The people we have met have been very generous. We have been offered Salmon, Halibut, and Moose roast in the 6 weeks or so we have been here. This weekend we were given a fish called Hooligan. I am spelling it phonetically because I was unable to find the correct spelling on line. It is also known as Smelt. Eric told me only the locals eat this fish and if there was any way I could avoid getting it- I should. I was unable to turn down our neighbors generosity and ended up with the bag of Smelt. My thought was; When in Rome... and Waste not... I also wished the son in laws were around. Maybe they would have helped me eat them. But I was on my own.





My neighbor said to cook them whole by rolling them in flour and frying them. If I was going to tempt my family to eat them, I needed to do better than that. So I cleaned the little guys and snipped off their little tails. There were a few females and the egg sacks gave me pause, maybe I don't want to clean these? This is the first time I have ever cleaned a fish, so if anything I learned a new skill.

Here they are, cleaned up and ready to be seasoned. First I sprinkled salt and pepper on the inside. Then rolled them in lemon juice and bread crumbs before frying them in butter.

Nate said they smelled really good which gave me hope that my family would actually eat them. But what doesn't smell good frying in butter? Their little spines came right out and they cooked very quickly. Prior to offering a bite to my family, I took a bite. They tasted like the ocean smells. The flavor was very strong and not wanting to prejudice my children against fish, I didn't offer it to them. I think they are fine to eat but I would definitely cook them differently next time. They were a lot of effort for very little meat.