Lebanese samak bizri (fried anchovies)

Samak bizri are delicious crispy fried anchovies which you can never get enough of.

My ideal day is spent eating nice seafood on the Mediterranean and since moving to the coast I’ve perfected how to make my own perfect fried fish.

You can serve them with tarator sauce or with a gorgeous drizzle of pomegranate molasses.

Fish needs to be simply spiced so it doesn’t overpower the delicate flesh

You might also like my samke harra recipe, which is a showstopper (if I do say so myself).

Ingredients

Anchovy season in the Mediterranean is around April to September with the best months between April to June.

Try and find small anchovies if you can, ask your fishmonger to remove the heads and insides.

Give them a good wash and coat them with subtly spiced flour.

I just use paprika, black pepper and salt, and that’s it.

You can use any neutral frying vegetable oil, I use regular sunflower oil.

For the flour you can use cornflour or a special ‘Frito’ flour for that perfect crispy texture.

You can find these in most Mediterranean supermarkets or online.

Instructions

One of the most important things to get right is making sure the oil is hot enough.

I don't use a thermometer but apparently it should reach 350F and should be heated for around 10 minutes on medium heat.

Instead I always place a little piece of potato (I always make hand cut fries on the side) and when that starts to sizzle and bubble around the edges I know the oil is heated.

You can also hover your hand over the oil and if you feel he heat then it's hot enough.

Otherwise deep frying is a simple process as follows:

1. Step 1: prepare the spiced flour

2. Step 2: wash and drain the anchovies

3. Step 3: coat the anchovies in the flour

4. Step 4: deep fry in heated vegetable oil

Top Tips

If your fishmonger doesn't clean the anchovies, remove the heads and scrape out the insides with your thumb

You can use this same exact recipe for calamari, which is another of my seafood loves.

Try not to put too much anchovies in the frying pan so the oil temperature won't drop.

I always pick up the anchovies by the tail from the flour and dust them a little to avoid getting too much flour in the pan.

Of course I always drain the anchovies well on a paper towel lined plate, then I always drizzle with some delicious pomegranate mollasses.

I love to serve these with a wedge of lemon, fries and a green salad for freshness.

📖 Recipe

Print

Lebanese Samak Bizri (fried anchovies)

Subtly spiced crispy fried anchovies

Servings 4 people

Author Zaatar and Zaytoun

Ingredients

• 500 g of filleted anchovies heads & insides removed
• 2 cups of 'frito' flour OR cornflour
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• good pinch of salt approx ¼ tsp
• vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

1. To fillet the anchovies, remove the head and scape out the insides with your thumb, removing the spine as you go along
2. Wash the anchovies well and drain in a colander, set aside
3. In a wide bowl, add the flour, paprika, black pepper and salt. Mix well
4. Toss the anchovies in the flour until well coated, pick them up by the tail and dust lightly and transfer to a separate plate
5. In a deep frying pan, add around 2 inches of oil and heat on medium high for around 10 minutes (test with a small piece of bread if it sizzles around the edge it's hot enough)
6. Fry the anchovies in batches until golden and crisp, turning once they hold their shape, and drain on a paper towel lined plate
7. Serve with lemon wedges, a sprinkle of salt and pomegranate mollases.

If you make any of our recipes let us know how it went by giving us a star rating below.

Check out our Youtube page for full video tutorials, our Facebook group to discuss Lebanese cooking, as well as our tiktok page for quick tips.

Related

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with this recipe: