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BLANK » Recipe Index » Caribbean Dishes

Jamaican Crispy Oven Baked Sprats (Paleo, Low Fat, Low Carb)

March 3, 2020 by Charla 10 Comments

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These sprats are crispy and baked to perfection in the oven, making them a healthy option

These sprats are a bite sized Caribbean delicacy and incredibly moorish. Generously seasoned with my very own homemade all purpose seasoning and baked to a golden crisp. They make the perfect appetiser or healthy snack - the choice is yours!

These sprats are crispy and baked to perfection in the oven, making them a healthy option
Oven baked sprats

Sprats on a blue plate

Calling all seafood and fish lovers, this is a roll call for my avid fish fans because you will love this new dish that I created featuring sprats.

Now sprats are the least popular oil enriched fish, but over the last few years, sprats are beginning to gain some recognition.

What Are Sprats?

Before I delve into this super duper easy recipe to hand, first let me tell what a sprat is. Sprats are very small, long in length and quite thin in size.

The fish comes from the European sea region and is available whole, salted or canned.

My grandmother was the person who first introduced these miniature fish to me.

I remember seeing her come home from the market with large quantities of exotic fish, most of which she would freeze and thaw out to add to soup or steam with some Caribbean root vegetables.

One thing that made me squeamish was when she'd gut the fish, nowadays you can get the fishmonger to do it.

My grandmother specifically wanted me to learn how to gut a fish using her method so she would buy the fish not gutted and show me how to do it.

Ingredients you will need

  • Sprats: I brought a kilo bag of sprats that were frozen and ungutted. They need to be cleaned prior to baking in the oven.
  • All Purpose Seasoning: I used my Homemade All Purpose Seasoning which is very easy to make. Alternatively, my Seafood Seasoning Recipe is also suitable to use for this recipe.
  • Lime: For cleaning the sprats with

How To Make Crispy Oven Baked Sprats

  • Preheat oven at 180C/356F/gas mark 4 and line a tray with parchment paper.

Steps 1-2 rinsing the sprats

  • Place the sprats in a colander and squeeze fresh lime over the fish.
  • 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.

steps 5-6 final rinse of sprats

  • 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.
  • Use the knife to scrape out the guts and gently pull to remove the bones, if it breaks, just remove in two parts.

steps 5-6 final rinse of sprats

  • 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.

steps 5-6 final rinse of sprats

  • Transfer the sprats to a large bowl then sprinkle the all purpose seasoning in along with some black pepper and pink salt, how much seasoning is your discretion. I used approximately 2 tablespoon of all purpose seasoning and a small amount of excess. Just make sure all the sprats are coated well.
  • Lay the sprats onto the baking tray in a single layer, don't overcrowd.
  • Bake sprats in the oven for 40-45 minutes, check frequently to ensure they don't burn, they should be dark and crispy to the touch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Need To Clean The Inside of The Sprats?

Yes you do. Although sprats vary in size - small to medium, their petite nature makes them much more easier to clean.

Interestingly, you won't find them gutted at the fishmonger because it's such a tedious task plus, as mentioned, you can do it yourself.

It's not difficult I can promise you that and I hate cleaning fish.

Is There An Alternative To Sprats If I Can't Get Hold of Them?

 Yes, if you cannot get hold of any sprats use another small fish such as sardines or whitebait as an alternative. Most importantly the fish have to be small enough to become crispy in the oven.

Notes and Tips

  • 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

Close up of the sprats

Serving Suggestions

  • Caribbean Style Caramelized Onions
  • Oven Baked Plantain
  • Green Banana Mash
  • Bammy

Other Seafood Recipes You Should Try

  • Baked Hake Fillets
  • Saltfish Turn Cornmeal
  • Salt Fish Fried Rice
  • Jamaican Saltfish Fritters
  • Crispy Oven Baked Prawn Fritters
  • Spicy Sweet Shrimp and Plantain

**Don't forget to comment below and star rate if you have tried my recipes. Let's be friends and engage on Facebook and Instagram I also like to pin on Pinterest, where you can find more amazing recipes.**

sprats on a plate

Jamaican Crispy Oven Baked Sprats

These oven baked sprats are the perfect Jamaican appetiser, so good they low carb and great to snack on
4.84 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetiser
Cuisine: Jamaican
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 211kcal
Author: Charla

Ingredients

  • 500 g of sprats can use another species of small fish (1lb)
  • 1-2 tablespoon of all purpose seasoning see post
  • black pepper and pink salt to taste
  • ** fresh lime for cleaning the fish

Instructions

  • Preheat oven at 180C/356F/gas mark 4 and line a tray with parchment paper.
  • Place the sprats in a colander and squeeze fresh lime over the fish.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Use the knife to scrape out the guts and gently pull to remove the bones, if it breaks, just remove in two parts.
  • 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.
  • Transfer the sprats to a large bowl then sprinkle the all purpose seasoning in along with the black pepper and pink salt, how much seasoning is your discretion. I used approximately 2 tablespoon of all purpose seasoning and a small amount of excess. Just make sure all the sprats are coated well.
  • Lay the sprats onto the baking tray in a single layer, don't overcrowd.
  • Bake sprats in the oven for 40-45 minutes, check frequently to ensure they don't burn, they should be dark and crispy to the touch.
  • Serve with a side of veggies.

Air fryer version

  • Skip the first step then follow the instructions to step 7.
  • Preheat the air fryer
  • Place the sprats in the air fryer basket (you may need to do this in batches)
  • Air fry @200C/400F for up to 20 minutes or until completely crispy (turning halfway through.

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

Nutrition

Calories: 211kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 334mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Calcium: 409mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @ThatGirlCooksHealthy or tag #ThatGirlCooksHealthy!

More Caribbean Dishes

  • A bowl of different chopped fruit
    Tropical Fruit Salad
  • 2 glasses of mauby with ice
    Homemade Mauby Drink (Caribbean Bark Beverage)
  • 2 snapper with yuca and oranges garnished
    Baked Snapper (Mojo Style)
  • 2 sea bream on a platter
    Sea Bream Recipe (Air Fried)

About Charla

I'm Charla. Caribbean foodie & Certified Health Coach. Welcome to the heaven of gluten and dairy free recipes as well as modernised healthier alternatives to some of your favourite Caribbean recipes.

Comments

  1. Nola says

    February 06, 2024 at 6:11 pm

    5 stars
    Real Jamaicans know about sprats, mi love dem bad bad bad.

    Reply
    • Charla says

      February 09, 2024 at 7:31 am

      Yuh dun know!

      Reply
  2. Melly says

    January 31, 2024 at 9:24 pm

    4 stars
    Easy recipe to follow, thanks Charla.

    Reply
    • Charla says

      February 02, 2024 at 7:33 am

      You are welcome.

      Reply
  3. Stanley says

    August 08, 2021 at 2:36 pm

    5 stars
    Great recipe! You don't have to gut the fish though, if you're not willing to put in the effort. As with other whitebait you can eat the fish as a whole 🙂

    Reply
    • Charla says

      August 08, 2021 at 3:11 pm

      No problem. Thank you Stanley!

      Reply
  4. Sanna says

    May 23, 2020 at 9:48 pm

    5 stars
    We bought half a kilo of sprats and had to use them up today. When I was standing there and gutting the fish, I thought this will never ever turn out well. I also forgot to completely dry the fish. When I put them into the oven, I immediately sensed a nice smell. To my big surprise, the sprats were delicious and my partner and I ate the whole lot.

    Reply
    • Charla says

      May 23, 2020 at 9:54 pm

      Thanks for the feedback Sanna. I'm really happy to hear that you and your partner devoured the lot!

      Reply
  5. Richard FENNELL says

    November 13, 2018 at 5:16 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you, as a Francophile living in France for 25 years, today I came across a fishmonger selling 'Spats Fumè'. As I originate from London, working in the East End and also at Hastings on the South Coast, I used to eat thousands of these little critters. This is the first time for me in France and as time has passed by I found your recipe on the net to remind me how to prepare the Spats. I found it so useful.

    Reply
    • Charla says

      November 13, 2018 at 5:29 pm

      From one sprat lover to another many thanks for your comments. Glad you found the recipe useful.

      Reply
4.84 from 6 votes (1 rating without comment)

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Hey, I'm Charla!

I'm an avid Caribbean foodie. Welcome to the haven of gluten and dairy free recipes as well as modernised healthier alternatives to some of your favourite Caribbean recipes.

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