Shad Roe season is over but I somehow forgot to post this one. As though you’re cooking along at home. Well if you are, you can make croquettes from basically anything, as my cookbooks frequently demonstrate. I had some leftover shad roe so I made these.
The recipe comes to EDBM care of “John Ridgely” of Hampton. Three generations of John Ridgely’s existed but my guess based on the time frame of “Eat, Drink and Be Merry in Maryland”, and the fact he is not named “Captain” in the book is that it was Captain John Ridgely’s son John Ridgely, Jr. (1882–1959).
John Ridgely, Jr. with wife, Jane Rodney Ridgely, and servant in 1948. Photo by A. Aubrey Bodine
This page gives a rundown of the familiar name of Ridgely in the area – note the transition to our concept of modernity between John Ridgely Jr’s two wives.
The main house at Hampton was completed in 1790 – at the time, the largest private home in the United States.
1950s postcard of Hampton mansion
In the 1800s it came to be one of Maryland’s largest slaveholding estates, with more than 300 enslaved people working the house and fields.
Hampton Slave Quarters, Discover Black Heritage
Much of this population was freed upon the death of Maryland governor Charles Carnan Ridgely, but his son John Carnan Ridgely is shown to have purchased many more during that time period. A case study by the Maryland Archives offers a possible glimpse into the life of enslaved people living at Hampton.
“It must have been a surreal experience for blacks moving into and out of slavery at Hampton, literally passing each other on the way to different futures.” – Ridgely Compound of Hampton Towson, Baltimore County, Maryland By Dr. David Taft Terry
The lavish and famous property became harder to maintain without slave labor after Maryland enacted Emancipation in 1864 and reduced in size and grandeur over time.
Between 1948 and 1979 the mansion changed hands, including Preservation Maryland, a few times as a historic site before coming under the care of the National Park Service. Hampton and its surrounding structures including slave quarters, dairy and dovecote are part of the historic site and tourist attraction.
Historical marker, burgersub.org
Shad roe croquettes appear in many cookbooks, especially in the late 1890s and early 1900s.
These instructions make them from scratch and suggest boiling the roe sacs. I’d say simmer them in about ½” of water and then flip.
I served them with a tartar sauce of sorts made from some pickled beets. Very tasty. If you are frying things and dipping them into some mayonnaise-based sauce and it is not delicious then you need to get it together.
Recipe:
- shad roe, cooked
- Salt to taste
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 3 Tablespoon flour
- .5 Pint cream
- 1 Teaspoon juice lemon
- 1 Tablespoon minced parsley
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 Tablespoon boiling water
- breadcrumbs
- lard
Heat cream to boiling point in double boiler, cream butter and flour, add to cream. Add 2 eggs and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and add salt, add lemon juice, and parsley. Add drained shad roe. Chill mixture. When thorughly chilled mold into chops. Beat 1 whole egg, add 1 tablespoon of boiling water and mix thoroughly. Dip chop first into egg and and dip it into the bread crumbs, then fry in boiling lard or oil.
(tiny skillet)
recipe adapted from “Eat, Drink & Be Merry in Maryland”