Whitebait Fritters

Ingredients

The whitebait

• 400 gfresh whitebait
• New Zealand galaxiid whitebait
• or another whitebait
• see the notes on the fishery
• drained thoroughly

The binder

• 3eggs
• or 2 eggs and 1 extra white
• a good pinch of salt
• white pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoonplain flour
• optional, and debated

For frying

• 50 gbutter
• or a mixture of butter and oil
• a heavy frying pan

To serve

• lemon wedges
• white bread and butter
• flaky sea salt
• a cold beer or a crisp white wine

Directions

1. Drain it in a fine sieve thoroughly. Do not press hard or it breaks up. Beat the eggs lightly with a fork. Do not whisk the eggs to a foam.
2. Add the salt and the white pepper. Add the flour now if you are using it. Whisk it in until completely smooth. Fold them in rather than stirring at all.
3. Mix only until the egg coats everything. Cook it immediately once mixed. Use a heavy cast iron frying pan. Heat the pan over a medium heat. Add the butter and let it foam. Butter is genuinely traditional here.
4. Add a little oil to stop it burning. The heat must be moderate, not fierce. Ladle the mixture into the pan.
5. Make fritters about ten centimetres across. Both are done across New Zealand. Cook only two or three at a time. These cook in a matter of minutes. Turn them carefully, since they are fragile. Give them a minute on the second side.
6. Serve them with wedges of lemon. Sprinkle a little flaky salt over them. Serve white bread and butter alongside. A cold beer suits them very well.
7. Use the fish the day you buy it. Freeze it in small flat portions. Never refreeze thawed whitebait.

Technique

• New Zealand whitebait are juveniles of several galaxiid species, four of which have conservation concerns. Spawning happens in riverbank vegetation timed to spring tides, and that habitat has been widely drained, cleared and grazed; culverts and weirs block adult fish from upstream habitat, and water quality has declined in many catchments. Fishing pressure compounds all of it. The fishery is regulated with a short spring season and tightening rules. The atlas has no current stock assessment to give — they change and differ by river — but the honest position is that this is a threatened fishery and a short-season delicacy, not a staple. Buy from a licensed source.
• There should be far more fish than egg. The egg binds; it is not the body of the fritter. A fritter that tastes of omelette has missed the point entirely, and given what whitebait costs, that is a real waste.
• Drain the whitebait thoroughly and pat it dry, especially if it has been frozen. The water it carries thins the egg, stops it setting, and steams the fritter instead of frying it.
• Do not overcook. Two minutes on the first side and one on the second is all they need. Overcooked, the egg turns rubbery and the delicate fish dries out — take them out while the centre is just set and still moist.
• Fold the whitebait in gently and cook immediately. The fish break up easily, and standing lets water leach out and thin the mixture.
• Use white pepper rather than black. Black pepper shows as dark specks in a pale, delicate fritter.
• There is a genuine argument about the recipe. Purists insist on egg and whitebait alone — no flour, no onion, no herbs — on the grounds that anything added dilutes an expensive and delicate fish. Others add a spoonful of flour, chopped spring onion, or whipped egg whites for lightness. The atlas gives the plain version and records the argument without ranking the variations.
• Whitebait stands on the West Coast are inherited and fishing spots are closely guarded. A gift of whitebait is genuinely significant, and the dish is a treat rather than everyday food.

Substitutions

• Frozen whitebait replaces fresh and works well; thaw it slowly in the fridge and drain it very thoroughly.
• Other whitebait — European, or the sprat and herring juveniles sold elsewhere — can be cooked the same way, and the atlas does not pretend the result is the same fish.
• A spoonful of flour helps the fritter hold together, at the cost of purity.
• Separating the eggs and folding in whipped whites gives a lighter, puffier fritter.
• Clarified butter or a butter and oil mixture stops the butter burning.
• Finely chopped spring onion is added by some cooks and objected to by others.

Variations

• One large pan-sized fritter, cut into wedges, is at least as common as small individual ones.
• A whitebait sandwich, the fritter folded into buttered white bread, is how it is most often eaten on the West Coast.
• Some cooks make a whitebait omelette rather than a fritter, with more egg and a gentler cook.
• Whitebait is also served simply pan-fried in butter with no egg at all.
• Caribbean tri tri and titiwi fritters use tiny river fish in a seasoned batter, a quite different treatment of a similar catch.
• Spanish chanquetes and Italian bianchetti are fried whole in their own traditions, both now restricted for the same conservation reasons.

History

Whitebait are juvenile galaxiid fish caught in a short regulated spring season on West Coast rivers, with several species now threatened.

Frequently asked questions

What is Whitebait Fritters?

Whitebait Fritters is a main from New Zealand: delicate egg fritters packed with tiny whole whitebait, West Coast delicacy. Whitebait are juvenile galaxiid fish caught in a short regulated spring season on West Coast rivers, with several species now threatened.

How long does Whitebait Fritters take to make?

Whitebait Fritters takes 10 minutes of preparation and 10 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Whitebait Fritters?

Yes, within limits. Frozen whitebait replaces fresh and works well; thaw it slowly in the fridge and drain it very thoroughly. Other whitebait — European, or the sprat and herring juveniles sold elsewhere — can be cooked the same way, and the atlas does not pretend the result is the same fish. A spoonful of flour helps the fritter hold together, at the cost of purity. Separating the eggs and folding in whipped whites gives a lighter, puffier fritter. Clarified butter or a butter and oil mixture stops the butter burning. Finely chopped spring onion is added by some cooks and objected to by others.

What is the most important thing to get right in Whitebait Fritters?

Drain it in a fine sieve thoroughly. Do not press hard or it breaks up. Beat the eggs lightly with a fork. Do not whisk the eggs to a foam.