Kieler Sprotten

Kieler Sprotten belong to the northern coast, Schleswig-Holstein first, the Baltic before any beer hall gets a word in. They sit on the table as Abendbrot, the evening bread meal, or as a cold weeknight supper with rye, butter, onion, and a sharp beer. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders: in the north you eat the little fish whole, head and tail if they're tender; farther inland people start fussing with knives. Let them fuss.

The argument is mostly over the name and the eating. Kiel claims the fame, Eckernförde and the nearby coast did much of the smoking, and every household has its line on whether the head stays on. I keep them whole because Weggeworfen wird nichts, and because a properly smoked sprat is small enough that the bones soften and the fat carries the smoke.

One technique decides it: dry the brined fish until the skin is tacky before they go into the smoke. Wet fish takes smoke badly. The surface weeps, the colour goes patchy, and the taste turns sharp instead of clean. Dry fish catches the beech smoke evenly and turns gold-brown without falling apart.

Keep the heat gentle. This is not grilling. Runter mit der Temperatur, let the smoke do its work, and stop when the flesh is cooked through and the skin shines. Das braucht seine Zeit, but not much money.