The season for whitebait is June, July, and August; it somewhat resembles the small coalfish.

Whitebait Fried

Lay the fish on ice for twenty minutes previous to serving; roll them in a towel with a handful of flour; shake and then toss them in a very coarse sieve to remove the superfluous flour; plunge them into very hot frying fat. One minute will suffice to cook them; drain and sprinkle over with salt and serve.

Whitebait, Greenwich Style

To fry whitebait is to dry them in a towel to absorb all their moisture, then roll them in flour, and fry in very hot frying fat; when crisp, drain on a napkin and dress on a very hot dish. Send to the table accompanied with slices of brown or white bread cut very thin and buttered, also quartered lemons; serve at the same time a pepper-caster containing cayenne pepper.

Deviled Whitebait

Dip them in milk, lay them on a dish containing mustard and cayenne pepper, then in cracker dust, and fry in very white beef kidney suet, drain, and salt. Dress on a napkin with fried parsley on top. Serve separately, slices of brown or fresh graham bread cut exceedingly thin and buttered.