Norwegian Pan-Fried Smelt Recipe

Pan-fried smelt is a quick and easy meal, snack, or crispy appetizer that you can make in just 5 minutes. With only three ingredients, these Norwegian treats have been enjoyed for centuries across Scandinavia!

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!

The easiest, and best 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 you'll be hooked too!

In Norway, these tiny 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.

📝 NOTE: Looking for the FULL recipe to print? You can find it below in the recipe card!

Smelt (also known as whitebait, sprat, and whitefish) is such a delicious seafood appetizer or quick dinner with a side!

The texture of crispy fried smelt is so delightfully different than any other fish I've tried. It's really simple to prepare and only 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 and then fried for a wonderfully crispy bite.

📃 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 spring meal and 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 fried smelt recipe 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. You can sub cornmeal with bread crumbs.
• 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

Buying Smelt 

You can’t beat fish you caught yourself, but if you don't go fishing, get them from your local fishmonger.

Frozen smelt is also widely available in supermarkets and you can find them already cleaned with heads removed. 

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

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

How to Clean Smelt?

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

No need to debone small smelt. You should only clean fish bigger than 6 inches because they can be bitter and have tough bones.

Remove their spine after frying; simply grab the rib cage with your fingers and then pull outwards - super easy!

Either way, if eating heads, guts, and tails is disturbing, here's 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 cavity under cold running water and drain well.

🔪 Instructions

How to pan fry smelt

1. In a bowl or a shallow dish, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and pepper.
2. Coat the whole fish on both sides with the flour mixture. Heat oil in a large pan; cook both sides of the coated smelt for 2-3 minutes each. 
3. Let the fried fish drain its excess oil on a wire rack. Serve imideately drizzled with lemon sauce.

Make the sauce

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

👉 Variations

You can season the smelt to suit your taste. Here are some of my favorite ways to change up the flavor:

• Season with garlic powder and Italian seasonings or create an entirely new flavor combination!
• You might want to add some chili powder or smoked paprika for added heat!
• Try 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 like best.

• 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.
• Shake 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 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 with lemon wedges, but it's absolutely amazing with Norwegian aromatic dressing of oil, lemon juice, garlic, and parsley. For a full meal serve it 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
• Hush puppies
• Dipping sauces (omit the Norwegian sauce in the recipe): tartar, mustard, aioli, cocktail, or hot sauce

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

💪🏻 Healthy Options

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 in 350 degrees F preheated oven for 10 minutes, flipping the fish over halfway through the baking. 

Another healthy option is to cook them in an air fryer. Check the manufacturer manual for cooking temperature and time.

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