Every spring, Connecticut culinary guru Joseph Sheahe and his apprentices are busy making a food that has been passed down for centuries, charcoal-grilled herring.
Nail the cut fish pieces on the wooden board, stand next to the fire, and constantly brush the oil until the fish pieces are baked into a crispy charred shell, and the fish oil will flow into the plates placed under the planks so as not to cause a fire. While this method of grilling fish can be counted from the 18th century onwards, such a large-scale herring barbecue did not take until the end of the 19th century, starting with shrewd travel marketing and commercial activities such as attracting the middle class to the suburbs to experience rustic country life.
From the raw material point of view, it can not be simpler. The cut herring fillets may be marinated in advance, nailed to the board with a piece of lard, and sprinkled with a handful of paprika.
For the average family in the past, herring was a very good food. First of all, it is easy to get in quantity, and although it is not as tender as salmon, it is absolutely delicious when done.
"There are too many herrings, which means that in an era when things are scarce and expensive, they are destined to be the food of the poor, and thus they have become the representatives of poverty. What you eat can also represent social status, and the rich will not eat this kind of thing. Professor Stephen Olbrys Gencarella of the University of Massachusetts has studied the "history of shame."
There is also a legendary story about herring. When George Washington fought in the bitter winter, the soldiers were about to freeze to death due to the lack of supplies, just as the ice and snow began to melt, and some herring that spawned upstream became the food in the stomachs of the soldiers, so that Washington's army was saved and the revolution was victorious.
Logically, if there were no herring, the warriors would have died, and if the warriors had died, there would have been no more revolutions. That seems to be true.
But come to think of it, is there only herring to eat? If there is no fish to eat, will it really die?
Compared with this legend, in the hearts of Americans, herring still means "desperate and helpless choice".
"For civilians, herring is the most accessible meat, and in a way, if there is an option, no one wants to eat herring, although it is still delicious."
The more people eat, the less fish there are. Connecticut residents fed on herring until the mid-1920s, when the Connecticut River was polluted by industry, fish populations plummeted, and charcoal-grilled herring became a "rare delicacy."
The Connecticut River Museum has been working on the revival of herring, and their work with the Energy Bureau and the Environmental Protection Agency to protect and restore the herring habitat has finally begun to improve.
"In the '60s and '70s, there was herring cooking amnesia, and many people forgot how to use this ingredient, which is enough to see how scarce herring was at that time." Chris Dobbs, executive director of the Connecticut River Museum, said, "Fortunately, now that the river is finally back to life, the number of herring has picked up. ”
At a time when everything is reviving in the spring and herring is backtracking, the Connecticut River Museum and the Rotary Society jointly host a herring roasting event to celebrate the arrival of spring on the one hand, and attract some tourists on the other hand, an idea that coincides with the savvy travel merchants of more than a hundred years ago.
Image credit: Connecticut River Museum, Ashley Winchester