Oh, baby – it’s smelt season in New Brunswick!
And this just so happens to be a highlight of my winter, every year.
You might be wondering – what exactly is a smelt?
A smelt is a very small fish found primarily in North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, but they can also be found in rivers, streams, and lakes. In New Brunswick, smelts are most commonly “ice fished” on the ocean once it’s frozen over during January, February and March, but they can also be fished on rivers too, like the Saint John River.
They do have a prominent back bone as well as little individual bones, which is a common deterrent for some people to cooking and eating them, but if you love em, you can deal with a little soft bone or two!
And oh buoy, do I love them!
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve looked forward to a father-daughter date with my dad Felix to fry up a delicious feed of smelts. My mother was never a fan, so she would always plan an evening out with friends so that my Dad and I could have the house to ourselves to prep and cook our feast.
Today, my husband isn’t a big fan of these unique New Brunswick winter treats either, so recently, while he was away on a ski trip, I invited my father over for an evening of smelts, cooked just the way we like them.
So many of you asked for our recipe and who am I to keep that secret from you!
Here is how to fry up fresh caught smelts with only 2 ingredients – flour and A LOT of butter!
And the smelts, of course! You’ll want to get a good pound or two if you’re cooking smelts for two!
🐟 Make sure to properly clean your smelts and remove the yucky stuff. Most smelts will come already cleaned for you, but if they’re not, simply use a small pairing knife to cut off the head and cut open the belly, removing all of the insides, leaving the bone. Rinse well under cold water.
🐟 Dry your smelts with paper towel. I like to lay out a few sheets of paper towel and rest the cleaned smelts on the paper towel to dry off properly.
🐟 Lightly roll and toss in flour. You’ll want to sprinkle about a cup of flour (for every 1 pound of smelts) onto a clean plate. Gently roll and toss each smelt in the flour, lightly coating both sides.
🐟 Heat up a cast iron or frying pan on medium to low heat with A LOT of butter. There really is no such thing as too much butter when cooking smelts.
🐟 Add the smelts to the frying pan and watch them sizzle.
🐟 Keep adding butter to make sure they don’t stick to the pan. If the pan gets too hot or they start to stick, lower your heat, and you guessed it – add more butter.
🐟 Flip once golden brown on one side. This should be after about 8-10 minutes.
🐟 Once both sides are golden brown (about 10-18 minutes) your smelts are ready to enjoy!
We love to enjoy our smelt dinner with boiled potatoes and peas, but you could serve them with whatever your mermaid heart desires from fresh cut fries, mashed potatoes, or a garden salad.
You can find fresh smelts at your local Farmers’ Market, grocery store, or fish market.
Happy Fish Frying 🧜🏻♀️
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