Caribbean Men’s Aphrodisiac

Little fish are making a little bit of a comeback this year let us hope that it is going to happen every year. I was also thinking about the Homegrown Music Festival this week also and was reckoning the likeness of the smelt run this year, as an omen of things to come. Well you see this week one of the famous local bands went on national TV and closed up the talk show. As a result, it is again putting Duluth, Minnesota on the international music scene, since the said performance on the talk show could also be viewed in many locations around the planet. With due respect, I found it fitting to share a recipe this week, that is as rare and esteemed as this bountiful year for local music and the recent smelt run. I must also shout out my friend Jim for inviting me to the Magic Smelt event, what a great and wonderful gift of your talent and experience you have shared the city of Duluth. This recipe for deep fried smelt comes the southern parts of the Caribbean as served in a type of establishment known as a Rum Shop; the primary drink served is rum of course, straight up and with a complimentary glass of ice cold water as a chaser. If ever you came to such a bar and ordered a mixed drink such as a rum and coke, you would be frowned upon by the fellow patrons who drank their rum straight up with a chase of water, which for some reason it irritated them and, sometimes this story, would not always have a happy ending. Since we can and cannot rule out the consumption of liquor, for this sort of behavior, I concluded that is must be the type of food that is served to the patrons in these Rum Shops that accounted for the somewhat hot blooded and distempered fellows. Now this recipe uses freshly netted smelt from Lake Superior that has been neatly cut open with a kitchen scissor and the entrails removed with a quick flick of the fingernails. Allow about three pounds of eviscerated and washed smelt to sit in a bit of water with a few drops of lemon juice. Drain, and then add some minced cilantro, salt, pepper, sprinkle of allspice, and half of a habanero pepper that is finely chopped. A few more cloves of crushed garlic to the smelt marinade will complete it, and then you let it sit for at least an hour in the fridge. At this point place a couple cups of white flour on a baking sheet and sprinkle salt, pepper and ground cumin on top of the flour. Roll and dust all the smelt liberally in the flour letting them sit in the flour about ten minutes. An evident thick coat of flour should be somewhat sticky to the touch. Here is where you take all the dusted smelt to very hot fry oil in a skillet about one inch deep. You can also use a traditional deep fryer if you choose to do so. I let the fish fry until very crispy and well done as it is traditionally served, with the heads and tails intact. I eat the whole entire smelt. The fish head goes in one bite and I savor this morsel with intense delight. The bones of the smelt are softer than butter when prepared in this way and you won’t even notice that they are even there. I make a special dipping sauce for the fried dried fish, with a cup of ketchup, four tablespoons of soy sauce, four tablespoons of Tabasco sauce, one chopped habanero pepper and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Rumor has it that the fried fish heads, when eaten as a daily ration, will give one the stamina and vigor to consume even more rum and increases tolerance to the ill effects of over consumption the next day. The combination of rum and fried fish has also been traditionally exploited by millions of Caribbean women as an ensnaring food aphrodisiac for Caribbean men. You learn something new every day. Enjoy and support the Homegrown!