How I Handle the Smelt I'm Dealt | Kenji's Cooking Show

[@phronsiekeys]

"oil can sense fear," -- the perfect way to describe that situation

[@CustardCream33]

The irony of this comment 😆

[@riuphane]

"it's kind of like lowering a toddler into a hot tub, you don't wanna just toss them in. I guess sometimes i just toss them in..." Spoken like a true father. I can relate. Lol.

[@dizzyboy92]

The toddler. Never the frystuff

[@netherane]

The cut to the frying sounds on that had me DYING

[@pBlackcoat]

Come for the cooking advice, stay for the parenting advice

[@Zach-h2l]

i was thinking, isnt it literally a thing, to throw your like, infant baby, face down into a pool so they can learn how to harness their mamalian drowning reflex or whatever tf people do?

[@riuphane]

@@Zach-h2l I'm not qualified to talk about that, but I know there is a thing around that, though probably not quite as extreme as the image evoked here. Lol

[@karlb8481]

Love that you share local stuff that connects with people from Seattle to the Great Lakes to Northern Europe and beyond.

[@rhysarcher]

We catch these on the coast, not too far from where Kenji lives. Grew up cooking them like this, but an indigenous friend of ours showed us you can roast them on the fire like a hot dog, and the fillets peal off. Cooked that way they’re one of my favourite meals

[@heruhcanedean]

When I was a kid we would dip net for them. Then freeze them to use for bait to catch shad. Then freeze the shad to use as white sturgeon bait. These days sturgeon are so protected I haven't eaten one I over 14 years.

[@SoleEpiphany]

they are great salted and and dried then fried up and ate on homemade bread like we do with capelin here in NL. I always preferred the males as opposed to the females that we call spawnies though 🤣

[@fuzziemunkey]

I have many childhood memories of catching rainbow smelt here in michigan. We would dip net and catch hundreds of them. The whole family cleaned them together and we froze the excess after frying up a bunch. So dang good with just flour coating, salt and lemon!

[@hdsnow7049]

This! Frying fresh smelt at 3am with the family after being up all night catching and cleaning them. School was tough the day after. Never ate the eggs as Kenji references that sounds interesting.

[@zimzim7]

Do you scale them or just chomp em?

[@hdsnow7049]

@@zimzim7 no scaling. Just like the video. 1 slice, 1 wipe done. We did thousands.

[@hdsnow7049]

@@zimzim7 Not eco-friendly but we would light a tire up. The smelt liked the light and would fill our nets. The good ol' days.

[@VEC7ORlt]

Oh hey, in Lithuania we have an annual Smelt Festival in the winter, glad to see its also prepared almost the same way on the other side of the pond!

[@Zach-h2l]

i cant remember ever hearing anyone who isnt british or Irish referring to the US as the other side of the pond. id think someone lithuanian using that phrase would be talking about like, norweigians or something lol

[@Whatsinanameanyway13]

Smelt used to be available as bar food around here (Illinois) but haven't seen them around in years. My Dad loved them, and when I finally got the courage to try one I loved them as well. Even cold as leftovers sitting around a campfire they were delicious.

[@JohnnyKnoxvil]

Absolute banger of a title, had truly no idea where it was going at first 😂

[@JohnDoe-xo2yf]

I thought he’s gona forge something

[@asyouwish3992]

Yeah, my first thought was ‘he who smelt it, dealt it.’ 🤦‍♂️

[@glitteringdystop1a]

I thought he had some special trick for cutting down on more unpleasant cooking odors…

[@equinox7839]

Poor Jamón looking up hungry the whole time. 😆

[@mattwojciak3525]

Jamón wanted one of them fishies so bad.

[@DuckyB]

Great video! I remember going to the annual smelt frys when I lived in Michigan in the 70’s. They were huge festival like meals where you ate and drank too much. Thanks for the memories!

[@southfork40]

Great! My Uncle Jack and I went smelt dippin' in the '70s in Au Gres, MI. The Au Gres river passed under highway 23 at the "Singin' Bridge there. The river was really just ditch-like coming in off Saginaw Bay. Wasn't deep which allowed us dippers to wade in with our waders on - about 2-3 feet deep. We all parked up the side and claimed a spot down below. I waded in with Jack's net, scooped up 20-30 at a time and pitched them to Jack at the water's edge who caught them with a small bucket. Later we took our catch just down the highway to a roadside park, fried them over a wood fire just like Kenji with a flour dredge. Couldn't get them any fresher and tastier and washed down with cold beers.

[@mrkattm]

I grew up in Michigan and use to go Smelting (smelt dipping with a net) all the time, actually we called it Smelt drinking because you usually are just sitting around drinking beer waiting for them to run and when they do you can scoop them up by the 5 gallon bucket loads. We cooked them the same way although we do clip off the heads as well as gut them but the rest is the same.

[@ChurchladyHmm]

Me too! I haven't seen these in so long

[@lnewbyliveca]

Yeh they are a fresh water fish……not common on the coast

[@Graemyr]

Idk if it's just a Portuguese thing, but Holy (Maundy?) Thursday we'd always have a big fish-centered meal with plenty of fried smelt just like these! It's a highlight of my year, and absolutely delicious.

[@brendathorpe6179]

Bringing back memories of my childhood in the finger lakes in CNY. creekbeds running black with smelt in the middle of the night, standing at the bucket using my thumb to clean hundreds of smelt and that pleasant crunch as we gobbled em down all crispy just like you made them! 😊

[@tavern.keeper]

Smelt is popular in Wisconsin. Every year during smelt season, I see signs go up all over the place advertising smelt.

[@libber21]

Love me a WI smelt fry. Like fish french fries

[@ABlindHilbily]

Growing up in the finger lakes area of NY the smelt run was a special time of year. I miss those days. I haven't had any in years.

[@franstatik01]

I’m from the east coast of Canada and smelts is a winter thing that we love! Usually fried up in someone garage! They’re delicious

[@stevenagy7152]

The BEST of the little feeshes, and yeah, the roe is fantastic. The dog knows this 100%!

[@spudnut00]

Makes me think of being a kid in Michigan (back in the fifties).. Lots of talk at a certain time of year when the "smelt are running on the Au Sable River". We cooked them exactly as you do but I don't think we were fancy enough for lemons or limes. Now I *am*!

[@Flexicokerboy]

Hearing Kenji say butthole made my day

[@Rtttn]

I did not enjoy it.

[@ChiefHasben]

Your everything skills on cooking anything imaginable are impeccable. Thanks so much for sharing your incredible cooking knowledge with all of us.

[@stellaz2595]

Smelt is something we have in the Great Lakes in the spring.

[@poyp]

Years ago here in Michigan, it was a spring tradition to go Smelt "dipping". The Smelt would be so thick in the creeks that you could just scoop them out with a net. You could fill a 5 gallon pail in a few minutes.

[@tomelko]

Even if you didn’t go smelting, someone who did would give you a few pounds.

[@micamp45hc99]

I remember smelt dipping in Leelanau County in my younger days. Much beer was consumed on those trips! Maybe time to go again!

[@jamesjones5497]

I grew up eating smelt here in Ohio. They were super cheap at the grocery store when they were in season. I haven't seen them at the grocery store in decades. Did they get over fished out of the Great Lakes or something?

[@NanA-lm5ox]

Same in Wisconsin, although to eat them whole I prefer them much smaller. We called it smelting.

[@vincej6094]

Yup - we did the same in Wisconsin. It was awesome firing up the grill and cooking them as you catch them. And here it was always tradition for someone to bite the head off of the first one caught each night. Great times with great friends.

[@szs839083]

Ah "The Smelt I'm Dealt", the long-awaited sequel to "Green Eggs and Ham".

[@MusicialInsomnia]

The smell I fear Was frighteningly queer Rancid and bitter Like something meant for the litter. Oh the regret I felt Eggs should not be green I screamed As the ham did as it pleased. Now sore and defeated I knelt over and bleated “Never again, not on a melt nor to loosen my belt will I ever acquiesce to create the smelt I’ve been dealt”. (Second bit feels a little weak but hopefully y’all get a laugh out of it)

[@Anvekeen]

​hehe good job ! 😂 @@MusicialInsomnia

[@TheNorwoodCat]

We used to dip for smelt all the time back home! Love them.

[@dychui]

Loved this video !! I prefer the horizontal format, thank you sir for always teaching us so much !

[@profspur9490]

This was my grandma’s favorite snack. Some of my best memories of time spent with her were eating fried smelts at Wholey’s fish market in Pittsburgh.

[@masamunesword]

You got some good friends there. Likely those smelt are eulachon from the recent two days of smelt dipping on the Cowlitz River we had. Very limited fishery and was very short notice this year.

[@jamesdriscoll_tmp1515]

The Sandy river used to get a nice run of smelt in the spring.

[@zepwarren2995]

I live in dukuth mn and smelt season is coming up soon. People catch so many on park beach. I've heard if it's you're first time smelting you have to bit ethe head off one of the first smelt you catch

[@kmoecub]

Dipping for Smelt is a cherished childhood memory. We'd clean them about half of the time, dredge them in cornmeal after dipping in egg, and fry them in bacon grease. For garnish we'd often have a whole Dungeness Crab.

[@eddhernandez9410]

Brings back memories of a trip to Boston. Went to a local place and fried smelt was the special and it was wonderful. I would like to try this recipe it looks so easy.

[@michaeloneill3380]

Great video. Thanks. I think there are two kinds of smelts. Fresh water smelts are quite a bit smaller than the ones you were given. They are literally the size of french fries. The salt water smelts are larger. We get them both here in Maine. You can usually get the salt water ones at the fish markets here in the winter. I clean them with scissors cutting from the vent to the head as you did but I then use the scissors and snip the heads off. Fresh water or salt water smelts are great. They have a delicate flavor. The fins are extra crunchy, and you never taste or feel any of the bones.

[@scottmclagan4276]

Awesome... brings back childhood memories. Smelts are yum.

[@call_me_ping]

I want to cook fresh smelt sooooo badly! Thanks for the great instructional video!

[@shawnmann753]

So happy Kenji ate it whole For those who want a little more crunch I tend to fry them dry (harder)as we say in the islands and then we put a Spicy Pickle vinegar on top

[@alextzhu]

Love the shoutout for Sushi Kappo Tamura - super underrated spot!

[@russergee49]

Grew up in a Canadian-Greek family, on the west coast, and my mom used to cook up the smelts that my uncle would catch. I’m pretty sure she did it the exact same way you described, which makes me nostalgic.

[@TheRedRacoonDog]

I live in a small town in West Virginia and we have a Catholic festival every December called Feast of the Seven Fishes and I always looked forward to the fried smelt more than anything. Nothing beats walking around downtown at Christmas time while eating a few fried fish.

[@mcbiohazard892]

When I was a kid, I used to fish smelt with my dad on the docks on the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge with rods. We'd bait 4 or 5 hooks at a time per rod and it was fun seeing if we could snatch a full load on each pull. They do deep fry very well but they're also still good in a pan fry with a much lighter coat of batter if you don't want to handle the cleanup.

[@Ibrahim-se6fy]

Thanks for the video, Kenji! I never request recipes, but I'm wondering if you can make a video on Hainanese chicken rice. I recently had it for the first time and it blew me away.

[@_asyncify2543]

Grew up in the UP where the early spring we'd catch these in dip nets and roast them over a campfire. When I was in Northern Japan camping I was told they pretty much do the exact same thing. Felt like a pretty cool thing to have in common.

[@margieseeley3893]

That was a flash back to my childhood when Mom fried up some smelt. I loved them. Never saw them again .🙁

[@vincej6094]

Grew up smelting in Wisconsin out of Lake Michigan. You would use dip nets and on a good night you could fill up 5 gallon bucket in no time at all. The small ones are so much better than those big suckers, especially if you intend on eating them whole.

[@CssHDmonster]

kenji, i would love u to try cooking carp, i feel like its one of the hardest fish to cook purely due to the strong swamp flavour

[@classicbandgeek]

We always get them here in Northern Ontario, Canada - such a treat just like you said: dredged in flour, fried and salted with lemon!

[@coletwitty5504]

Kenji, you should do a video on explaining your kitchen. Everything seems so systematic and optimal!

[@KurtisRader]

When I was young (in the 1970's) we lived near the Sandy, Oregon river (near the city of Troutdale) where there was an annual smelt run. My family would go with a couple of small buckets and catch a few pounds. I haven't had smelt since then but I do eat sardines, herring, and mackerel on a regular basis. I would eat smelt now but they aren't available at any of my nearby grocery stores (not even Whole Paycheck).

[@suzannes5888]

I love fried smelt, with some fresh shiso wrapped around it and a squeeze of lemon - even more so when it's made bye a true sushi master!

[@kettlekorn471]

That brought back memories. The last time we had home cooked smelt was back when we lived in Alaska.🐟

[@francinecorry633]

We had Smelt at a Raw Bar in Healdsburgh Ca. in the heart of wine country,on the menu they were called "fries with eyes" and were a bit smaller than pictured here.Delicious.Your family must be some adventurous eaters!

[@nickdandakis6562]

I grew up eating small whole fried fish in Cyprus and of course, it was only served when a friend or family member had caught extra fish that morning. Smelt, sardines, marida, etc. My grandma would cook them exactly like this, and while it's a completely different experience having them cooked same day, I had surprisingly decent results with a frozen bag of smelt from Costco in the US.

[@blahblahblahblech]

Love it! Look for smelt at your local Asian grocery. I can find them frozen in AZ

[@VulcanLogic]

Holy cow that takes me back. In Michigan Grandpa always used to drop a few pounds on us every spring.

[@carolez8582]

Fried fresh caught smelt is extremely popular in Minnesota. Wonderful fish!

[@philiprudd1697]

The Portuguese "sardinhas" are a bit bigger fish, but similarly cooked extremely fresh and super simple (generally grilled, around Lisbon), and are similarly sublime. Also, the tradition around Chicago for the brief smelt season was for the fisherman to take the first smelt from the net and immediately bite the head off.

[@dogoku]

I love mackerel. My all time favorite Japanese izakaya dish is vinegared mackerel. Or a smoked mackerel pate with some rustic toasted bread

[@Pammellam]

I think smelt are wakasagi/ワカサギ in Japanese. I also love them too. We get them a little smaller in size in my area. I do not gut them at all. I have never felt the need to do that. But, as I said, MK e are smaller. But just like Kenji, I lightly coat them jn flour and deep fry them. A little bit of salt and I am good to go.

[@Doktracy]

As a little child,I went smelt fishing in Duluth with my grandfather. My grandmother cooked them and I remember really liking them. I can’t get them in NC.

[@crimsonrose]

Oh lord that first crunch made me so hungry! 🤤

[@crackpiipe]

I've hated fish my entire life, tried it over and over at different ages growing up, it never got better, but that first crunch damn near made me go get a fishingrod

[@Porkcfish]

We got these by the ton in northern New York state. We'd get up at three in the morning, go to Lake Ontario, get the waders on and cast the nets. We'd fill so many five-gallon buckets. Dad would pour them in the bath tub. Mom and I would spend the whole day cleaning them. And cutting the heads off. Dad didn't like heads on his food. Then we'd dry them off, wrap them and freeze them. We did them in batter and fried them. That's probably a regional thing.

[@AaronWilsonAnarchy]

Smelt is popular in Michigan, especially Up North. I remember them being smaller, however.

[@nikkifoster525]

My Newfie family does them exactly this way! Hard to find in Toronto though... Nom nom nom ❤

[@billswart2022]

Fond memories of dip netting these out of Lake Michigan as a teenager with my friends; not so fond memories of cleaning buckets of them when we got home, but great eating! Eat those tails!

[@Loonypapa]

Smelts have been part of my family's Christmas Eve every year for the last 31 years (save for 2021). My wife's family have been doing them for 60+ years.

[@pierre6625]

Thank you for the informative recipe. I love smelts and the way you prepared them. May I suggest the same exact recipe you showed to us but deep-fried instead of pan-fried? There also very good deep-fried. Love your comment on a very complicated recipe...just flour that's it. Very funny.

[@severinseverin7773]

Definitely reminds me of cooking in Maine. God I wish I could move back, the smelt and every other seafood I love is the best in Down East.😊

[@maggiemac222]

"The oil can sense fear" Kind sir, when are you and Chef John doing a collab?!?!?! It feels like this needs to happen. 🥰

[@LWmusik]

You never see smelt for sale here in sweden, but they do live here so I remember eating it as a kid when we were fishing. And it tasted like... cucumber? Weird but good

[@jeffmolek2]

I only just recently learned smelt are common all over. I thought they were a great lakes fish. We would get hundreds or even thousands when we would go dipping up in Port Huron. The trick to get them cleaned quick was to snip off the head, then to the butthole and then scrape along the spine to get the guts out. We always fried them dredged in those fish fry packs you get from the sporting goods section. I might just try and get out this season so I can try your method!

[@tulleyj3]

Wow, I want to try these now!

[@miseentrope]

The anticipation of Jamón's smelt snack dashed! 💔

[@jaimekaplan4029]

Yes! I wanted Jason to get the last bite

[@loristrong462]

..we used to scoop these out of the river, clean them, fry in cast iron pan & devour them..delicious!!!

[@jacqueslandry2319]

Fries with eyes! My favorite

[@ribhudeb9853]

3:15 Do you have any alternative approaches for the average home kitchen? The ingredients seem a bit hard to find and the technique seems a bit complicated as well 😅

[@ribhudeb9853]

(just in case it’s not clear this is a joke)

[@Moser246]

Hey Keniji! I'd love to see a video on Kalua Pork!

[@3LLT33]

A classic ice fishing catch in eastern Canada!

[@semanj]

Kenji is become the patron saint of smelt fishermen of Portuguese extraction.

[@letXeqX]

aka Alfonzo

[@semanj]

@@letXeqX Get on your feet and do the funky Alfonzo!

[@letXeqX]

@@semanj 😂. I miss fz, would love to hear his thoughts on the sh.t going down these days.

[@letXeqX]

@@semanj Your FZ80 is conceptually brilliant. I'm sure fz would have approved 👍

[@Dexterity_Jones]

I grew up catchin smelts with my father, great little fish to catch when you're a wee sprat.

[@MichelleVRafter]

I grew up in Portland and remember eating these when I was little. Did the local grocery stores carry them? That I don't remember.

[@Longshotforsure]

The feast of the Great Lakes during the dry docking of freighters they would harvest them by the 5 gallon bucket full and into the fryer almost immediately

[@stuntmonkey00]

A childhood memories. You used to be to just toss a net off the shoreline in Vancouver and grab some they were so plentiful.

[@kanoy2457]

Hi Kenji, speaking of fish, I have a recipe request. Have you tried any of the Bengali Fish cuisines? It would be a real surprise for you if you get to know how much Bengalis love fish.

[@cellobarney]

All the taunts have been unspoken so far. This time with the verbal taunt: "I wish you could have them. You probably can't." 😂

[@christopherglen2728]

I never have eaten smelt but I am willing to give it a shot. It a try. Good title lol

[@bouchonaise124135]

i love these, i had aji this way in japan. so tasty.

[@unclebrat]

I grew up with the smelt runs in Minnesota.

[@Krossfyre]

Removing the egg sacs? It's like the best part though! Shisamo and duochunyu are always a delight.

[@pezboy715]

5:47 “I guess SOMETIMES I just chuck ‘em in” 😂

[@BreonNagy]

We used to go smelt dipping at the mouth of the river when I was a kid. We would leave with literally buckets full.

[@maryantczak]

Oh my! My very favorite!❤️

[@aristopleb]

Osmerus eperlanus, btw, for those who want to find a translaiton. Bunch of other fish called smelt out there.

[@donb1183]

Smelt used to be plentiful in the Great Lakes. In the 50s, 60s, 70s and into the 80s you could scoop them up by the hundreds during spawning. They have largely declined with the invasion of zebra mussels. BTW, one of these fish is a "smelt", more then one of them are still "smelt"

[@FordSony13]

Great Depression Cooking With Clara had this recipe! ☺️

[@jvallas]

Ooh, I used to make smelt years ago. Forgot about them. They were frozen and pretty tiny. I have to go on a hunt.

[@bigbird2451]

A fun thing to do with those annoying vegetable stickers... I found a 3/4" ball bearing in the barn and started using it as a place to put them. It's now about the size of a tennis ball and people are amazed at how heavy it is until I tell them what's in the center.

[@thePastafarian88]

Ive never had smelts but i do love a fried sardine with hot sauce 😋

[@JazzWeisman]

Great content, as always! Just curious, What drove your switch from GoPros to the ray bans? Makes for a lot more cuts than previous videos.

[@doctormister169]

Would these be shallow fried in olive oil at a lower heat in the Mediterranean? Correct me if you disagree from a food science and/or health standpoint, but I try to avoid vegetable oil where I can. Totally appreciate this from a technique standpoint!

[@backin80s]

European smelt is quite poppular here in lituania, (cought only in late winter very ealy spring). Do the usa ones have that distinct fresh cucumber smell ?