Sardines Archives - Sardeenz!

Casablanca Spicy Sardines with Hot Peppers

These Casablanca Spicy Sardines with Hot Peppers came from a local Middle-Eastern market. I've learned to check there regularly, as I've found several selections I haven't seen elsewhere, and they seem to get new things frequently. Moroccan sardines at $2 a tin felt like a challenge worth taking.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

It's one of those stiff, scary-to-open cans with the squiggly ridges on the lid. Fortunately, I get it open without incident. It's just two huge pilchards, which I've come to expect from inexpensively-priced Moroccan sardines. Skin is a little roughed up. The oil is tinged red from peppers, I assume, but I don't see any yet. The aroma is a little fishier than I'd like. A sip of the oil, listed as sunflower, has a heat that doesn't hit until the back of the throat. I see some bones sticking out from the tail end of the loins. No scales or fins, though.

Let's Eat

Heaving them out over rice, I find two bright red peppers underneath. There's a few tablespoons of the oil left in the tin, and I poured most over the fish and rice.

I think what I like least about getting overgrown pilchards is the sense that I'm butchering a side of beef rather than enjoying some little fishes. Nonetheless, the meat is tender and moist, not mushy, and reasonably melt-in-your-mouth in texture.

The fish flavor, like the aroma, is a bit stronger, but not off-putting. The pepper flavor is low but steady, no real complaint there. They don't seem all that salty, and the carton confirms a low 200mg. sodium. I didn't feel compelled, however, to add anything salty to make up for it.

Main Takeaways

Why couldn't they be smaller
Tender, meaty fish regardless
Maybe could have used some salt

Brand: Spice N' More Corp. / Casablanca
Description: Spicy sardines in olive oil
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: Morocco
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.375 oz.
Price Range: $2

Old Riga Atlantic Sardines in Oil

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These Old Riga Atlantic Sardines in Oil came from an international market that I have not had much good luck with when it comes to sardines. The can is large, 8.5oz, twice that of a normal tin, and was only $4.49. I waited until a day that I was hungrier than normal, as storing sardine leftovers is a pain. I was assuming sprats, as they are from Latvia. Boy, was I ever wrong.

The first indication I should have had that something was amiss was in checking the ingredients. "Sliced sardines"? Why would you slice sprats?

Initial impression upon opening the can: 2/5.

What in the name of sweet baby Jeebus have I gotten myself into? A strong aroma of fish hit me as I cracked open the can. I wasn't really sure what I was looking at, at first. Then it dawned on me that it was the cross-sections of sliced, rather large fish. Some really unappetizing-looking fish at that.

Wish Me Luck

The tin says they're packed in canola oil, but it's more like "with" some canola oil. Since they were packed cross-section side up, I can now see skin, but thankfully no scales. Also a few fins, but I dispatched them straight away. I'm not really sure what species of fish this even is.

I closed my eyes, and took a whole piece in one bite. The meat is tender enough, but woefully bland. There doesn't seem to be too much in the way of bones, but I didn't feel like performing a dissection.

They're lacking salt. And that's surprising, as the tin states the entire contents is six servings at 200mg. sodium per. Honestly, it doesn't taste like 200mg. for the whole can. Three fourths of the way through, I brought out the Valentina hot sauce in order to salvage what was left.

I have a can of Japanese mackerel in soybean paste I've been reluctant to open, fearing a similar experience.

Main Takeaways

Read the label before purchase, dummy
Unappetizing appearance
Tender but bland fish

Brand: GFI Foods / Old Riga
Description: Atlantic sardines in oil
Species: ?
Country of Origin: Latvia
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 8.5 oz.
Price Range: $4-5

Pollastrini Sardines in Sunflower Oil

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These Pollastrini Sardines in Sunflower Oil came from International Loft. As with other Pollastrini tins in the order, this one also includes an add-on label indicating sourcing from Croatia. I've liked other selections from them so far, and wanted to see what their unembellished, plain sardines in oil were like.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

The skins are a little rough, but that won't affect taste. The aroma from the tin is solely of the fish, and a little stronger than I'm used to. But not in a bad way. No scales apparent, but I see some tails, typical of Italian packed sardines. They're easy enough to cut off.

A sip of the oil is neutral, as sunflower usually is. Pollastrini produces plain sardines packed in olive oil, and I'm not sure why International Loft doesn't appear to stock them. They do stock the spicy sardines in olive oil version. But, if the fish have a good taste on their own, though, the type of oil isn't necessarily critical.

Let's Eat

Pulling them from the tin, they are quite tender, almost falling apart. The few tails I saw, I easily cut away with a fork. There are six fish, once again testament to Pollastrini's ability to pack more fish in a smaller can than their competitors.

What little oil was left in the tin, I poured over the fish, attempting to avoid the skin and tails debris.

Digging in, they are as tender as they seemed. I found, however, as I worked my way through them, the taste to be somewhat earthy, maybe even muddy. Not a lack of freshness, but something intrinsic to the fish, a blandness. Disappointing.

They lacked salt, but even the addition of a salty condiment didn't materially improve things. Sodium is listed as 550mg, but they tasted nowhere near that salty.

Main Takeaways

Tender fish
Good count
Unimpressive flavor

Brand: Pollastrini
Description: Sardines in sunflower oil
Species: Clupea pilchardus (Sardina pilchardus)
Country of Origin: Italy/Croatia
Source: FAO37, Mediterranean Sea
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.5 oz.
Price Range: $6

JOSÉ Gourmet Small Sardines in EVOO

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These JOSÉ Gourmet Small Sardines in EVOO came from Caputo's. I had tried several varieties, and wanted to get a sense of just plain sardines in EVOO by them. I had already had the even smaller ones in the "crosspack" configuration.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

Nice braided packing, silvery bellies up. Only a few spots of roughed up skin. I see no scales, tails, nor fins. There's a fish aroma that's only a little stronger that which I've some to expect. An initial sip of the EVOO is unrevealing.

Let's Eat

The fish are reasonably firm, and extract from the tin mostly intact. There are six fish total. Small, yes, but I've had other tins with a six count (or more) that weren't touted as being a premium small size.

I note the EVOO has a dark, almost amber color, not the golden green I'm used to seeing. Tasting it a second time, it has none of the flavor notes I've come to expect from a good extra-virgin olive oil. I poured about half of what was left in the tin over the fish and rice anyway.

Digging in, they are tender, but a tad dry on the palate. I also note a lack of salt, which, together with the lackluster EVOO, is making for a rather bland experience. Disappointing. I also note verbiage by both the vendor and the producer on the vendor's website touting these as being smoked. Neither my palate nor the carton corroborate this claim.

About halfway through, I pulled out my new jar of MW Polar Crunchy Black Garlic Chili Crisp, which made a measurable improvement.

Main Takeaways

Tender pilchards, if a tad dry
Bland flavor, fish and EVOO
Needed salt

This wasn't the experience I was expecting or had hoped for. JOSÉ Gourmet has been consistently good in the past, but I guess every tin can't be a solid winner.

Brand: 100 Misterios / JOSÉ Gourmet
Description: Small Sardines in EVOO
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Portugal
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.2 oz.
Price Range: $9

Brunswick Sardines in Soybean Oil

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These Brunswick Sardines in Soybean Oil came from Walmart. A recent store reset moved the tinned fish to a different aisle. Store resets are usually when new items are slotted in, and I didn't remember seeing these there before. They may have been stocked previously, but the entire section at all three local Walmarts has been seriously neglected in recent months. This tin was the only one of its kind on the shelf. At $1.24, it was worth a try.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

The aroma is fishy. Not in a terrible way, but a little stronger than that to which I am accustomed. I see no scales and just a few pelvic fins. The tin is non-specific as to species, and I'm not quite sure what these are. Product of Poland implies Baltic Sea, and by association would most likely mean sprats. But these don't look like sprats.

Digging In

I had already had lunch, but was eager to see what these were about. So, I instead chose to have them as a snack.

The first thing I noticed was how the flesh is pale, almost white, so no pilchards here. The first bite revealed a bit more. The meat is quite tender, with a mild flavor, so I'm now thinking herring. Usually, herring standing in for sardines is skinless boneless fillets from a much larger fish.

As I worked my way through the tin, I noted some of the individual fish differed texturally from the others. Some were a bit mushy, like overcooked catfish.

The smoke flavor is there, but it's not doing any great service to the fish. The soybean oil in this instance is also, well, just a bit meh... I also thought they could have used a bit more salt. If the nutritional information matches that of the Brunswick website, sodium is a moderate 340mg. The website also confirms the species as herring.

Overall, I don't feel too put out over spending the $1.24. At least you and I both now know what we're getting with this rather pedestrian tin of fish.

Main Takeaways

Mild, tender fish
Inconsistent texture
Smoke and salt lacking

Brand: Bumble Bee Seafoods/Brunswick
Description: Sardines in soybean oil
Species: Herring
Country of Origin: Poland
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.75 oz.
Price Range: $1-2

Alshark Moroccan Sardines in Olive Oil

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These Alshark Moroccan Sardines in Olive Oil came from a local Middle Eastern market. They were a new item since last I visited. Google Lens translates some of the Arabic verbiage to reveal the name is really "Al Sharq". Labeled "Lightly-smoked sardines in olive oil", I was intrigued, as so few pilchards come out of Morocco smoked. For $2.69, it didn't seem I could go wrong.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

Looks to be a good count, at least five. Packing not so pretty. Dark dorsal side up. Scales, or is that just loose skin? I see no tails, but there are dorsal fins, quite unusual.

The aroma is stronger than usual of fish, but not in a bad way. There is also a hint of the aforementioned smoke. A sip of the olive oil doesn't reveal much, but also tastes faintly of smoke. The carton doesn't specify how the smoke flavor is achieved, so we'll assume smoked means smoked, not just flavored.

Here We Go

Lifting them out of the tin to put over rice, they are slightly inclined to break apart. As I do so, I'm having trouble deciding if what's being dislodged by my fork is just skin or sheets of scales. I'm hoping for the former.

I also note several hair-like pin bones loose about the fish. I'm not worrying about ingesting them, but their presence is off-putting.

I poured about a tablespoon of the oil left in the tin over everything, trying to avoid any of the debris left floating in it.

Digging in, the fish are tender and moist. No dryness, no mushiness. Whether scales or skin, I was surprisingly unbothered by anything unwelcome sticking to the roof of my mouth.

The smoke has been judiciously applied. It's complementing the flavor of the fish nicely. Overall, the non-visual portion of the experience has been quite good.

Main Takeaways

Moist, tender fish
Balanced smoke
Dim the lights or close your eyes while consuming

While I applaud the flavor, texture and smoke, I'm having a hard time forgiving the lackadaisical approach to processing. I doubt I'll be returning to these any time soon. Perhaps, in time, they will up their game on fish cleaning protocols.

Brand: Alshark (Al Sharq) / Baroody Imports, NJ
Description: Sardines in Olive Oil
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: Morocco
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.38 oz.
Price Range: $2-3

Ati Manel Sardines in Olive Oil

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These Ati Manel Sardines in Olive Oil came from Caputo's. I've been down the spicy and tomato-sauced sardine rabbit hole for a while now, and decided it was time to get back to basics: just some good sardines in a good olive oil.

Two demerits to Caputo's for sending out a dented carton without inspecting the tin for damage. The can was dented as well, but the seal appeared uncompromised, and no leakage detected. The shipping carton was not dented.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.8/5.

Some nice looking sardines, although the skins are a bit roughed up. The aroma from the tin is largely neutral, with only a whiff of sardine aroma. A sip of the oil is about the same. I see no scales, fins or tails.

Digging In

Lifting them from the tin, I can feel they're going to be tender, even though they're not falling apart. There are six fish total, a good size for the most tender and flavorful pilchards.

Placing them over rice, I poured about half of the olive oil remaining in the tin over everything, trying to avoid the loose pieces of skin left floating in it.

The fish yield to the pierce of a fork easily, and on the palate are even more tender than expected. Quite moist as well.

If there's any complaint (other than the dented can), it would be the lack of salt. The carton lists 480mg. sodium, but it feels like far less. For the last fish, I added a scant teaspoon of Chef Troy's Crunchy Garlic Chili Sauce, and that perked thing up significantly.

Main Takeaways

Tender, moist fish
Fresh sardine flavor
Needed some salt

See Ati Manel at Amazon.

Brand: 100 Misterios / Ati Manel
Description: Sardines in Olive Oil
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: Portugal
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.2 oz.
Price Range: $7