Fried Smelt is an easy Spring dinner for any night of the week! They literally take 5 minutes to cook, so dinner is on the table in less than 30 minutes!
Every springtime around the Great Lakes in the United States and southern Canada, the yearly smelts run happens. Fishermen can be seen, at night, with lanterns and nets, in the streams and river tributaries of the lakes, as the smelts go upstream to breed; smelt dipping, as it’s called.
Smelt are also sold commercially, if you live close enough to one of the Great Lakes or some of the coastal lands of the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Different species of smelts are found in Europe, and northern Asia, and also in Australia! Our local smelts range from about 7″ to 9″. Learn more at Wikipedia
We used to stay up until the sun came up and drive an hour south of us to a stream where you were guaranteed to get the best haul of smelts, if you stayed up most of the night. Then we would spend the next way cleaning the smelts.
How to Clean Fresh Smelts
- Cut off their heads, just past the gills. (very small smelts can be cooked with their heads attached.)
- Slit the belly to the anal fin.
- Remove entrails.
- Wash cavity thoroughly.
Freezing Smelts
- Once smelts are cleaned, place in salted water for approximately 1 hour.
- Drain
- Freeze in plastic freezer bags or vacuum sealed bag.
- Adding 1/2 cup of water to the bag will prolong the freezing time.
- Can be frozen for up to 6 months.
How to Cook Fried Smelt
- Measure about 1 cup of flour into a covered bowl or plastic food storage bag. Add Lemon Pepper and Celery Salt. Mix well.
- Add. fish and shake to coat.
- Add oil and butter to cast iron frying pan. Heat over high heat.
- Add smelt, cook for 2-3 on each side. Drain on paper towels.
- Can be kept warm in 200° oven, while cooking other batches.
Other Delicious Fish Recipes on Binky’s Culinary Carnival
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Sauces That are Great to Serve with Smelt
- Cocktail Sauce
- Thousand Island Dressing
- Fermented Hot Sauce (or Tabasco, Sriracha)
- Tartar Sauce
- Ketchup
That’s how easy it is to make Fried Smelt. Thanks for stopping by today!
Enjoy! And have fun cooking!
Xoxo,
Tools I Use to Make Fried Smelt
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Fried Smelt
Ingredients
- 1 lb smelt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs can substitute corn flake crumbs
- 2 tsp celery salt
- 2 tsp lemon Pepper, or to taste
- 2 tsp Olive Oil plus more, if needed
- 1 tbsp Butter
Instructions
- Add flour, bread crumbs, celery salt and lemon pepper to large covered bowl or plastic food storage bag. Mix well.
- Add smelts and shake until thoroughly covered. See notes below.
- Melt butter in olive oil in large cast iron skillet over high heat.
- Add smelts, in batches, to hot oil and saute 2-3 minutes per side, until browned and crispy. Drain on wire rack.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
- Cocktail Sauce
- Thousand Island Dressing
- Fermented Hot Sauce (or Tabasco, Sriracha)
- Tartar Sauce
- Ketchup
Nutrition
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Would like to fry them .
You mean deep fried? You can do that too, just don’t overcook them! Thanks Michael!
Beth, following up to your last comment… if I’m making them only for adults, would you fry them as they are? With bones, head and everything else? Also, could they be done in an air fryer? Thanks!
Some people leave the heads on. We always removed the heads when we cleaned them. These ones were from Canada and I purchased them at my local grocer. They had the head removed. You could cook them head on. It won’t affect the flavor. I personally wouldn’t eat them, but have known people who did. As far as the air fryer, I don’t see why not! I have been going to try them in the air fryer, I haven’t as of yet. I’ll update you once I do! Thanks Claudia!
This is the best way to serve these little fish – we also refer to them here as whitebait (I hope I am not wrong). They are delicious. You really made me crave for those now and I need to go and get some and have them ASAP.
Oh, that’s interesting to know Ramona! I wonder if they are the same genus and species. They are tasty, though, for sure! Thank you!
What an interesting recipe and a new name to me, in some ways it is similar to what we call whitebait in the UK, which is immature fish that are fried and eaten whole, head and guts included 😮 They are a lot younger than these smelts though.
This sounds delicious!
This variety of smelt gets approximately 20 cm in length, so they are quite small. I have known people to eat the entire fish, but we prefer to clean them! Thanks Brian!
Wow a 5 minute recipe that is amazing!! These look fabulous, great recipe! I am going to give these a try! Cheers
Thanks so much Adrianne! I love quick and easy meals, we all do! Right?
These sound so delicious. I like the simple flavors which let the fresh fish shine through. There’s nothing like fresh pan-fried lake fish. I bet it’s a fun experience catching these too.
We used to pack up son and he would end up falling asleep in the car! It’s too far past my bedtime now, lol! Thanks Michelle!
My first attempt at cooking smelts will be this weekend. I’m a little nervous as I’ve never deboned a fish before, but love how yours turned out in the pick and can’t wait to try.
If the smelt are small enough, they do not have to be deboned, for adults. The bones are so small they are perfectly fine to chew. If the smelt have gotten some size to them, you want to spread them open and pull the whole rib cage out. This can usually be done in one step if you grab the mid line bone. You can also take a fork and stick it along the mid line bone, from the skin side of the fish and gently pull the meat off. This should eliminate 99% of the bones and you should end up with the whole rib cage, pretty much intact. For smaller children, I would make sure they are totally deboned. Thanks Jen! I hope this helps!
I like that these are lightly coated. That way you get more of the flavor than coating.
Yes, I don’t like them if they are drowned in breading, you can’t even taste the fish! Thanks Andrea!
I’ve never had smelt. I’m sure it’s available to me here in MA, so now I’m going to keep my eye out because this looks yummy.
They may be available near the ocean, from what I have read! If you can find them, definitely, give them a try! Thanks Christine!
i had never thought to deep fry these before. what a great idea. they turned out amazing.
They are just shallow fried. You can deep fry, but they are just as good, or better than deep fried. Thanks Krissy!
What a fun recipe! I will have to give this a try; I’ve never cooked smelt before!
They are quite delicious! If you have to have to find them, give them a try! Thanks Beth!