Canned sardines & other tinned seafood

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Our manager at the library where I work is Portuguese.  I asked her how to pronounce Pinhais.  She explained to my Bolivian Spanish speaking boss who overheard and wandered over that the "nh" sound was "like the little squiggle that you use".

 

Pinhais evidently means a pine forest.  Not the first thing that comes to mind when shopping for sardines.  She said she remembered her father often saying he was going for a walk in the pinhais.  She added -- for the benefit of anyone not from New Jersey -- it's like the pine barrens.

 

Then she ran to check the sardine stash in her office.  All she found was King Oscar from Morocco.  "I guess I'm not a very good Portuguese."

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Our manager looked into it and the Pinhais sardine factory is thirty minutes from her family home in Porto.  I hope I can convince her to try a tin.  I am already plotting my next order of Pinhais.

 

Speaking of preserved protein from Porto, I read that Porto is lending Brazil the heart of Emperor Pedro I in formaldehyde for twenty days.  In his will Pedro bequeathed his heart to the good people of Porto.  It is their prized possession.

 

[farcego]

On 8/30/2022 at 5:38 PM, btbyrd said:

A recent deen haul with some deen sauce.

 

And some squid.

 

 

 

That's the best squid in inked sauce tinned I have ever tried! I have pending to try the sardines from Gűeyu mar

Edited September 3, 2022 by farcego
typo (log)

[lemniscate]

Costco has an online listing for Ortiz Premium Canned Seafood Tin that crosses the sardine/tuna territory.   Not sure how much of a deal this may be, but it's a nice assortment (though no anchovies ) by the looks of it.   

 

Features:

• 2 Jars Of White Tuna In Olive Oil (13.4 oz each)
• 3 Oval Tins Of White Tuna In Olive Oil (3.95 oz each)
• 3 Rectangular Tins Of Sardines In Olive Oil (4.9 oz each)
• 1 Tin Of Piquillo Peppers Stuffed With White Tuna (10.5 oz each)
• 1 Jar Opener

[Dr. Teeth]

On 9/3/2022 at 2:08 PM, farcego said:

 

That's the best squid in inked sauce tinned I have ever tried! I have pending to try the sardines from Gűeyu mar

I’m still trying to learn about conservas.  If you don’t mind my asking, what do you do with the squid?   How do you serve it?

[farcego]

11 minutes ago, Dr. Teeth said:

I’m still trying to learn about conservas.  If you don’t mind my asking, what do you do with the squid?   How do you serve it?

The most common way in Spain is with a cup of white rice. If you google for images "calamares en su tinta" (squid in its ink) you will see that many of the pictures have rice on the dish (without the need to incorporate "rice" on the images search). This is how I always had them at home, but I prefer cuttlefish in inked sauce than skid, because cuttlefish have large and thicker cuts of meat (my mother normally use cuttlefish of at least 2.5 Kilogram). I have realized a few pictures of the squid with fries, but I have never seen then that way in the wild (commonly in a stew with potatoes, but not with fries)

cheers

[blue_dolphin]

18 minutes ago, Dr. Teeth said:

I’m still trying to learn about conservas.  If you don’t mind my asking, what do you do with the squid?   How do you serve it?

You didn’t ask me, but The Magic of Tinned Fish offers this pasta recipe for squid in ink: Calamarata With Squid in Its Own Ink

It has a couple more recipes for squid packed in ragu and this Thai-inspired salad that used plain baby squid that I made recently and shared over in the salad topic.

[btbyrd]

My plan is to make squid ink risotto with it, but it's good over plain rice or tossed with pasta. A redditor over on r/cannedsardines recently tossed his tins with some fresh squid ink pasta from Eataly. Turns out that the pasta itself was a bit overly fishy (which can happen with too much ink) but the squid itself was apparently lovely.

 

My current favorite tinned squid is from Jose Gourmet and comes in a tomatoey ragout sauce. "Spiced Calamari in Ragout Sauce" they call it. Three or four to the tin, they're so good. You can toss the tin with pasta and some mix-ins, but I most often will crush the whole tin on its own with some chopsticks. But that's how I eat a lot of these tins.

 

I have some Ramon Pena squid (and squid in ink) that I've yet to try but am very much looking forward to.

[btbyrd]

My favorite bacon-saving budget friendly tin of fish is King Oscar's boneless skinless Mediterranean style mackerel filets. When I got into the tinned fish habit, I was dismayed to discover that my tastes ran toward the high end. I almost can't eat a tin of sardines that costs less than $4.00. That probably says more about me than the fish. But happily I've found the budget tin of my dreams. It's not the prettiest tin. I used to say "Looks like rubbish, but it tastes amazing." I've since come to find it beautiful in its own way. But looks are not the point.

The point is that this mackerel tastes great. I typically just eat it right out of the tin with some Triscuits, but it's also quite nice tossed through with some pasta and sauteed onions/garlic... maybe some peppers or tomatoes or capers or sliced olives. But it's good enough to eat straight up. Herby, fatty, delicious. And for those who eat tinned fish for the fatty acids, this tin packs a wallop at 3000mg of Omega 3 (if the numbers on the tin can be believed). I love this product and buy it by the case. I've tried lots of other KO products (I hate their sardines) but this one is a winner, at least for me.

 

[Dr. Teeth]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

You didn’t ask me, but The Magic of Tinned Fish offers this pasta recipe for squid in ink: Calamarata With Squid in Its Own Ink

It has a couple more recipes for squid packed in ragu and this Thai-inspired salad that used plain baby squid that I made recently and shared over in the salad topic.

I am always happy to hear your opinion.   You have sold me 2 cookbooks and a $100 dollar order of tinned fish on this thread alone.

 

That reminds me.   Mrs Dr Teeth would like a word with you

[heidih]

41 minutes ago, Dr. Teeth said:

I am always happy to hear your opinion.   You have sold me 2 cookbooks and a $100 dollar order of tinned fish on this thread alone.

 

That reminds me.   Mrs Dr Teeth would like a word with you

Remind her of all those beneficial Omega 3s

[farcego]

22 hours ago, btbyrd said:

My plan is to make squid ink risotto with it, but it's good over plain rice or tossed with pasta. A redditor over on r/cannedsardines recently tossed his tins with some fresh squid ink pasta from Eataly. Turns out that the pasta itself was a bit overly fishy (which can happen with too much ink) but the squid itself was apparently lovely.

 

My current favorite tinned squid is from Jose Gourmet and comes in a tomatoey ragout sauce. "Spiced Calamari in Ragout Sauce" they call it. Three or four to the tin, they're so good. You can toss the tin with pasta and some mix-ins, but I most often will crush the whole tin on its own with some chopsticks. But that's how I eat a lot of these tins.

 

I have some Ramon Pena squid (and squid in ink) that I've yet to try but am very much looking forward to.

Well, I am sure you check some images search. The thing is that in north spain we don't cock or mix... Squid or cuttlefish is done, rice is done too, but independently, it is mixed for the time to eat (and I would expect it is the same procedure with pasta in italy). I strongly recommend you to do not cook with this tin of squid. In fact I am not sure if you know what you have. The tin is actually a real stew of large squids cut, in inked sauce (that's why I liked so much), it is not made to be mixed, but to be enjoyed, and you wont have baby squids inside, rather, chunks in the real sauce.

I am back home next week, and if I am allowed to be with my parents (they don't know I am travelling home, it is a surprise, they may love to see me or rather send me to an hotel haha), I will report here in another thread, how the old woman make the inked stew of squid (We will use cuttlefish), because it is mandatory to be made if I am around my parent's place

[weinoo]

On 9/6/2022 at 6:34 PM, btbyrd said:

My favorite bacon-saving budget friendly tin of fish is King Oscar's boneless skinless Mediterranean style mackerel filets

These also work quite nicely when mixed in with good tinned tuna for tuna/mackerel spread/salad for a sandwich.

Edited September 8, 2022 by weinoo (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 minutes ago, weinoo said:

These also work quite nicely when mixed in with good tinned tuna for tuna/mackerel spread/salad for a sandwich.

 

I don't believe I've ever had mackerel, neither tinned nor fresh.  How does it compare to sardines?

 

[weinoo]

3 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I don't believe I've ever had mackerel, neither tinned nor fresh.  How does it compare to sardines?

 

 

I think it's a little firmer/meatier, if you will.

[btbyrd]

It depends on the sardine and the mackerel. The variety of mackerel I purchase most often is boneless and skinless in spiced oil with piri piri pepper (and usually a slice of carrot and pickle in there as well). These are available from many producers in Portugal and north Africa, but my favorites are from Minerva, Da Morgada, and Nuri. The mackerel filets you'll find in those tins are much smaller than the fish King Oscar sells, and their flesh is firmer. Here's a stock image of the Minerva spiced mack:

 

 

You'll commonly get five or six filets per can. The KO mackerel, by contrast, is just one piece of a larger filet. The KO texture is also more delicate and fattier, which is not a bad thing (just a different thing). But even though all of them are oily fish, the taste is quite mild. It's somewhere between tuna and sardines, and is a good "gateway fish" for those who like tinned tuna but might be scared off by sardines.

[Dr. Teeth]

9 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I don't believe I've ever had mackerel, neither tinned nor fresh.  How does it compare to sardines?

 

I’m probably the least knowledgeable person responding to your question but I would agree with the characterization of tinned mackerel as meatier and less fishy.

 

For me, it’s been the biggest revelation in learning about tinned fish: I despise fresh mackerel, having had it a number of ways.   Love tinned mackerel.   More than sardines.

 

About to order some of the brands BTByrd mentioned that I haven’t tried yet.   I would also add Angelo Parodi to the list as a favorite of mine.

 

As always, nice to have you folks around to learn from.

[CookBot]

On 9/6/2022 at 6:34 PM, btbyrd said:

I used to say "Looks like rubbish, but it tastes amazing." I've since come to find it beautiful in its own way. But looks are not the point.

 

And now I need to know where you find those gorgeous little specialty dishes for holding the sardine tins.

 

What a great thread this is!  I just learned more about tinned fish from reading it than I have in the prior 30 years.  Now I need to go back through it and make notes about the brands I need to try.

 

[lemniscate]

My parents are old-school KO sardine eaters, but it has to be the two-layer version, evoo.  My dad insisted the best sardines can't be had anymore because they were packed in sild oil, which has gone out of fashion for various reasons.  He hates the soybean oil versions.   I think he liked the Brunswick brand back in the day.

 

I have tried many times to appreciate sardines, KO, Costco and European versions ie Matiz, Bela (my last version was Santo Amaro (eG-friendly Amazon.com link).   Good but I don't crave them.  And I love anchovies, so I am good with strong fishy flavors.

 

The best sardine experience I have is the #9 Sardine Bahn Mi at Lee's Sandwiches.   So Freaking Good.  I crave this.   I understand the sardines in the sandwich are something like Ligo sardines.  I think they break up the sardine and remove any backbone before putting in the sandwich, because I've never bitten into anything but the fish.   I gotta get over to the Asian MegaMart and grab a can to see if I can do anything with it.  

[blue_dolphin]

9 minutes ago, CookBot said:

 

And now I need to know where you find those gorgeous little specialty dishes for holding the sardine tins.

 

What a great thread this is!  I just learned more about tinned fish from reading it than I have in the prior 30 years.  Now I need to go back through it and make notes about the brands I need to try.

 

That one looks very similar to the ones I've seen on the Rainbow Tomatoes Garden but if you want to fall down a rabbit hole, there are all sorts of vintage porcelain and pottery sardine pots and boxes out there.  One could put together quite a collection if so inclined!

[btbyrd]

12 hours ago, Dr. Teeth said:

 I despise fresh mackerel, having had it a number of ways.   Love tinned mackerel.   More than sardines.

About to order some of the brands BTByrd mentioned that I haven’t tried yet.   I would also add Angelo Parodi to the list as a favorite of mine.

 

I also generally prefer mackerel to sardines, but some of the good sardines are very good. I haven't met a tin of mackerel I didn't like. Actually, scratch that. I didn't like the King Oscar mack with jalapeno because they added a very small amount of sugar and I'm sensitive to that kind of thing. I appreciate adding a dash of sugar to something to round out the heat, but when the only things in the can are fish, oil, jalapenos, and salt... I just don't know if adding sugar is an advisable move (even if it is such a miniscule amount that it doesn't appear on the nutrition information). But I digress... Mackerel is great!

 

Angelo Parodi makes a good product -- good recommendation. They tend to be more affordable too, which is much appreciated. The price on Minervas has more than doubled in the past year, which makes me sad because I used to be able to get a case of 12 for like $45. Nuris are always expensive. And I buy the Da Morgada ones in bulk during the Zingerman's summer sale, which unfortunately has already passed us by this year. 

 

9 hours ago, CookBot said:

And now I need to know where you find those gorgeous little specialty dishes for holding the sardine tins.

9 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

That one looks very similar to the ones I've seen on the Rainbow Tomatoes Garden

 

That's what it is and that's where I got it! They're made in Portugal by Canned with Soul. I only have one, but I want another. I've seen a lot of those vintage sardine servers, but nothing has appealed to me like this ceramic one does. My other sardine thing is this fork, which I only break out when company is coming over for sardines. Which has only happened once.

 

9 hours ago, lemniscate said:

I have tried many times to appreciate sardines -- Good but I don't crave them.  And I love anchovies, so I am good with strong fishy flavors.

 

The best sardine experience I have is the #9 Sardine Bahn Mi at Lee's Sandwiches.   So Freaking Good.  I crave this.

 

I kind of feel you on that one. I don't crave sardines like I do, say, anchovies. But there are so many different sardines out there that I do crave some of them. Spicy Nuris are the main deen I crave. I eat them straight up with chopsticks. I also crave the small sardines from Ramon Pena and Conservas de Cambados. Eating 25 shiny, firm, beautiful little fish in one sitting is fun and delicious. Throw them on some potato chips and you're halfway to Flavortown. Hit it with some spicy vinegar and you're all the way there. Good with a beer for a perfect weekend lunch snack. Or put them on a salad or something.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

On the subject of sardine cutlery and sardines presented on a sardine salver -- more basically, how to get the lid off the sardine tin?  With lack of hand strength I have poor success with any kind of pull tab, even using an ostensible pull tab tool.  Has anyone had satisfactory results employing a can opener on a sardine tin?  The cans no longer include the little key they used to have for opening.  (Not that those little key things worked much better than the current pull tabs do, but at least I was less likely to hurt myself.)

 

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, btbyrd said:

My other sardine thing is this fork, which I only break out when company is coming over for sardines. Which has only happened once.

yeah, when I want to throw a party, but don’t want anyone to come, I let them know it’s a sardine party. And I’ll be using my finest sardine themed cutlery.  You’d be surprised how many people take ill at the last minute.

[blue_dolphin]

12 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

On the subject of sardine cutlery and sardines presented on a sardine salver -- more basically, how to get the lid off the sardine tin?  With lack of hand strength I have poor success with any kind of pull tab, even using an ostensible pull tab tool.  Has anyone had satisfactory results employing a can opener on a sardine tin?  The cans no longer include the little key they used to have for opening.  (Not that those little key things worked much better than the current pull tabs do, but at least I was less likely to hurt myself.)

 

Yes, the side-cutter, aka safety openers work very nicely and I recommend them for this type of can if your hand strength allows. 

Apologies for the crappy photo.  The tin on the left was opened with a can opener.  The tin on the right was my pull-tab effort.  I can always get them started but that's about the best I can do. 

The lid removed by the can opener can be placed back on the can.  It's not going to seal it or prevent leaks if the can tips but it will foil a cat!

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 minute ago, weinoo said:

yeah, when I want to throw a party, but don’t want anyone to come, I let them know it’s a sardine party. And I’ll be using my finest sardine themed cutlery.  You’d be surprised how many people take ill at the last minute.

 

Sounds fishy to me.