"Stint" (smelt) season has started on the Elbe

Saw an intersting feature at Vox on Wednesday (Wissenshunger) about "Stint saison an der Elbe" (smelt season at the Elbe).

Smelt (German: Stint, Latin: Osmerus eperlanus) are very small fish common in the coastal waters of Europe from the Baltic Sea to Biskaya.
The fish usually reach only 6 inches (15 cm).


From February to April they run in large schools along the coastline during their spring migration to their spawning streams.

During their journey the don't pick up food, so when after spawning they are on the way back, they are almost fat free (abt. 2% fat - for comparison: eel have up to 18-20% fat).

Formerly "Stint" was a poor-people-dish, it was even used to fertilise the fields, because there where such large quantities. It's not that much anymore, but still enough to feed hundreds and thousands of "Stint-eaters" every day during stint season (this year mid February to early April 2007) everywhere from Flensburg to Lüneburg.

These days no half decent restaurant around the Elbe can afford NOT to have special "Stint"-dishes.
There's a huge hype about the little suckers for many years now, people from all over Germany arrive in busloads just to eat "Stint".

Usually the fish are either smoked or coated with breadcrumbs and fried in butter or "ausgelassenem Speck" (sorry, don't know how to translate that, lard is the best I can come up with), then you get abt. 8-10 of them on a stick, with Bratkartoffeln or Kartoffelsalat.


I've been living in Hamburg for so long now, but I never actually made it to one of those restaurants,
but I'm really curious about it now so this weekend we managed to book a table for sunday for one of those restaurants, supposedly the best, "Grube's Fischerhütte" in Hoopte, near Zollenspieker Elbfähre. They serve a Stint-Buffet for abt. € 15,00.
Nice area for a daytrip.

Will let you know if it's worth getting there - and of course we will take pictures.

Have been in Winsen/Luhe today at Grube's Fischerhütte and had the buffet (€ 17,00 p.p)

It was very good food, nice fish buffet, lots more than only Stint.
If you like fish it's absolutely worth to go there.

But: don't expect a cosy atmosphere, it's a bit of a tourist-trap (wich I like a lot from time to time) - you pay in advance and can have as much from the buffet as you like, drinks are extra, (also self service) prices are moderate.
It's quite crowded during the season, a bit like an indoor beergarden.
Oh, and you get to hear live music, if you like it or not there's a guy playing the squeeze-box - and another one singing chanties.
Now I have this song in my ear... "Ick heff mol 'n Hamborger Veermaster sehn..." oh my!

It was a great day out, very sunny, with a nice walk on the dyke before and after the meal as we parked the car 1.5 km away.

Mat will post some more pictures in the gallery soon, just this one to torture you if you're hungry right now:

I had to drive up to Grömitz today & sit in a meeting all day whilst the sun shone
& the food wasnt that good either.

I'm not so sure that Stint apeals to me. I prefer to eat my fish on the Husum quayside...

We have smelt season where I grow up. They get it from Lake Michigan and then there are lots of smelt fries and things. It's not amazing, but for a once a year thing it can be fun.

let me know if anybody finds a ruby ring with 6 small diamonds in a fish, I lost it 4 summers ago skinny dipping in the Elbe.

That's one expensive skinny dip!
sounds like a gorgeous ring! If I fidn it I'll consider letting you know

I will give stink a try. I read about it when I looked up tourist information on Lüneburg: http://www.lueneburg.de/index.htm?baum_id=...nhalt_id=351046 (unfortunately I can't find any information in English). It starts officially from 24th March...

I think the 24th is just a festival that they have at the end of Stint season.

Madness. Wait till all the flavour has been used up, then eat it. Brilliant logic.

Yes, it does seem strange. They take a virtually fat free fish and then fry it in a speck batter. They are nice though. I had a couple of plates of them on Sunday at the Fischerhütter.

Is it like whitebait? Dreaming of whitebait fritters with salt and lemon...

Dunno, never had it.

Nuffink like whitebait. These fish are quite a fair bit bigger, and different family anyway.

Well,I've not had stint either... but whitebait are tiny little fishys too, caught in NZ rivers at certain times of the year.

Thanks DonR, I won't be rushing up to Hamburg needlessly then!

In the Elbe? Well maybe thats one way to get brown quickly

I'd have thought the North Sea islands / Baltic coast are more suitable.

As promised I have posted some more pics of the little fishies on the gallery.

Stint 2007

Soon to be available as a very sexy calender for 2008.

it was a drunk saturday afternoon, we did all glow green for a few days...