This humble little fried fish is one of my favorite dishes to have on Christmas Eve.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian Christmas Eve tradition where your dinner table is adorned with many different seafood dishes. And it so happens that fried smelts are my absolute favorite! Every Christmas Eve I look forward to eating these delicious oil fishes. It’s a very simple dish when compared to other seafood dishes but it’s the simplicity of this dish that makes it so positively perfect.

Pan-Fried Crispy Smelts

1 lb. smelts, cleaned

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup cornstarch

1 tsp garlic powder 

1 tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp freshly ground pepper

1 cup vegetable oil

Salt and fresh lemon to taste

If your smelts aren’t already cleaned; take a pair of kitchen shears, snip off the head and then snip open the belly of the smelts. This will reveal any guts left in the cavity of the fish. Gently scoop them away with a spoon and discard. Rinse the smelts under cool water and place in a large bowl. This step may not be necessary if you buy already cleaned smelts from your grocer.

If your smelts have been already cleaned, rinse the smelts under cool water just to wash away any debris that may have been left behind during processing.

To the cleaned smelts, add the salt and garlic powder. Put the smelts aside for 10 minutes. 

After 10 minutes, add the flour, cornstarch and pepper. Toss the smelts until they are all evenly coated with the mixture and it becomes a thick batter, put aside.

Set up a drainage station for the fried smelts by lining a plate or sheet pan with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. 

In a large saucepan, add the vegetable oil and set to high heat. Heat the oil until the temperature reaches 350°F. Fry the smelts on both sides until they are a light golden brown and are very crispy, about 6-8 minutes.

Drain the excess oil off the fish by setting them onto the drainage station that you set up prior. Sprinkle the hot Smelts with a little extra kosher salt.

Serve them hot with a squeeze of fresh lemon or spicy mayo and enjoy. 

*Notes:

Be very careful when frying the smelts! The fish itself contains a lot of water and when it comes in contact with the hot oil it might splash back at you. Make sure especially that your wrists are covered with a sleeve because that’s the most likely place that the oil can really burn you. Trust me I have the welts to prove it! 

When placing the fish into the oil, it’s ok if the Smelts stick together from the batter. If you could, it's always better to try to separate them but if it’s too daunting don’t stress about it. I actually like the ones that clump together, they usually are the most tender morsels. 

The time that I listed for frying the Smelts is an estimate. It unfortunately all depends on how big your little fishes are, the bigger the Smelt the longer it will take.