Scrod

Scrod or schrod (/ˈskrɒd/) is a small cod or haddock, and sometimes other whitefish, used as food. It is usually served as a fillet, though formerly it was often split instead.

In the wholesale fish business, scrod is the smallest weight category of the major whitefish.^[1] From smallest to largest, the categories are scrod, market, large, and whale. In the United States, scrod haddock or cusk weighs 1+1⁄2–3 pounds (0.7–1.4 kg); scrod cod 1+1⁄2–2+1⁄2 lb (0.7–1.1 kg); and scrod pollock 1+1⁄2–4 lb (0.7–1.8 kg).^[2] The exact weight categories are somewhat different in Canada.^[1]

Scrod is common in many coastal New England and Atlantic Canadian fish markets and restaurants, although using the name 'scrod' without the species is in principle mislabeling.^[2]

Historically, scrod was simply a small cod or haddock, "too small to swallow a bait" or "too small to be filleted", which was usually prepared by being split and lightly salted ("corned"), and sometimes quickly air-dried. They were generally broiled and served with butter. Starting in the mid-20th century, it came to mean a small haddock or cod that is filleted or split.^[3]