Cooked in 5 minutes, this Norwegian recipe for pan-fried smelt makes for a quick and easy meal, snack, or crispy appetizer.
These small fish are flaky, soft, and perfect finger-food with seasonal salad and beer. Make it a meal by serving them with warm potato salad!
In Norway, these little silver-colored fish are often the target of small 'fishing shack' villages that spring up along frozen rivers or in "schools" along the saltwater coastline during spring migration to their spawning streams.
Pan-fried smelt (also known as whitebait, sprat, and whitefish) is such a delicious appetizer!
These small fish are coated in flour and cornmeal and then fried for a wonderfully crispy bite.
They are eaten whole and have an oily and soft texture with a mild flavor.
Why it Works
- Quick: It only takes 5 minutes to cook a batch of these pan-fried smelt and they are easy to prep. They make for a great dinner party appetizer.
- Easy to make gluten-free: 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 simple ingredients needed, this is a great affordable appetizer that everyone will love!
🛒Ingredients and Notes
This recipe is not only affordable but also delicious and rich in Omega3. You will need:
- Smelt fish - see instructions below on buying smelt
- All-purpose flour - gluten-free flour will also work
- Cornmeal - I use coarse yellow cornmeal for making polenta
- Oil for frying - I used olive oil, but any high-heat oils (such as sunflower, canola, vegetable, avocado, and peanut oil) will work
For the Norwegian sauce:
- Olive oil - do not substitute
- Lemon juice - freshly squeezed
- Garlic - fresh garlic clove
- Fresh parsley - do not substitute
🔪Step by Step Instructions
*Keep scrolling to get the full (printable) recipe, ingredient amounts, and more tips, or click on the "Skip to Recipe" button at the top of the page.
Fry the fish
- In a bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and pepper.
- Coat the small fish on both sides with the flour mixture. Fry both sides of the fish for 2-3 minutes each.
- Let the fried smelt drain its excess oil on a wire rack. Serve hot drizzled with sauce.
Make the sauce
- In a small bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, garlic, and parsley. Set aside.
Buying Smelt
Frozen smelt are widely available in supermarkets. You can find them already cleaned with heads removed.
When you're buying smelt, look for the smallest in size. They should be not much longer than your finger because bigger tend to have bones that are a little harder.
The smaller, the better, as you'll be eating these fish whole - tail, bone, and all.
💡Top Tips
- You can use fresh or frozen smelt in the recipe, and frozen is more widely available. If using frozen, thaw in the fridge before dredging and frying.
- If serving as an appetizer, aim for six to seven per person and twice that for the main course.
- To clean smelt, gently pry open its head and slowly pull the gills along with the entrails. Rinse under cold water and pat dry.
- 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 paper towels.
To fry the fish, use a heavy non-stick pan or cast-iron skillet. It makes cooking and especially frying so much easier and will make this recipe easy for you too.
You'll definitely need to pick one up because it's inexpensive and makes the perfect cookware.
I hesitated too long before buying a cast iron skillet, but now I have many pans and pots and couldn't imagine my kitchen without it.
How To Serve It
Pan-fried smelt fry is good on its own and amazing with Norwegian aromatic dressing of oil, lemon juice, garlic, and parsley, but it also pairs well with:
- Garlic Swiss chard and potatoes
- French Fries or sweet potato fries
- Fresh salad greens or creamy cucumber salad
- Roasted vegetables and rice
- Chips and beer
- Dipping sauces: tartar, mustard, aioli, cocktail, or hot sauce
❓FAQs
To clean the smelt or not is something everyone decides for themselves. The fish are small, and just like sardines, you should eat them whole.
No need to debone small smelt. Fish bigger than 6 inches should be cleaned because they can be a bit bitter. Either way, if eating heads, guts, and tails is disturbing, here's how to clean it:
· Gently pry open the head of the fish and slowly pull the gills along with the entrails.
· Rinse smelt under cold running water and drain well.
Frying any fish in a pan (smelt included) will leave an odor that is hard to eliminate. To prevent, or at least minimize it, try these tips:
· Soak the fish in milk for at least half an hour before cooking it. It cuts down on odor when the fish is cooked without changing the flavor 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 hour after cooking fish. If you can remove the exhaust filter, wash it.
· Take a few whole cloves (the prickly thing you stick in a ham) and simmer it in a little 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 afterward. Or keep the windows open while you cook if it's a nice day out.
· As soon as your meal is over, tightly wrap and refrigerate leftovers, wash the dishes and take out the trash. Getting the odor source cleaned up and out of your home as quickly as possible will reduce the smell in your home.
· Light a candle. Lemon and peppermint scents work exceptionally well to combat food smells in your home. Light your candle before you start cooking, and let it burn well beyond your meal and kitchen clean-up time.
💪🏻A Healthier Option
If you prefer baking the smelt in the oven instead, you can do that too.
Just make sure to grease your baking sheet well. Bake on 350 degrees F preheated oven for 10 minutes, flipping the fish over half-way through the baking.
Other Amazing Recipes to Try
- Cuban Marinated Grilled Salmon
- Fillo Pasty Fish and Chips
- The Best Crusted Salmon Recipe
- Belgian Simple Fish Recipe
- Chinese Pan-Fried Salmon
- Honey Mustard Glazed Salmon
Liked this recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section. Your feedback is always appreciated! Stay in touch through Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for my email list below too!
Norwegian Pan-Fried Smelt Recipe
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Cast-iron or a large non-stick skillet
- Wire rack
Ingredients
For the fried fish
- 1 pound small smelt fish
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornmeal or matzo meal
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Olive oil for frying
For the dressing
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Sauce
- In a small bowl, combine the 2 tbsp of olive oil, juice of one lemon, 1 minced garlic clove, and 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley; refrigerate.
Fried fish
- In a bowl, combine 1 cup flour, 2 tbsp cornmeal, 1 tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper.
- Coat 1 lb smelt on both sides with the flour mixture. Heat the oil (about 1-inch deep) in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add fish, shaking off the excess flour. Fry both sides of the fish for 2-3 minutes each.
- Serve hot, drizzled with the sauce.
Expert Tips
- Thaw your frozen smelt in the fridge.
- If serving as an appetizer, aim for six to seven per person and twice that for the main course.
- To clean smelt, gently pry open the head of the fish and slowly pull the gills along with the entrails. Rinse under cold water and pat dry.
- Make sure not to crowd the fish. Fry in batches, if necessary.
- Let the fried smelt drain its excess oil on a wire rack set over a baking sheet or line with paper towels.
- If you prefer baking the smelt in the oven instead, you can do that too. Just make sure to grease your baking sheet well. Bake on 350 degrees F preheated oven for 10 minutes, flipping the fish over half-way through the baking.
- For the best results, read additional tips in the post above.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in June 2018 and updated in November of 2020 with new photos and recipe tips.
This was delicious! The cooking method is pretty standard, but the sauce made the dish. I baked half and pan-fried half, and the baked did not come out crispy like the pan-fried.
Glad you liked it, Lauren! Thanks for stopping in! 🙂
I was at our local seafood store yesterday and saw smelts which I have heard of before but never seen for sale. I had to buy some and this lead me to your site. Wish me luck! The recipe looks fab.
Good luck, Ann! I hope it turns out good for you.
Hello...cornmeal or cornstarch mixed with the flour?
Thank you!
Cornmeal, as indicated in the recipe. It gives it an extra crunch 🙂
The ingredients say cornmeal but the instructions below say cornstarch.
Oops, my bad. Cornmeal is correct. Thanks for noticing the error, it is fixed now. Happy New Year!
These look fabulous I love the way you have styled the pictures. I think these are what we call whitebait which I love but do not eat very often. Now Ive seen this recipe I want to make it again. Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare
Yes, I believe it's called whitebait in the UK. So many names, same great taste 😀
I've never tried smelt, but this looks and sounds fantastic! #CookBlogShare
Thanks, Donna! Don't take my word for it, try it! 😉
I've never tried smelt before, but you convinced me with "munch" and "beer". I love the "soaking fish in milk" trick: not only does it reduce the odor, but it also takes out some of the "fishiness" (which my hubster finds objectionable!). I can't wait to try this with a brewsky!
I hope you do, Michelle! I love fish, but am not a big fan of strong fishy odor or taste. If you want to kill me, feed me clam chowder LOL.
I have never ate this fish before but I would sure like to try it. Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday!
Miz Helen
If you lived any closer, I'd make it for you! 😀
I may be weird, but I actively enjoy the smell or aroma of fish after cooking. But I'll keep your tips in mind in case I have guests that might.
Thanks for the recipe, and I appreciate learning about this Norwegian approach to a fish I often buy when I see it (which isn't often enough).
I don't mind it for a day but then I'm over it, ha! Thanks so much for stopping in! Glad you like this recipe 🙂
I've never had smelt before. Is it like sardines? Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party - have a great week!
They're similar in appearance to sardines and anchovies but I'm not sure if they also taste similar as I've never had fresh sardines or anchovies. Thanks for stopping in, Helen!
Living in a landlocked country means we don’t eat fish very often, but when we do, I always struggle with the smell. Thanks for your tips! they are very helpful. These smelts look so delicious!
Jas, thanks for sharing at FF! don’t forget to link back to FF to be eligible for feature.
Yes! We love fish but the smell...not so much. I prefer to mask it with lemon since fish and lemon get along so well anyway. Thanks for stopping in, Lizet!
Looks so crispy. Definitely gonna try this. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Samanta! Truly appreciate it 🙂