Essex, CT Rotary Shad Bake 2009 [Pics]

Yesterday I attended 51st Annual Shad Bake put on by the Essex Rotary Club of Essex, CT. While shad bakes used to be as frequent in Connecticut as fish boils are in Door County, they are held less and less frequently in recent years. This seems to be the trend even though the Connecticut River ecosystem is bouncing back thanks to recent international recognition for its tidal wetlands.



Essex is home to the Connecticut River Museum and the Mary E, a wooden ship made in Bath, Maine, in 1906. The Mary E sails twice daily and adds a sunset cruise beginning in late June.



The Essex Rotarians are justly proud of their town, and a gregarious and hard-working lot. They have the shad bake running like a well-oiled machine, down to the youngsters clearing plates.





Musicians played what sounded like ragtime favorites.



This group is shucking clams and oysters for those who are interested. I was.



Here are the shad fillets prepared for baking. Each fillet is seasoned, topped with 2 half strips of bacon, and nailed with 4 new roofing nails. (The Rotary website specifies that the nails used are, in fact, new.) The bacon strips also serve to anchor the fish.



Here are the fillets stacked and ready for baking.







Shad is an oily fish. The trays below the boards catch the fat that drips from the fillets as they bake.



The fire generated more heat than you might think, seeing the embers burned down as they were. I was told it took only an hour to ready get the fire to the right level for the shad bake.



Once they are done, the boards are taken to the "de-nailing station." Apparently the de-nailer was designed by a couple of local dentists, who do the honors. The shop-vac sucks up the nails after they are loosened by the de-nailer. An assistant with a spatula holds the fillets down during the process. It goes surprisingly quickly. This was definitely the big draw for the crowd. A horn and cheering announced each round of denailing.











I liked the taste of the shad fillets, which reminded me of bluefish or herring. It was oily, but not fishy, prepared in this manner. If you want seconds, you will need to be there an hour after the opening of the dinner line. Lots of folks were going back for seconds, and it looked as though there was a strong hot dog contingent in attendance.







Essex was recently voted #1 by the author of Best Small Towns in America. I think the Rotarians must have something to do with that. It looks as though The Lions Club is doing its part as well. Their annual Lobster Bake is scheduled for August 1, 2009, in Essex town park.

Yet another beautiful post, Josephine!

Thank you.

That looks like a really great tradition, and the fish looked good too.

As a Rotarian-LTH'er, this event was on my radar yet I was unable to make it, so extra special thanks Josephine for the virtual experience !

Josephine,

Thanks for burning the midnight oil, since you are on eastern standard time, to get this report in promptly.

I loved how you documented the process from nailing to baking to denailing of the Shad bake. I never expected the fire with the planks circling it.

You should e-mail a link to the Rotarians of your report. They may want to use it on their website to promote it.

Thanks!

Regards,

Thanks for the nice words, all. The only thing that would have improved the Essex Shad bake would have been to go with some of you!

Nab-I didn't know you were a Rotarian. How nice to have a wordlwide community.

Cathy-I like your idea of sending the link to the Essex Rotary, I will do this. It seems like the least I can do to thank them for such a nice day.

I certainly intend to return to Essex to take a cruise on the Mary E. Another upcoming event is a Jazz Fest at the Essex, CT Steam Train. (When I hit the lottery, I'm going to make reservations to stay at The Griswold Inn (est. 1776) and to have a massage at the Spa of Essex.)

Connecticut River Museum
http://www.ctrivermuseum.org
67 Main St
Essex, CT 06426
(860) 767-8269

Essex Steam Train
http://www.essexsteamtrain.com/events.html

The Griswold Inn
http://www.griswoldinn.com/Low_index.htm

The Spa of Essex
http://www.thespaofessex.com/

How very cool, Josephine! Tnx so much for the lovely event. Wish I could have been there--that fish looks great; bet it smelled great while it was baking!!

All the Lions and Rotary clubs down east do such an excellent job with their local fests. I had the best oyster club I've ever had in my life at the Lions Club fest in Bridgeville DE. If you're ever in those parts Josephine, you might give it a look...

Geo

Thanks, Geo, for the tip on the oyster fest. I tend to enjoy these community events a great deal. as they give a context for the food, That is one of the great things about LTH-not being laser-focused and all. How can I really know a thing about the food without knowing who cooks and enjoys it? I guess this is obvious to many, but some cling to the blurb and yelp about it nevertheless. I'm not sure I got any particularly novel insights into the Rotarians, but I was impressed that they all thanked me for coming, and were eager to talk about their town.

I forgot to post the links to this earlier shad discussion and this one: