How Do You Eat Sprats? Easily Explained

Sprats: what’s the best way to eat them?

Sprats are small fish found in both the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. They are fatty fish that reach sizes between 10 and 20 centimeters. There are many ways to best prepare and eat sprats.

• The Kiel Sprat is the most traditional and well-known preparation of fish. The golden yellow color of the Kiel Sprat is created by the smoking process. It tastes best in this form of preparation when it comes fresh from the smoke.
• There is also the option of pickling the sprats in herbs. They are then prepared in a similar way to anchovies, i.e. heavily salted and fermented anchovies, which, however, are not suitable for direct consumption due to their intensity. The salted, fermented sprats pickled in herbs taste much milder.
• Not only smoked and pickled but also fresh sprats are good to eat. Usually, the fresh fish is fried or baked.
• For frying, the rinsed sprats should be coated in flour and seasoned with salt and pepper. They can then be fried in oil in either a pot or deep fryer until they are golden brown in color. Before eating, you can sprinkle a few squeezes of lemon juice on the fish.
• Sprats are also very good for grilling. Brush the small fish with oil and place them on the grill for two minutes. Finally seasoned with salt and herbs, the sprats are very good to eat.
• For each form of preparation, the sprat can be eaten as a whole fish or filleted. It is typically eaten with the head and tail, as the bones are very soft, especially with Kiel sprats fresh from the smoke.
• To fillet, however, you can simply pinch along the sprat’s belly with your thumb and forefinger, pinch off the tail, and then simply pull out the main bone.