• Pre heat oven at 180c/gas mark 4/350f 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.