Brunswick sardines in soybean oil

[NulloModo]

I'm a fan of 'Hot Titus' sardines. Not only are they very tasty, flavorful, and cheap, there is a drawing of a Roman man on the tin to go along with the subtley homoerotic name of the product.

[MarketStEl]

I'm a fan of 'Hot Titus' sardines.  Not only are they very tasty, flavorful, and cheap, there is a drawing of a Roman man on the tin to go along with the subtley homoerotic name of the product.

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You just had to go there, didn't you?

Haven't seen this brand on the shelves of my local supermarkets. King Oscar--check. Brunswick--check. Bumble Bee--check. No Hot Titus.

They aren't packed in hot sauce, are they?

[NulloModo]

I'm a fan of 'Hot Titus' sardines.  Not only are they very tasty, flavorful, and cheap, there is a drawing of a Roman man on the tin to go along with the subtley homoerotic name of the product.

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You just had to go there, didn't you?

Haven't seen this brand on the shelves of my local supermarkets. King Oscar--check. Brunswick--check. Bumble Bee--check. No Hot Titus.

They aren't packed in hot sauce, are they?

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I haven't found them at the grocery store either, but I find them at a Philipino Grocery Store next to where I work. They aren't packed in hot sauce, but they are packed with spices and dried chiles in the oil.

[prasantrin]

I'm a fan of 'Hot Titus' sardines.  Not only are they very tasty, flavorful, and cheap, there is a drawing of a Roman man on the tin to go along with the subtley homoerotic name of the product.

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I was curious if these were the same sardines I remember from my childhood (they aren't--the spicy sardines we used to get were Portuguese, I think). I did a websearch and found a website selling them. However, I also found an old warning about them. Hopefully they're more careful about sealing the cans now!

[jayt90]

I'm a fan of 'Hot Titus' sardines.  Not only are they very tasty, flavorful, and cheap, there is a drawing of a Roman man on the tin to go along with the subtley homoerotic name of the product.

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I was curious if these were the same sardines I remember from my childhood (they aren't--the spicy sardines we used to get were Portuguese, I think). I did a websearch and found a website selling them. However, I also found an old warning about them. Hopefully they're more careful about sealing the cans now!

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The warning from FIA (Canada) says the cans came from Morocco, in 2003.

There have been occaisional problems with lead seals on cans from underdeveloped countries, but this one was for improper sealing, and potential food poisoning.

I'd like to stay with sardine cans from countries with a good inspection record, such as Norway, Canada, U.S., and dare I say, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

But that eliminates other sources, such as Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Thailand, and others. I guess I'll inspect each can on purchase. Does anyone know a good way to identify a lead seal on a can?

[chromedome]

Growing up in Atlantic Canada, Brunswick sardines are a part of daily life. I rarely buy them now unless the wife is away for a day or two, 'cause she doesn't like the smell of them, but I still get a craving now and again.

I haven't had the ones in soybean oil as far as I can recall, but if you find the soy oil too heavy a rinse with a lighter oil ought to clean them up nicely. I like to open them up and "broil" them in my toaster oven, then have them on toast or crostini with a nice spicy spread; remoulade, rouille, a really garlic-y aioli, that sort of thing. In Halifax I had them once with a garlic-heavy Lebanese tahini sauce, which was marvellous (admittedly, at a beery 2AM, subtlety takes a back seat).

Sour pickles, sliced thinly or chopped, go well with sardines; so would capers. I've also marinated them in a little bit of mixed citrus zest, sesame oil, ginger, and scallions (ate them with a crusty loaf, used the bread to mop up the marinade. Yum, but with the same "been-drinkin'" caveat.).

[jayt90]

Growing up in Atlantic Canada, Brunswick sardines are a part of daily life.  I rarely buy them now unless the wife is away for a day or two, 'cause she doesn't like the smell of them, but I still get a craving now and again.

I haven't had the ones in soybean oil as far as I can recall, but if you find the soy oil too heavy a rinse with a lighter oil ought to clean them up nicely.  I like to open them up and "broil" them in my toaster oven, then have them on toast or crostini with a nice spicy spread; remoulade, rouille, a really garlic-y aioli, that sort of thing.  In Halifax I had them once with a garlic-heavy Lebanese tahini sauce, which was marvellous (admittedly, at a beery 2AM, subtlety takes a back seat).

Sour pickles, sliced thinly or chopped, go well with sardines; so would capers.  I've also marinated them in a little bit of mixed citrus zest, sesame oil, ginger, and scallions (ate them with a crusty loaf, used the bread to mop up the marinade.  Yum, but with the same "been-drinkin'" caveat.).

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Jeez! I grew up in Ontario, and the plain cans of Brunswick were packed in soya oil.

They had fancy cans, with tomato or peppers, but the gold print cans were soya as I recall.

I like your recommendations, they're all good with a a beer or two...

[chromedome]

Jeez!  I grew up in Ontario, and the plain cans of Brunswick were packed in soya oil.

They had fancy cans, with tomato or peppers, but the gold print cans were soya as I recall.

I like your recommendations, they're all good with a a beer or two...

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Sonofagun, you're right. Guess I should occasionally shut up long enough to let my brain catch up, eh? Never even thought to check out their website. It's a pretty good story, all in all. Oh, and Kristin, they have a whole bunch of recipes here.

I will concede that, while I love the Brunswick sardines, the Millionaire brand mentioned upthread has a finer flavour and is better in many applications.

[torakris]

  Never even thought to check out their website.  It's a pretty good story, all in all.  Oh, and Kristin, they have a whole bunch of recipes here.

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I never thought of checking their website either.

Thank you! we are going to be eating a lot of fish this week...

[MarketStEl]

Sonofagun, you're right.  Guess I should occasionally shut up long enough to let my brain catch up, eh?  Never even thought to check out their website.  It's a pretty good story, all in all.  Oh, and Kristin, they have a whole bunch of recipes here.

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Actually, that link just gives you an index page whose links don't work. That page works only if you keep the parent window that produced it open.

Try starting from Brunswick's home page, click on the flag of the country you live in, then click on "Delicious Recipe Ideas" on the next page. This will take you to a searchable database or a button for the list of all recipes, above.

I note that the company that makes Brunswick sardines is also now the owner of Bumble Bee Seafoods, the largest canned seafood producer in the US and the distributor of King Oscar sardines as well. Can't imagine a more straightforward corporate name: "Connors Bros. Income Fund."

[jayt90]

I note that the company that makes Brunswick sardines is also now the owner of Bumble Bee Seafoods, the largest canned seafood producer in the US and the distributor of King Oscar sardines as well.  Can't imagine a more straightforward corporate name:  "Connors Bros. Income Fund."

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The 'Millionnaires' I get at Costco are packed in New Brunswick now, and not small fish, but suspiciously the same as Brunswick. It looks as if Connors has a big part of this niche market. I heard that they were a good investment opportunity a couple of years ago, but alas, I only had sardine money in my pocket. But I'm healthy, though...

[curlywurlyfi]

when an impoverished student [insert wailing violin here] we used to make a sardine 'quiche' with storecupboard ingredients. Cut the crusts off 4-6 slices of brown bread, flatten with a rolling pin, paint with melted butter (or sardine oil) and squash into a metal quiche tin. Fork together some cottage cheese, chopped parsley, couple of eggs, some chopped tomatoes, some caramelized onions, lemon juice (etc etc). Drain the sardines, break up a little, put on the bread base; pour the cottage cheese mix over + bake. Not in the least beautiful, but very good. Hmmm. Sardines...

[jayt90]

  Hmmm.  Sardines...

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A close friend grew up in Trinidad in a Chinese household. There were tough times when his Mom would somehow feed a whole family with a tin of Brunswick Sardines. Still a favourite after they got to Canada, after the oil rush...

[helenjp]

Kris, you're way ahead of me. I ordered some extremely cheap sardines to tide us through a tough patch, and absentmindedly ordered waterpacked sardines. I'm almost resigned to them now, but there's over a half-dozen cans left...

We mostly have them for breakfast, grilled on toast "pizza" style in our trusty oven-toaster. They're pretty good in a sandwich with home-made pickled onions too!

I make sardine pizza regularly with fresh sardines (canned are OK, but fresh have a better texture).

I've been thinking that sardine-filled roast potatoes could be good, too...

[jayt90]

Are fresh sardines the same fish, same flavour (sans smoke) as canned?

[helenjp]

Are fresh sardines the same fish, same flavour

Same fish, yes (roughly - there are many varieties of sardines, and even more fish which are used at fingerling size for canning), but canned ones are usually smaller then fresh ones. Fresh sardines in Japan are sold at around a hand's length, and from the recipes I have seen, I think that's roughly the same size as in western or mediterranean countries.

Same taste? Hmmm...something like the relationship between fresh peaches and canned ones, I think! Although maligned, canned peaches (and canned sardines) have an attraction of their own, people buy them for a reason, after all.

Canned sardines have a firmer texture (usually) and more "umami" or roundness of flavor than fresh ones (fish really do develop flavor when salted and allowed to stand for a while, and the oil helps bring out a fuller flavor too). Fresh sardines...the texture is soft, and the flavor is....darn it, it's indescribable! More savory than canned sardines? More "ocean" and less "bacon"??

[jayt90]

Thanks!

Right now, I'll be looking for fresh smelts from Lake Erie. Mmmmm!

[Ben Hong]

There are a couple of different species of fish that is normally called sardines. We in New Brunswick (home of Connors Brothers) know that what goes into a sardine can are small herring.

Interesting to note that virtually all of the canned sardines are individually packed by the hands of women at Connors Bros. plants. The packers are paid on a salary and piecework basis.Every year there is a festival and one of the highlights of the festival is a packing race. I was a judge at one of those contests once long ago and it was a real challenge to keep focus on the blur of hands of those women as they would pack up to 10 cans a minute. Not only do they stuff the fish into the cans but they also had to snip off heads and tails with a pair of scissors.

The whole process of getting a can of sardines from sea to your dining table is a fascinating one; sardines are caught in the Bay of Fundy (home of 17 meter tides) in giant fish traps called weirs, boats armed with pumps suck up fish by the 10s of tons in a weir on a good day, and transported to the plant. The resultant huge quantities of scales are salvaged for other industrial uses.

There is nothing quite as good tasting as a fresh caught herring split and broiled over charcoal with just a dab of butter, a drop of lemon juice and a bit of s&p.

[nacho]

all I can say is wow!

I didn't realize they were eaten all over the world....

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Ditto here!

This thread is awesome. I am no longer ashamed to say that I like sardines! Growing up, dad would always take sardines along for my brother and I to eat on fishing trips if we didn't catch any fish. He meant it in a shameful way, like for dinner, we eat what we catch, and if you don't catch anything, you have to eat the sardines....b/c we are all having fish for dinner. Of course, he would always end up sharing the fresh catch (b/c he was usually the one that would come up empty), but oh the shame of having to eat the sardines.

[Shel_B]

We recently discovered Wild Planet Sardines at Costco. They worked out to be $1.69 a can, a little more than Brunswick sardines. We like them much better than the Brunswick and other canned brands we've tried.

[ojisan]

We recently discovered Wild Planet Sardines at Costco. They worked out to be $1.69 a can, a little more than Brunswick sardines. We like them much better than the Brunswick and other canned brands we've tried.

I was going to try this, but was put off by the liquid smoke in the ingredients. Doesn't "Lightly smoked" imply actual smoking?

[Shel_B]

I was going to try this, but was put off by the liquid smoke in the ingredients. Doesn't "Lightly smoked" imply actual smoking?

I once looked into liquid smoke and found that some of it was acceptable to me. The kind that Wild Planet uses is - to the best of my knowledge - a natural smoke infusion into a liquid carrier, not a chemical concoction. In any case, the sardines taste very good and we didn't find the ingredient to be unacceptable or impart any unacceptable taste.

OTOH, I'd assume that "lightly smoked" might mean just what you suggest, but in todays marketing environment, who knows for sure what any claim means. I've found some restaurants here with "fresh squeezed OJ" on their menu only to see the staff pouring the juice from gallon plastic cartons. Their response to my question about the juice being fresh squeezed was that it was pressed from fresh oranges off premise. To me that means something less than fresh squeezed. This was at a restaurant that used to have a juicer on premise and every glass of juice was made fresh to order.