Ingredients
The open sandwich
- 1 tinsmoked sprats in oil, bought
- 4 slicesdense dark rye bread
- 80 gsalted butter, soft
- 2hard-boiled eggs, sliced
- ½red onion, sliced paper-thin
- 1lemon, in wedges
- black pepper
- a small bunch dill
Optional
- sliced pickled cucumber
- a little mayonnaise
Directions
- Buy the sprats. Smoking and canning them is an industrial process — Latvian sprats have been canned since the nineteenth century and the tin is the product.
- Butter the rye bread thickly and right to the edges. This is not optional: the butter is a barrier that stops the oil soaking straight through, and a Latvian would consider a thin scrape an error.
- Lift the sprats out of the tin with a fork, letting the oil drain off, and lay them side by side across each slice, all facing the same way. They are laid in rows rather than piled.
- Tuck slices of hard-boiled egg between or beside the fish.
- Scatter over the paper-thin onion and a few fronds of dill, and grind over black pepper.
- Finish with a squeeze of lemon just before eating — the acid cuts the oil and the smoke, and squeezed too early it makes the bread soggy.
- Serve immediately, as an open sandwich eaten with a knife and fork or in the hand.
Technique
- Butter thickly. The single most common mistake is treating this as a garnish rather than a structural layer.
- Assemble at the last moment. Rye under oily fish goes soft within minutes.
- Lay the sprats in neat rows. It sounds fussy and it is genuinely how they are served.
Substitutions
- Smoked mackerel or tinned sardines, both of which work though neither has the same smoke.
- Pumpernickel in place of Latvian rye.
Variations
- Mashed with butter and lemon into a paste for spreading, which is common.
- Served on small squares as a canapé with a slice of egg and a caper on each.
History
Smoked sprats packed in oil have been canned in Latvia since the nineteenth century and were a prized delicacy across the Soviet Union.
Frequently asked questions
What is Riga sprats?
Riga sprats is a charcuterie & cured from Latvia: golden oil-packed smoked sprats on buttered bread. Smoked sprats packed in oil have been canned in Latvia since the nineteenth century and were a prized delicacy across the Soviet Union.
How long does Riga sprats take to make?
Riga sprats takes 15 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Riga sprats?
Yes, within limits. Smoked mackerel or tinned sardines, both of which work though neither has the same smoke. Pumpernickel in place of Latvian rye.
What is the most important thing to get right in Riga sprats?
Butter the rye bread thickly and right to the edges. This is not optional: the butter is a barrier that stops the oil soaking straight through, and a Latvian would consider a thin scrape an error.
