Smelt (Éperlans)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Kitchen scissors
• •Channel knife or sharp paring knife
• •3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan
• •Clip-on deep-fry thermometer
• •Wire skimmer or spider
• •Wire rack set over a sheet pan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Oval serving platter and clean cotton napkin
• •Four short metal or bamboo skewers, optional for brochettes

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean and dry

   Keep the smelts cold while you work. If they have not been cleaned, make a short slit from the vent toward the head with kitchen scissors, remove the viscera and gills, then rinse very briefly under cold water. Leave the heads and backbones intact. Spread the fish on clean towels and blot inside and out until no moisture marks the paper; crisp friture begins with a dry surface, not with more flour.

   Smelts already cleaned by the fishmonger need no second washing. Blot them well and keep them uncovered in the cold while you prepare the frying station.
2. 2

   Prepare the service

   Draw six shallow channels lengthwise around each lemon with a channel knife or the point of a sharp paring knife, then halve the lemons crosswise so the grooved peel shows around each half. Pick over the parsley and confirm that it is completely dry. Set a wire rack over a sheet pan for draining, then lay a clean white cotton napkin on the serving platter. The rack removes the oil; the napkin is the classical presentation.

3. 3

   Heat the oil

   Pour the oil into a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan, filling the pan no more than one-third full, and heat it to 365°F (185°C). Keep the thermometer clipped where its tip sits in the oil without touching the pan. If the oil begins to smoke, slide the pan off the heat and let it cool to temperature. Never add water to hot oil.

   A thermometer replaces the brigade fryer held ready all evening. Guessing by colour is unreliable with clear oil, and these little fish give you almost no margin between crisp and dry.
4. 4

   Flour the smelts

   Mix the flour with 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) of the salt. Working with only one batch at a time, toss eight smelts through the seasoned flour, coating the bellies as well as the skin, then shake them in a sieve until only a thin veil remains. Flour them immediately before frying. If they sit, the coating absorbs moisture and becomes paste.

5. 5

   Fry in batches

   Lower the first batch into the 365°F (185°C) oil one fish at a time, giving each a moment to set before adding the next. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, moving them gently with a wire skimmer, until pale gold, firm along the spine, and crisp at the fins and tails. Let the oil return to temperature between batches. Drain the fish in a single layer on the rack and season at once with some of the remaining salt. If the first batch comes out limp and greasy, do not discard it. Ça se rattrape: bring the oil to 375°F (190°C), refry the fish for 15 to 20 seconds, and drain them separately without piling.

   If the fish brown in less than 90 seconds, the oil is too hot. Move the pan off the burner briefly, restore 365°F (185°C), and continue. A smelt should emerge gold and crisp, not dark before its flesh cooks.
6. 6

   Fry the parsley

   Return the oil to 365°F (185°C). Place the completely dry parsley in the wire skimmer, lower it into the oil, and stand back as it bubbles vigorously. Fry for 8 to 12 seconds, just until the leaves turn crisp while remaining green, then lift them out and drain on the rack. If the parsley feels damp, stop and dry it again before it approaches the oil; this is a safety rule as well as a matter of texture.

7. 7

   Heap and serve

   Heap the drained éperlans generously on the napkin-lined platter. Tuck the fried parsley around the mound and set the grooved lemon halves at the sides, cut faces up. Carry the platter straight to the table while the flour coat is still crisp, with a small empty plate for anyone who prefers not to eat the heads or backbones. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose smelts no longer than 4 inches (10 cm) for this friture. Their eyes should be bright, their skin silvery, and their scent clean and faintly marine. Properly frozen smelts are an honest choice; thaw them overnight in the cold on a rack, then dry them with particular care.
• •The source reserves larger smelts for preparations suited to individual fish, and so should you. Once the backbone feels substantial rather than delicate, the pleasure of eating the fish nearly whole is lost.
• •For brochettes (little skewers), thread six smelts crosswise through the upper body onto each of four short metal or soaked bamboo skewers. Flour and fry them in a wide, deep sauté pan, then dish the brochettes flat with the same fried parsley and grooved lemon halves.
• •Fried parsley is part of the preparation, not a token green garnish. It must be perfectly dry and spend only seconds in the oil, long enough to become crisp without turning dull or bitter.
• •Let the oil cool completely, strain it through a fine sieve, and refrigerate it in a labelled container for another fish fry. Discard it if it smells stale, darkens heavily, or has been allowed to smoke.
• •Serve with a brisk dry white wine or a dry Norman cider. The fish need acidity and refreshment beside them, not a heavy sauce.

Advance Preparation

• •The smelts may be cleaned and dried up to 4 hours ahead. Arrange them uncovered on a rack over a tray in the cold so their surfaces remain dry.
• •Wash the parsley a day ahead and dry it thoroughly before refrigerating it between clean towels. Groove and halve the lemons up to 2 hours before serving.
• •Do not fry the smelts ahead. Their brief life between crisp and soft is the reason the original service sent them directly from the fryer to the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 140g)