James Kenji Lopez-Alt
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How to Fry Smelts
🕑 Added 2024-03-19 09:15:57 +0000 UTCI love smelts! They are traditionally prepared very, very simply with nothing but a flour dredge. This process will also work for small, thin fish filets (though for a crispier fish and chips-style coating, refer to the recipe for fried fish in my first book, The Food Lab).
Note: You can clean the guts out from the smelts (I like to), but some people prefer leaving them in. Even if leaving them whole, make a small puncture in the belly of each fish before frying to prevent deceased aquatic explosions.
Ingredients:
2 quarts (2 liters) neutral frying oil such as light olive oil or vegetable oil
A dozen whole smelts
1 cup flour
Kosher salt
Lemon and chopped fresh parsley for serving
1. Preheat the oil to 375°F (190°C) and adjust the flame to maintain this temperature while you prep the fish. Clean the smelts (see note) by inserting a sharp pair of slender kitchen shears into the base of the fish's belly and cutting up to the neck. Rinse out the interior under cold running water (you can save and sauté and egg sacs that are present), then pat dry gently.
2. Toss the smelts in a large bowl with the flour and a big pinch of salt. Gently lower half of the smelts into the hot oil. Cook, agitating the oil with a metal spider, until the fish are pale golden brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Season both sides generously with salt. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Comments
Allyson Henry
Where can you buy smelt?
Maggie Beard
Where can I buy smelt in Seattle? I am assuming we can not buy it from the place mentioned in your video. 😉 The only restaurant I have seen fried smelt served in Seattle is The Oceanaire and it has be gone for many years now. Perhaps there are other places too.
Cookin' With Squirrl
I am curious as to what the chisel was doing there. Something culinary or did it make it there on its way to or from another project?
Mendy Graves
This reminds me of frying up tiny trout, caught just minutes before in a creek. Such a treat!
ChrisM
I love smelt, too! I grew up in Northern Wisconsin, and every spring, various groups (Lions, Knights of Columbus, etc) had smelt feeds! Where do you even find smelt in Washington (my new home state, too)?
Chris Pickard
how long does parsley keep in a deli container like that?
