Jamaican Crispy Oven-baked Sprats (Paleo, Low Fat, Low Carb)

"These oven-baked sprats are the perfect Jamaican appetizer, so good they low carb and great to snack on"

Calling all the seafood and fish lovers! You'll love this one featuring sprats.

Sprats are the least popular oil-enriched fish but over the past few years, they have begun to gain their much-deserved recognition.

Learn how to cook sprats Jamaican style:

• 500 g of sprats can use another species of small fish
• 1-2 tbsp of all purpose seasoning
• Fresh lime for cleaning the fish

 

METHOD:

1. Pre heat oven at 180c/gas mark 4/350f and line a tray with parchment paper.
2. Place the sprats in a colander and squeeze fresh lime over the fish.
3. Use your hands to massage/coat the fish with the lime then run cold water over the colander to rinse off the lime then thoroughly pat dry with a paper towel.
4. Use a knife to gut the fish, to gut the fish, make an incision in the belly and cut from the tail end to the head of the fish.
5. Use the knife to scrap out the guts and gently pull to remove the bones, if it breaks, just remove in two parts.
6. Rinse one more time to ensure all the insides have been completely removed and dry with a paper towel. Make sure the fish are thoroughly dry as they won't crisp well if wet.
7. Transfer the sprats to a large bowl then sprinkle the all purpose seasoning in, how much seasoning is your discretion. I used approximately 2 tbsp and a small amount of excess. Just make sure all the sprats are coated well.
8. Lay the sprats onto the baking tray in a single layer, don't overcrowd.
9. Bake sprats in the oven for 40-45 minutes, check frequently to ensure they don't burn, they should to dark and crisp to the touch.
10. Serve with a side of veggies.

 

NOTES:

• Be generous when seasoning the fish, I don't usually measure, just sprinkle and massage everything in. At a guess, I use somewhere between 1-2 heaped tablespoons. No oil is required as the sprats are generally quite oily and bake nicely in their own omega fatty oils.
• If using frozen fish be sure to thaw out completely before proceeding with gutting.
• Gutting the fish can be time-consuming especially if it is your first time doing it. Allocate some time for gutting, approximately 20-30 minutes
• To save time, prep the fish the night before and then wrap and refrigerate