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Smelt

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 kg smelt
• water (as needed)
• salt (a little)
• onions (a little)
• allspice (a little)
• bay leaf (a little)
• 75 g bacon, finely diced
• 2 tbsp butter
• flour (for roux) (a little)
• fish water (as needed)
• sharp vinegar (a little)
• sugar (a little)

Instructions

1. About 1 kg smelt is enough for 4 people.
2. Smelt are neither scaled nor gutted, but only thoroughly washed several times and drained in a sieve.
3. Cook them until soft in water with salt, onions, allspice, and a bay leaf.
4. For the sauce, render 75 g finely diced bacon in a pan without browning it too much, add 2 tablespoons butter, and prepare a roux (browned flour and fat) that you then thin with fish water and boil until clear.
5. Season the sauce with sharp vinegar and sugar, then strain it through a sieve.
6. Finally, return the smelt to the sauce and bring it to a boil once more.

Modernized from a treasured 19th-century German cookbook.