (or recipe of choice).
Remove fillets from brine and place skin side down on smoker racks. Season with black pepper if desired. Using hickory chips, smoke fish for approx. 1 hour; a cold smoker works best since the fillets should primarily be smoked and not completely cooked.
At this point the shad may be canned* or refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Remove skins from fillets. Cut fish into pieces 1/2 inch shorter than pint jars and pack solidly.** Wipe jar tops with clean, damp cloth to remove any fish residue. Adjust lids. Process at 10 lbs. of pressure for 100 minutes.

*To be properly canned, all fish needs to be processed in a pressure cooker canner. Follow your canners instructions for cleaning and sterilizing jars, lids, and rings and for proper processing.

**Since Shad is a fairly oily fish, and because the fillets were brined in a salt solution, adding oil (or water) and salt to the jars is not recommended.


Brine Recipe: Yield one batch

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup non-iodized salt
1/2 - 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 quart water

Thoroughly mix all ingredients together until completely dissolved. Pour over shad fillets and marinate overnight.

[FastActionRodTip]

:smile:

[daddy-o]

I thought slamming posts was reserved for the community forum? As with many recipes, this one takes alot of time and effort to make, and the finished product is worth a try, regardless of most people's preconceived notions. :food:

[Okie]

Canned smoked shad is one of the best ways to prepare shad.
Been doing it for years, don't knock it until you have tried it.

With one exception, I smoke the shad longer than one hour, but that is your call to do what ever.

Good Luck

[FastActionRodTip]

hey, just pokin' fun, no intention to slam your efforts...ate smoked canned shad once, which was enough...you're right though, my comment was inappropriate in this forum, I apologize

every so often I forget to think before I speak

[STGRule]

I can it too. It's an excellent product. Sometimes I skip the brining, smoke it hard for an hour and add a half teaspoon of sea salt to the half-pint jars when I process them. If I have more time I do the brining.

[sandman]

Thanks daddy-o,I'll give it a try :cheers:

[daddy-o]

Hey Okie, youre right on with smoking it longer. I just couldn't remember at the time when I wrote it, but after just making a batch it does need to smoke longer. The skin should almost fall off when it comes off the smoker racks.
Hey F.A.R.T., thanks for the reply! (sorry about the abbrev., I just couldn't resist) :cheers: :food:

[Musicman]

When canning shad, does the water have to cover the jars?