r/CannedSardines

I cleaned the spilled oil lol

Stopped in to Trader Joe's on vacation this weekend and snagged a couple of their offerings since we don't have one where we live unfortunately. After pounding a metric ton of barbecue this weekend, this was a much needed and welcomed meal lol. I enjoyed the TJ's calamari a few months ago so thought I'd give their salmon a try. Honestly, this was really nice. Not too dry or pasty the way canned salmon can get. Pretty moist, supple texture, the olive oil did a nice job here. I didn't taste any smoke, but I didn't taste any fishy funk either so overall a win. I think I prefer this quite a bit to the King Oscar or Bumblebee smoked salmon, which tends to be drier and more crumbly in my opinion. Great bang for your buck, I'd buy these weekly if I had a TJ's near me. A little more salt and some lemon pepper would have really set this pairing off. For what it is, I'm gonna give this a 7/10. A great workhorse tin at a nice price.

I have to believe that this must be an ingredient which is part of a larger recipe. Part of me is curious...

I’ve been tinkering in recent months with recipes for cashew-based alfredo sauce alternatives, and last night I leaned heavily on both espelette and black peppers. I knew I had these sardinettes with espelette down in the larder, so that seemed a good match. It was.

I love me some sardinillas, and these from French producer Les Mouettes d’Arvor are always mighty fine examples. Tender, but nonetheless with a more pleasingly (to me, anyway) firm bite than a similarly-sized brisling sprat. Seasoning these with espelette pepper only steps up these small fry.

Don’t let the picture of a chili pepper on the can mislead you. Espelette is not a spicy-hot variety. It’s mild, fruity, and slightly smoky somehow. (The peppers are not smoked, it’s just in their nature to have a background note that reads smoky on the tongue.) Anyway it’s subtle; the dash they’ve added to the can was restrained in a way my pour into my vegetarian alfredo was not. Sue me—I like spice.

Pleasantly surprised with great value sardines, had no idea they'd be so meaty and moist! Thought they would be sprats or smaller or something. I think I paid $1+ per tin. I have tins that cost 3-4x more and they are better but not better by that amount. Am I wrong here?

It’s a shame I waited so long to try Patagonia’s tins. I believe it was the price point that likely kept me away. I aim to keep my tins at the $5 range.

Therefore, when I came across these tins at Whole Foods for $5.49, I cleared the shelf. (There was only four left) Regular price is close to $8, if I’m not mistaken.

These are delicious. The lemon and garlic pair beautifully with the beans. No notes. 5/5.

I have been super into the King Oscar salmon in different flavors, just tried Patagonia mussels and loved, and always having my smoked oysters.

All I been eating lately is Mackerel. Really liking the flavor and texture over a lot of salmon tins. Plus Fishwifes Mackerel is the only Fishwife I can afford besides tuna lol. I wish it wasn't so expensive as I'd love to try some of those $14-16 tins. They're on sale at Target right now actually.

What is everyone's favorite Mackerel tin? Any suggestions?

Tesco has some bangers at like 1-3€. Even their Tesco branded cans were really solid!

I get these from the international food section of my local grocery store. They remind me so much of sardines I grew up eating in East Africa, I’m not sure if it was this specific brand as it appears that these are from the Philippines. They taste like many of my childhood breakfasts 😋

These were great! Would totally recommend them to anyone. They weren’t too fishy and went very well with some toast and sweet jalapeno mustard! I’d say this is one of the fancier tins of mackerel I’ve had.

besides eating straight out of the can how have any of you prepared these tins?? would love to hear recipes/ideas! also had to stop by sprouts for the .99cent smoked mackerel!!!

I was surprised how much I liked this tin. Very similar to the Trader Joes one in canola oil. I normally don't like canola oil that much but the smoke trout infused oil was pretty good. Smoke flavor wasn't too overpowering. Clean filets, decent texture. Tasted great on sourdough. A nice affordable option to add to my everyday tin list. I just bought this bumble bee "smoke flavored" coho salmon, doubt it will compare

Who’s brave enough to open a tin of anchovies at Starbucks? Best combo ever! 😍 🐟