Comments on: Smeltings

By: sproutsinthekitchen

sproutsinthekitchen — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:58:40 +0000

fish fries, eh? so my 3 1/2 year old hates fries, which is a mortal sin because he’s half belgian. But he’s all about fish. Hm… I’ll give it a shot! And of course my portion will have to involve some Andalouse sauce.

By: Abby

Abby — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:34:13 +0000

Where do your Smelt come from? We are in Northern Michigan and bought some locally the other day. My 2 year old who is on a total meat protest LOVED them, kept popping them in whole! I read your book in 2 days and was laughing out loud- I’ve already recommended it to friends and family- Thanks!

By: Lori S.

Lori S. — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:35:52 +0000

I don't know where to find smelt consistently here in Oakland, but I love it. Them. It? Them?

Please don't bother cleaning the fish!

By: Sophia Katt

Sophia Katt — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:46:24 +0000

As children, my sister and I were taken by my Depression-era aged dad up to LaConner every January to jig for our own, smaller and more succulent smelt. Jigging is not a bad way to introduce 5 year olds to fishing--if the smelt were running we would get three or four fish on one line, an immensely rewarding experience for a kid. Dad would clean them, and then fry them up after a dip in beaten egg and a flour/cornmeal mixture. Fabulous.

I am the lady who mentioned at the UW kitchen demonstration Saturday that kids in my house growing up had to do the pancake and crepe cooking on Sunday mornings. We also had to do second and third batch-of-smelt frying, because my Dad was Busy Eating (half of the first batch of smelt, that is).

By: jessiev

jessiev — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:19:16 +0000

we used to catch smelt in lake michigan with my grampa, when we were little. HUGE schools of them, running by. it was a phone call that would alert you to the fact that they were around, and then you’d hurry and grab up the nets, etc. and then go down - lake michigan would be COLD but you’d stand there and snag a bunch. come home, wash them off, and cook ‘em. it was THE BEST.

By: Dan Shiovitz

Dan Shiovitz — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:25:47 +0000

This is a good post but it fails to address the smelt it/dealt it issue.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:18:11 +0000

I’m not sure where to find smelt on this coast, but the concept of “fish fries” is a great motivator.

By: Holly Ferguson

Holly Ferguson — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:55:49 +0000

YUM! I wait for smelt every year—thought I might have seen some at Mutual Fish last weekend but alas, too early—not so any longer! I like them dipped in flour briefly sauteed in olive oil (not too crispy) then served with chopped arbequina olives & parsley. Somewhat of an homemade homage to a delicious smelt I had at Union about 4 years ago.

By: denise (chez danisse)

denise (chez danisse) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:11:05 +0000

my favorite aunt used to make these for us, just as you described. i haven’t had them in ages… i’ll have to go out searching.