How To Cook Smelt Fish In Oven

Jump to Recipe

Melt Time - 5 mins

Pan-fried smelt is a quick and piece of cake repast, snack, or crispy appetizer that y'all tin brand in but 5 minutes. With only three ingredients, these Norwegian treats accept been enjoyed for centuries across Scandinavia!

These pocket-size fish are flaky, soft, and perfect finger nutrient with seasonal salad and beer. Brand information technology a meal by serving them with warm murphy salad!

A close up of fried smelt fish in a small bucket.

The easiest, and all-time way to cook smelts in 5 minutes is to shallow-fry them! The Norwegian recipe for "pan-fried" has been secretively passed down through generations. Try it today, and yous'll exist hooked too!

In Kingdom of norway, these tiny silver-colored fish are often the target of small-scale 'angling shack' villages that jump up forth frozen rivers or in "schools" along the saltwater coastline during spring migration to their spawning streams.

📝 NOTE: Looking for the Total recipe to print? You can detect it beneath in the recipe card!

Smelt (likewise known as whitebait, sprat, and whitefish) is such a succulent seafood titbit or quick dinner with a side!

The texture of crispy fried smelt is so delightfully different than whatever other fish I've tried. It's really simple to prepare and but takes 5 minutes from start to finish, but the amazing flavor makes it worth every second!

They have delicate flesh and are eaten whole; coated in flour and cornmeal so fried for a wonderfully crispy bite.

📃 Why information technology Works

Quick: It only takes v minutes to cook a batch of these pan-fried smelt and they are like shooting fish in a barrel to prep. They make for a great bound meal and dinner political party appetizer.
Like shooting fish in a barrel to make gluten-complimentary: If you or someone in your family has an allergy, simply replace the all purpose flour with a 1:1 GF brand.
Budget friendly: With just a few unproblematic ingredients needed, this fried smelt recipe is a neat affordable appetizer that anybody volition dear!

🛒 Ingredients and Notes

This recipe is not only affordable but also delicious and rich in Omega3. You will need:

A plate with fresh smelt and small bowls with flour, cornmeal, and lemons

Smelt fish - see instructions below on buying smelt.
All-purpose flour - gluten-free flour will as well piece of work.
Cornmeal - I use coarse yellow cornmeal for making polenta. You can sub cornmeal with bread crumbs.
Oil for frying - I used olive oil, simply any high-oestrus oils (such as sunflower, canola, vegetable, avocado, and peanut oil) will work.

For the Norwegian sauce:

Olive oil - practise not substitute
Lemon juice - freshly squeezed
Garlic - fresh garlic clove
Fresh parsley - exercise not substitute

Buying Smelt

You can't beat fish y'all caught yourself, but if you don't become line-fishing, get them from your local fishmonger.

Frozen smelt is also widely bachelor in supermarkets and yous tin can find them already cleaned with heads removed.

When you lot're ownership smelt , look for the smallest in size. They should not be much longer than your finger because bigger tend to have a footling harder bones.

The smaller, the better, as you'll exist eating these fish whole - tail, bone, and all.

How to Make clean Smelt?

To clean the smelt or not is something everyone decides for themselves. If you want to savour your fish without the hassle of cleaning it, eat smaller smelts; just like sardines, you should swallow them whole.

No need to debone minor smelt. You should only clean fish bigger than half-dozen inches because they tin can be bitter and take tough bones.

Remove their spine after frying; simply grab the rib cage with your fingers and then pull outwards - super like shooting fish in a barrel!

Either way, if eating heads, guts, and tails is agonizing, hither'south how to clean it:

Cut off their heads, slit the belly all the way to the fin, and remove the entrails.
Or, gently pry open the head and slowly pull the gills along with the entrails.
Rinse the crenel nether cold running h2o and drain well.

🔪 Instructions

Two bowl showing how to bread smelt and a photo of fried smelt on a rack.

How to pan fry smelt

In a bowl or a shallow dish, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and pepper.
Coat the whole fish on both sides with the flour mixture. Rut oil in a big pan; cook both sides of the coated smelt for ii-3 minutes each.
Let the fried fish drain its backlog oil on a wire rack. Serve imideately drizzled with lemon sauce.

Make the sauce

In a small bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, garlic, and parsley.

👉 Variations

Yous can flavour the smelt to accommodate your gustatory modality. Here are some of my favorite means to change up the flavor:

Flavour with garlic pulverization and Italian seasonings or create an entirely new flavor combination!
You might want to add some chili pulverisation or smoked paprika for added rut!
Endeavour New Orleans blackening seasoning.
Top it with herbs: dill, chives, green onions, or parsley.
Rub it with ginger, turmeric, or cumin.
Drizzle with herbed butter.
The possibilities for flavoring are literally endless. Change it to suit whatever flavors and seasonings that you similar best.

👩‍🍳 Top Tips

Y'all tin utilize fresh or frozen smelt in the recipe, and frozen is more widely bachelor. If using frozen, thaw in the fridge before dredging and frying.
If serving as an appetizer, aim for six to vii per person and twice that for the main form.
Shake excess flour off of the fish earlier cooking.
For the best texture, fry smelts until crispy.
Make sure not to crowd the fish. Fry in batches, if necessary.
Let the pan-fried smelt drain its excess oil on a wire rack set over a baking sheet or line with newspaper towels.

To fry the fish, utilize a heavy non-stick pan or bandage-fe skillet. It makes cooking and especially frying so much easier and volition make this recipe like shooting fish in a barrel for you besides.

You'll definitely need to choice one up because it's inexpensive and makes the perfect cookware.

I hesitated also long before buying a cast iron skillet, but now I have many pans and pots and couldn't imagine my kitchen without it.

A cooling rack on a table with small fried fish, lemon slices and a bowl with sauce.

🍽 How To Serve It

Pan-fried smelt fry is good on its own with lemon wedges, merely it's absolutely amazing with Norwegian aromatic dressing of oil, lemon juice, garlic, and parsley. For a full repast serve it with:

Garlic Swiss chard and potatoes
French Fries or sweet murphy fries
Fresh salad greens or creamy cucumber salad
Roasted vegetables and rice
Fries and beer
Hush puppies
Dipping sauces (omit the Norwegian sauce in the recipe): tartar, mustard, aioli, cocktail, or hot sauce

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What does smelt taste similar?

They have a mild flavor, similar to trout, and a soft texture that'south difficult to beat out!

Can I deep-fry the smelt?

Yep, they can be deep-fried, however, be sure not to cook them for too long as they volition dry out.

How do I shop them?

Refrigerate the leftovers for up to three days.

How do yous get rid of the fish smell after cooking?

Frying whatever fish in a pan (smelt included) will leave an odor that is hard to eliminate. To prevent, or at least minimize information technology, try these tips:

· Soak the fish in milk for at to the lowest degree one-half an hr earlier cooking; it cuts down on odor when the fish is cooked without changing the season of the fish.
Soak your fish in water mixed with ¼ cup of vinegar or ¼ cup of lemon juice before cooking.

· Try to prevent the odor by using a splatter screen, a vent fan, or an air purifier. Run the exhaust fan for an 60 minutes later cooking fish. If yous tin remove the exhaust filter, wash information technology.

· Take a few whole cloves (the prickly matter you stick in a ham) and simmer it in a flake of water; cinnamon, citrus peel, and rosemary work as well too.
Stick a fan in the kitchen window while cooking fish and leave it on for a while later on. Or go on the windows open while yous melt if it's a nice 24-hour interval out.

· As soon every bit your meal is over, wrap and refrigerate leftovers, wash the dishes, and remove the trash. Getting the odor source cleaned upwards and out of your dwelling as quickly every bit possible will reduce the smell in your home.

· Light a candle. Lemon and peppermint scents work exceptionally well to gainsay food smells in your domicile. Calorie-free your candle before you showtime cooking, and let it burn well beyond your meal and kitchen clean-up time.

💪🏻 Healthy Options

If you adopt baking the smelt in theoveninstead, you can do that as well.

Just make certain to grease your blistering sheet well. Bake in 350 degrees F preheated oven for 10 minutes, flipping the fish over halfway through the blistering.

Some other healthy option is to melt them in an air fryer. Check the manufacturer manual for cooking temperature and time.

😋 Other Amazing Recipes to Endeavour

Cuban Marinated Grilled Salmon
Fillo Pasty Fish and Chips
The All-time Crusted Salmon Recipe
Belgian Unproblematic Fish Recipe
Chinese Pan-Fried Salmon
Beloved Mustard Glazed Salmon

A metal cup filled with fried fish sitting on a wooden board surrounded with more fish, lemon, and sauce.

Liked this recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments department. Your feedback is always appreciated! Stay in touch through Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for my electronic mail list below too!

A close up of fried smelt fish in a small bucket.

▢
▢
Cast-iron or a large non-stick skillet
▢
Wire rack

For the fried smelt

▢ 1 pound modest smelt fish
▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour
▢ 2 tablespoons cornmeal or matzo repast
▢ 1 teaspoon salt
▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper
▢ Olive oil for frying

For the lemon sauce

▢ 2 tablespoon olive oil
▢ Juice of ane lemon
▢ i clove garlic minced
▢ ii tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Sauce

In a small bowl, combine the two tablespoon of olive oil, juice of 1 lemon, i minced garlic clove, and 2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley; refrigerate.

Fried fish

In a bowl, or a shallow dish, combine 1 cup flour, 2 tablespoon cornmeal, 1 teaspoon table salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
Place fish in batches into the bowl, coat with the seasoned flour mixture on both sides of the smelt, and so shake off excess flour (run into notes below).
Heat the oil (about 1-inch deep) in a large frying pan or cast-iron skillet over medium heat.
Once the oil is hot, add plenty smelt to cover the bottom of the pan without crowding (cook in batches). Cook for 2-three minutes, and so flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown, crispy, and thoroughly cooked.
Echo the process to cook the remaining smelt; drain on a wire rack or newspaper towels.
Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot, drizzled with the lemon sauce.

Thaw your frozen smelt in the fridge.
If serving as an titbit, aim for six to seven per person and twice that for the primary form.
To clean smelt, gently pry open the head of the fish and slowly pull the gills along with the entrails. Rinse nether cold water and pat dry.
Milkshake excess flour off of the fish before cooking.
For the best texture, fry smelts until crispy.
Make sure not to crowd the fish. Fry in batches, if necessary.
Let the fried smelt bleed its excess oil on a wire rack fix over a baking canvass or line with paper towels.
For the best results, read additional tips in the post above.
Nutrition information is approximate and meant every bit a guideline only.

Storage:

Refrigerate leftover fried smelt for up to three days.

Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in June 2018 and updated in November 2020 with new photos and recipe tips.

Source: https://www.all-thats-jas.com/norwegian-pan-fried-smelt-recipe/