Chef Lesia
Buzhenyna (буженина, garlic-studded roast pork)
A whole pork neck takes garlic into little knife pockets, roasts until the crust goes dark and fragrant, then rests overnight so every cold slice tastes better than shop ham.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Bytochky z Tyulky (биточки з тюльки, Odesa sprat cutlets)
Created by
A heap of tiny silver fish becomes supper by the oldest Odesa trick: clean them, press them together, fry until the edges crackle, and let lemon and dill do the talking.
Main Dishes
Ukrainian
Weeknight
Budget Friendly
Comfort Food
45 min
Active Time
20 min cook•1 hr 5 min total
Yield6 servings
The first thing is the silver. Tyulka arrives in a heap of tiny bright bodies, all glitter and sea smell, and you look at it thinking this cannot possibly become dinner. Then your fingers learn the rhythm: head off, backbone out, two fillets opened like a little book, another, another, until the board is full and the pan is waiting.
Odesa knows what to do with a glut. These bytochky, little cutlets, are not minced smooth like factory fish cakes; they keep the fish visible, pressed into small ragged rounds with onion, egg, a little flour, and enough dill to make the whole thing smell green. The one thing that decides the dish is drying the fish well before it meets the batter. Wet tyulka steams and falls apart. Dry tyulka fries, catches at the edges, and tastes of the Black Sea instead of the bowl.
Aunt Nadia wrote only, "fry until it sounds right," which is deeply annoying and completely correct. At first the pan hisses loudly as moisture escapes; then the sound sharpens, the edges brown, and the smell changes from raw sea to nutty fried fish. That's your moment. Serve them hot or room temperature, with potatoes, cucumbers, smetana if you like, and lemon if the day asks for it.
Tyulka, the tiny Black Sea sprat, has long been a practical fish of Odesa and the southern coast: cheap when the catch was heavy, quick to salt, fry, or press into bytochky for a family meal. Odesa's cooking has always been a port kitchen, shaped by Ukrainian, Jewish, Bulgarian, Greek, and Bessarabian hands, and these cutlets show that city habit of making abundance useful without making it dull.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh tyulka, sprats, or whitebait
Quantity
1 kg
heads and backbones removed
onion
Quantity
1 small
very finely grated
eggs
Quantity
2
plain flour
Quantity
3 tablespoons, plus more for dredging
fine breadcrumbs
Quantity
2 tablespoons
dill
Quantity
1 small bunch
finely chopped
sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon, plus more to taste
black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
unrefined sunflower oil
Quantity
for shallow frying
lemon wedges (optional)
Quantity
to serve
smetana (optional)
Quantity
to serve
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh tyulka, sprats, or whitebaitheads and backbones removed | 1 kg |
| onionvery finely grated | 1 small |
| eggs | 2 |
| plain flour | 3 tablespoons, plus more for dredging |
| fine breadcrumbs | 2 tablespoons |
| dillfinely chopped | 1 small bunch |
| sea salt | 1 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| unrefined sunflower oil | for shallow frying |
| lemon wedges (optional) | to serve |
| smetana (optional) | to serve |
Equipment Needed
- •A small sharp knife or your thumb for boning
- •A wide frying pan
- •A fish spatula
- •A cooling rack or paper towel-lined plate
Instructions
- 1
Clean the fish
Rinse the tyulka quickly in cold water, then pull away the heads and lift out the backbones with your thumb. Open each fish into two small fillets still joined if they allow it. Don't fuss for perfection; these are tiny fish, and the pan forgives a little comedy.
If your fishmonger sells cleaned sprats, take the gift. If you use whitebait, choose the largest ones you can find so the texture stays fishy, not pasty. - 2
Dry them well
Spread the cleaned fish on a towel or paper towel and pat until the surface feels barely tacky, not wet. This is the step that matters. Wet fish makes a tired cutlet; dry fish catches in the oil and gives you those crisp brown edges.
- 3
Mix the batter
In a wide bowl, beat the eggs with the grated onion, flour, breadcrumbs, dill, salt, and pepper. Fold in the tyulka gently with your hands so the fish stays visible in the mixture. It should hold together when pressed, but still look like fish, not paste.
- 4
Shape the bytochky
Dust your hands with flour and press the mixture into small flat cutlets, each about the width of your palm. Dredge lightly in flour and shake off the extra. They can look ragged. Ragged edges fry beautifully.
- 5
Fry until right
Warm a shallow layer of sunflower oil in a wide frying pan until a pinch of flour sizzles at once. Fry the bytochky in batches, giving them space, until the first side is deep golden at the edges and the pan sound changes from wet hiss to sharp crackle. Turn once and cook the second side until firm and browned.
Don't move them too early. When the crust is ready, the cutlet releases more easily from the pan; before that it will argue with you. - 6
Serve the plate
Lift the cutlets onto a rack or paper towel, salt them while the oil still shines, and scatter over more dill. Serve with lemon wedges, boiled potatoes, cucumbers, and smetana if you want the cool against the salty fish.
Chef Tips
- •Use fresh small fish, not smoked canned sprats. Canned fish already has its own soft texture and oil; it makes a different, more modern patty.
- •The batter should bind, not bury. If it slumps, add a spoon of flour; if it feels stiff, add a beaten spoonful of egg.
- •These are good hot, but Odesa people know fried fish at room temperature has its own charm. Pack leftovers with rye bread and cucumber for the next day.
- •Sunflower oil is not background here. Use clean frying oil for the pan, then finish with a few drops of green unrefined sunflower oil if yours is too precious for frying.
Advance Preparation
- •The fish can be cleaned a few hours ahead, patted dry, covered, and kept cold until cooking.
- •Shape the bytochky up to 2 hours ahead and chill them on a floured tray. Fry just before serving for the best edges.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 185g)
Calories
420 calories
Total Fat
27 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
21 g
Cholesterol
200 mg
Sodium
590 mg
Total Carbohydrates
10 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
34 g
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