Grilled Shad

Ingredients

• 1 whole fish shad (alose)
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• parsley stems
• thyme
• bay leaf
• melted butter
• salt and pepper
• lemon slices
• beurre maître-d'hôtel (compound butter with parsley)
• beurre d'anchois (anchovy butter)
• grilled fish sauce

Instructions

1. To serve the shad whole: Score the skin finely with shallow parallel cuts (ciseler). Season with salt and pepper. Marinate for one hour in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, parsley stems, thyme fragments, and bay leaf fragments.
2. Grill over gentle heat, frequently basting with melted butter. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes total.
3. To serve in slices: Cut the fish into slices 1.5 cm thick. Season and marinate as described above. Grill for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on thickness.
4. In either case, arrange on a platter and garnish with lemon slices.
5. Serve with accompaniments: beurre maître-d'hôtel (compound butter with fresh parsley), beurre d'anchois (anchovy butter), or one of the standard sauces suitable for grilled fish. For a whole fish, serve the sauce in a sauceboat; for sliced fish, spoon the sauce directly over the pieces.