The turning of the seasons brings a new palette of flavors that are never more ephemeral than in spring. For a few short weeks I gorge on newborn onions, particularly those of the sweet Vidalia variety. Grilled, roasted, braised— I can't seem to get enough of them before they're gone.
The season for shad roe is equally fleeting and depends on where you live. Like salmon, shad are anadramous fish that live in salt water, but ascend rivers and streams to breed when the waters warm. Along the east coast, they begin running in January in Florida, and continue through to June in Canada. In Connecticut, where the American shad (Alosa sapidissima) is the state fish*, the month-long season is nearly over.
And shad roe's perishability is more evanescent than its season. I only buy it when I know that I can cook and serve it the same day. Yet, I couldn't walk away from the remaining pair of sacs in the fish case and when I asked the fish monger to wrap those as well, I knew I would be enjoying them days later.
*Want to know your state's fish? Here you go.
pickled shad roe
1-2 shad roe sacs
1Liter/1.05 qt cold water
85g/3 oz kosher salt
56g/2 oz brown sugar
3.5g/½ tsp. pink curing salt (optional, but will give the roe a rosy color)
1 bay leaf
10 black peppercorns
3.5g/1 tsp mustard seeds
3.5g/1 tsp whole coriander seeds
1g/½ tsp dried thyme
rendered bacon fat
Place roe sac(s) in a non-reactive container and chill. Bring water, salt, sugar and sodium nitrate to boil in a stainless steel saucepan. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Pour cooled brine over roe. Add remaining ingredients, cover and pickle in the refrigerator for 3 days. Remove roe from brine, discard brine and rinse container. Return roe to container and cover with fresh cold water. Chill for 12 hours.
Remove roe from water and pat dry with paper towels. Place roe sac(s) in sous vide bag. Add 28g/1 oz rendered bacon fat per sac. Vacuum and seal bag. Cook at 64C/147.2F for 40 minutes. Remove roe from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Chill before serving.
pickled shad roe ✢ braised/grilled spring onion
coriander mustard sauce
Playing with Fire and Water 
A couple of comments about your ingredient specifications:
At about 15%, your brine seems a bit salty. I tend to use 5% as a maximum. When I brine fish before smoking, I use 3%. When I make caviar, I use 2% salt.
Do you really mean 3.5 g of pure sodium nitrite and not a sodium nitrite-salt mixture, such as standard pink curing salt with 6.25% sodium nitrite?
Rather than boiling the water with the sugar, salt, and nitrite, I usually just buzz it with an immersion blender until everything is dissolved. This saves a lot of time and energy, especially with large quantities of brine.
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Oops… you’re right about the salt. I was converting a large recipe and needed to divide one more time. And, yes, pink curing salt. Both stand corrected.
As for boiling, I remember a chef once told me long ago to always boil water for brining. I assumed it had to do with sanitation, but it stuck with me. In the interest of time and energy, probably unnecessary.
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