Fried Whitebait
Tiny whole fish that taste like ultra-crispy fish chips. Dusted in flour and fried until golden and tender inside. These whitebaits are delicate, mild and light. They are eaten by the handful with a squeeze of lemon!
Ingredients
- 1 kg smelts small whitebait
- 200 gr plain flour
- 2 l rapeseed oil or sunflower oil
- 2 lemons to serve
- salt and black pepper
For the fries
- 800 gr firm-fleshed potatoes
- 30 ml olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
Equipment
- 1 fryer
Instructions
1. Prepare the fish
- Rinse the whitebait gently under cold water, then dry thoroughly with kitchen paper. Wet fish steams instead of frying, and you'll lose the crunch before you've even started.
2. Prepare the fries
- Peel the potatoes and cut into fries. Rinse under cold water to remove excess starch, then dry thoroughly. Wet potatoes won't crisp properly.
3. Oven bake the fries
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Toss the fries in olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Spread in a single layer on a lined baking tray with no overlapping. Bake for 25–30 minutes, turning halfway, until golden and properly crisp.
4. Coat the fish
- Tip the flour into a shallow bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Add the whitebait in batches and toss until evenly coated. Shake off any excess. A heavy coating turns gluey in the oil.
5. Heat the oil
- Fill your deep fryer with oil and heat to 180°C. Without a built-in thermometer, drop in a small cube of bread: it should turn golden in under a minute.
6. Fry the whitebait
- Lower the fish into the fryer basket in small batches. Overcrowding drops the oil temperature and kills the crunch. Fry for 2–3 minutes until golden and crisp. Lift the basket, drain briefly, then tip onto kitchen paper. Season with sea salt straight away while still hot. Let the oil come back to temperature, then repeat.
7. Serve
- Pile the whitebait onto plates alongside the oven fries. Serve immediately with lemon wedges!
Notes
- Whitebaits are eaten whole, heads, tails, bones and all. That is the point. The texture is part of it.
- Small batches in the fryer are non-negotiable. Too many fish at once and the oil temperature drops, leaving you with soggy whitebait.
- Dry the fish really well before coating. Moisture is the enemy here.
- Aioli or sauce gribiche alongside is never a bad idea.
- If you want proper frites rather than oven chips, double-fry them in the fryer: first at 160°C for 5 minutes, then at 180°C for 2 to 3 minutes. Worth the extra step.