Recipe Friday: Food spotlight-Sardines!
Last Updated on Wednesday, 31 December 1969 11:59 Written by Elise Friday, 22 January 2010 00:00
Recipe Friday: Food spotlight-Sardines!
The Goog has been ahead of the Alton Brown curve on this one. He has been eating sardines for years, in sandwiches....usually when I'm not home. I decided it was finally time to see what all the fuss was about.
A sardine isn't a type of fish, like say, a salmon or a trout, rather it's any number of small oily fish, in the herring family. Sardines are rich in omega3-fatty acids, and are also a good source of vitamin D, calcium, B12, and protein. Those concerned with mercury intake, they are low in mercury.
The most common way to get sardines is canned. Most supermarkets carry them, and places like Trader Joe's may have a larger variety than your regular old Market Basket. When we purchase our, we get the full fish version (head removed), but you can also get them cut up into tiny steaks. Also, it should be noted sardines are not de-boned. But it doesn't matter, the bones are so little and so soft that you really don't even know they are there, plus they are part of the nutrition!
So here's the thing....sardines are smelly. They are an oily fish, and hence, smell fishy...this could be why The Goog largely ate then when I wasn't home. But they don't taste like they smell so don't let that put you off. This is just my word to the wise about taking your trash out right after you throw out the sardine can....seriously...do it.
The first one we tried were the Beach Cliff brand, it's on the cheaper scale. This brand had sardines that come in various sauces. The red one below is hot sauce, and the other a mustard sauce. I thought the hot sauce ones were the superior of the pair. Despite the smell, I found the fish itself to be rather mild. Not more (and perhaps even less) fishy than tuna. The hot sauce added a nice bit of flavor. The mustard sauce on the other hand was incredibly bland. I got no mustard flavor at all. I ended up just salting then a touch and eating them like that.
The second brand we tried was Brunswick, these were a bit more pricey...$2ish. The sardine were just packed in spring water (much like tuna). Again, they had a strong smell, but a much more mild flavor. If you like tuna, I can't imagine sardines would bother you. I think I might actually prefer the spring water packed to the ones packed in sauce. They were a bit more firm, and I could just add my flavorings if I choose.
That night we paired our little fishes with a giant salad!
They are even more brands in the cabinet waiting for us to try...and that barely seems to be the tip of the iceberg of the sardine market. So, next time you are shopping, grab a can and give them a try.
PS- Gary....we already know your thoughts on these :-)
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Comments
But yeah, I too am surprised Gary tried them given the smell. They are just more fishy than I am used to...the fresh fish we eat is largely a bit more mild than these little babies.
See also this write up on Chow Hound: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/364987
Well, Kippers are my favorite canned fish, but those aren't sardines so I won't get into them.
I think I agree, so far, with the rankings of various brands.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/364987
I prefer mine like you did here in a salad, or plain on toast with mustard. Yum!
So glad you have joined us on the dark side!
Here are the exact ones we would get.
http://www.britishcornersh op.co.uk/britishfood.asp?id=SGN4074
You will notice that they come in tomato sauce... sooooo good. Our fave way of eating them was to split them in half and mash each one up on a piece of buttered toast. To finish just a little splash of malt vinegar.
One of my all time favorite comfort foods, you should try it.
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/food/glenryck-pilcha rds/
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