Beer Battered Smelt with Homemade Tartar Sauce
Crispy beer-battered smelt with homemade tartar sauce — classic, crunchy, and delicious. Perfect for a tasty snack or meal. Try it today!
Beer Battered Smelt with Homemade Tartar Sauce
By Walleye Direct
Prep time:
1 hour (includes resting the batter)
Cook time:
30 minutes
Servings:
4
Ingredients
- 1 pound smelt, cleaned
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- Vegetable or canola oil for deep frying
- Lemon wedges
- For the beer batter:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 to 1¼ cups light beer, plus extra
- For the tartar sauce:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 shallot, minced
- ¼ cup minced dill pickle
- Splash of pickle juice
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
- Juice of half a lemon, or to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the beer batter ingredients to combine — some lumps are OK. It should be runnier than pancake batter; add more beer if needed. Cover and refrigerate the batter for 1 hour to rest.
- In a small bowl, combine the tartar sauce ingredients, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- In a saucepan or deep fryer, heat 1½ to 2 inches of oil to 350°F. If the beer batter has separated, give it a gentle stir.
- While the oil heats, lightly coat the smelt in all-purpose flour, shaking off excess. Dip each fish into the beer batter, letting excess drip off, then carefully drop into the hot oil one by one and fry until golden brown on all sides. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with tartar sauce and lemon wedges. Tip: watch the oil temperature — too low and the fish turns oily, too high and the oil burns. Fry in small batches and serve right away, or keep warm in a 200°F oven (not too long).
