Outdoor Planked Shad Bake Recipes

OUTDOOR PLANKED SHAD BAKE

Steps:

• Prepare a small bonfire with scraps of any softwood like pine. Ready a plank of hardwood, preferably oak, that is at least an inch thick and about 2 feet long by 2 1/2 feet wide.
• Season the fillets with salt and pepper. Arrange them, skin side down, on the plank. Lay two strips of bacon or salt pork across each fillet. Using large-headed nails, nail through the bacon into the fillets so that they are fastened securely to the plank.
• Prop the plank upright about 6 inches from the fire, with the fillets vertical. Bake 15 minutes; turn the plank so the end previously on the ground is now on top. Bake 15 minutes or so more, until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove the nails and bacon, and serve fish immediately with lemon wedges.

PLANKED STUFFED SHAD

Steps:

• For the plank, use a ceramic baking tile, bread board or pine plank 12 inches square. Soak for 1 hour in water; dry and rub with oil. Put in oven and heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Rinse the fish. Mix together the salt, pepper and nutmeg, sprinkle three-quarters of the mixture on the inside and outside of the fish and set the rest aside.
• Split leeks in half lengthwise and then widthwise; rinse completely. Put in a shallow pot, cover with cold water and cook over medium heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain leeks. Pour 1 tablespoon of the butter over leeks, add the juice of a quarter of the lemon and sprinkle with remaining salt mixture.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Put the leeks inside the shad, sprinkle with bread crumbs and chopped parsley, close the fish, baste it with the remaining butter and juice of rest of the lemon. Place fish on plank and bake 40 minutes. Serve with boiled potatoes and lemon wedges.

INDOOR SHAD BAKE

Steps:

• You can use a plank of hardwood at least an inch thick, or a broiling pan large enough to accommodate both fillets. If you use a plank, put a pan or foil tray larger than the plank on the oven rack below it to catch the drippings.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. If you use a plank, spread it with vegetable oil and heat it in the oven for 5 minutes.
• Season the fillets with salt and pepper and arrange them, skin side down, in the broiling pan or on the hot plank. Lay the slices of bacon diagonally across the fish.
• Bake 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 350 degrees and bake 10 minutes or so more, until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Discard the bacon and serve immediately with lemon wedges.