hot sauce Archives

Northern Catch Sardines in Hot Sauce v.3

I wrote a while back about the sardines from Aldi changing from pilchards to sprats. I thought the original in hot sauce, or at least the first version I ever bought, were some pretty good sardines for $1. Those were pilchards from Morocco. The revision containing sprats was sourced from Poland. The worst part wasn't the change of species, but rather that the hot sauce changed from a really good harissa to something rather pedestrian, like what you'd find in any supermarket variety sardines. But, as of Spring 2026, they've changed again. Now, they're Western Pacific Sardinops sagax sourced from Thailand, and I'm calling them Northern Catch Sardines in Hot Sauce v.3.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

Surprisingly good appearance. Skin mostly intact. No fins, tails, nor any scales to speak of. The sauce has a deep, vibrant color. The aroma is mildly vinegary. No fishy smell. A sip of the sauce it more tangy than hot.

Let's Eat

There are four husky fish total. They are firm, and came out of the can fairly intact. Once out over the rice, I poured about half of the sauce remaining in the tin over the fish.

The texture on the palate is firm and meaty, but still tender. No dryness to them at all. I usually prefer Northeastern Atlantic pilchards, but there's nothing to complain about here.

Rather than a traditional hot sauce, the sauce reminds me more of Salsa Espinaler, but with a little more body. And that's not a bad thing.

Main Takeaways

Meaty Western Pacific sardines
Moist and tender
Tangy sauce

I'll have to say Aldi just may have redeemed themselves with this change. After the Moroccan pilchards in harissa, the sprats were just ho-hum. These are orders of magnitude better. Let's hope it lasts.

Brand: Aldi/Northern Catch
Description: Sardines in Hot Sauce
Species: Sardinops sagax
Country of Origin: Thailand
Source: FAO61, Western Pacific
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.75 oz.
Price Range: $1

Bulldog Sardines in Hot Sauce

DeenLeave a comment

I got these Bulldog Sardines in Hot Sauce from a local international market. The paper label on the otherwise-unmarked can leads me to assume these are just imported from some unknown cannery and distributed generically through similar market channels. Because nothing says yummy sardines like naming them after a canine, right? Wish me luck.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

There appear to be five fish total. These are from Thailand, so I'm assuming one of the Western Pacific species of sardine (Sardinella gibbosa?). There are some scales, but no tails or fins. The hot sauce is watery, with a pale, bland color.

The aroma is subtle, maybe a hint of vinegary pepper. A taste of the "hot sauce" is disappointing. The liquid is thin and tastes more like tomato, even though none is listed in the ingredients. The label says soybean oil, but it's way down the list, so I would characterize these as being packed in water with flavoring.

Here We Go

After digging them out and transferring them to the rice bowl, there were about four tablespoons of the "hot sauce" left in the can. I poured about half over everything.

The thing that hit me first about the fish themselves was the dryness. They appear to glisten in the photo, but that's just the watery "hot sauce". And by dry, I mean like sawdust. I added the remaining liquid from the can, but it didn't help.

About halfway through, honestly, I just lost interest and didn't care if I finished them or not.

I bought another can in just soybean oil at the same time. I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt, and see if they are any better. After all, these were essentially just packed in flavored water, and sardines packed in water are last on my list.

Main Takeaways

Visually unappealing
Hot sauce not so hot
Desert-in-your-mouth dryness

Oh, well, they were only $1.69, so I'm not out that much. I wasn't expecting to be impressed.

For reasons unknown, I attempted to get a little more info on these. I had seen that older cans referenced a company called Bulldog Seafood, but the web URL for it is a dead link. The Web Archive crawl of the site shows it active from 2010 to 2016. The latest image still had "coming soon" verbiage.

Brand: Prefer Products / Bulldog
Description: Sardines in hot sauce
Species: Sardinella gibbosa?
Country of Origin: Thailand
Source: FAO71, Western Central Pacific
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.75 oz.
Price Range: $2

Chicken of the Sea Sardines in LA Hot Sauce

DeenLeave a comment

I purchased these Chicken of the Sea Sardines in LA Hot Sauce at the same time as the versions in lemon sauce and Mediterranean style, with the intention of comparing them. I chose instead to follow the motto "one can at a time", and review them separately.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.25/5.

A little messy on the presentation, but the can is packed acceptably full, with little slosh. Meat is reasonably tender with bones not noticeable and none of the prickliness sometimes associated with sprats. The sauce is in ways reminiscent of Louisiana style hot sauce, which is milder than others such as Tabasco. The sauce is not as piquant/vinegary and face sweat-inducing as that of the recent revision of the Northern Catch Sardines in Hot Sauce.

Closer examination of the label shows these could either be sprats or herring, making one wonder if the distribution is random or regional. I think herring in this sauce could actually be quite good. The label on the can is adhesive paper on the lid only, which makes me think the fish content could be seasonal, like sprats today and herring maybe in six months.

Not bad for the price, as supermarket sardines go, but not necessarily memorable, either.

Main Takeaways

Visually kind of a mess
Tender fish without the prickly tails sprats sometimes have
Not exactly LA hot sauce, but not bad

Brand: Chicken of the Sea
Description: Brisling Sardines in Louisiana hot sauce
Species: Sprattus sprattus
Country of Origin: Poland
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.75 oz.
Price Range: $2

Northern Catch Sardines in Hot Sauce v.2

DeenLeave a comment

Well, they went and messed with it again. Now, we have Northern Catch Sardines in Hot Sauce v.2. You may remember my enthusiastic review of Northern Catch Sardines in Hot Sauce v.1 some time ago. When I went to restock at Aldi last week, there were absolutely no sardines on the shelf. Zero, zilch, nada. This week explained the absence. They changed them from pilchards to sprats, and from harissa to something more akin to an actual hot sauce.

I bought three cans anyway. Then I went to another Aldi and bought all of the old type they had left, about a dozen cans. Then I went home, and opened one of the new cans to assess the situation.

Initial impression upon opening the can 3.5/5.

They now come in a labeled, unboxed can. As mentioned above, they're now sprats. They are also now 3.75 oz. vs. 4.25 oz. Shaking the unopened can, you can feel the slosh. There was space enough left for probably two more fish, so it was possible for them to have remained 4.25 oz. Shrinkflation indeed.

Taste-wise, they aren't bad at all. The sauce ingredients are quite different. Rather than the mild, warm heat of harissa, they now have an utterly piquant sauce. Not burning fire hot, but that kind of vinegary heat that sets your face and scalp to sweating. They're either very tender or mushy, depending upon your point of view. Trying to lift individual fish out of the can with culinary tweezers resulted in most breaking in half.

They are now a product of Poland rather than Morocco, and are sourced from FAO27 (Northeast Atlantic) rather than FAO34 (Eastern Central Atlantic). Looking for nutritional facts, I found none, only a notation to write to the address listed on the can.

Main Takeaways

Don't fix what ain't broken
Different, but not terrible
Fall apart easily

I suppose I can live with these. Still 99 cents.

Brand: Aldi/Northern Catch
Description: Sardines in Hot Sauce
Species: Sprats
Country of Origin: Poland
Source: FAO27, Northeastern Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.75 oz.
Price Range: $1

Northern Catch Sardines in Hot Sauce

DeenLeave a comment

We got ourselves a real sleeper here, folks. Northern Catch Sardines in Hot Sauce, an Aldi exclusive. Sometimes it's just one of those things: You're there. It's there. The price is a no-brainer, 99 cents. Put it in the basket, already. I had seen a review of these from about 4 years ago, and at the time they were herring. Today, they're pilchards sourced from Morocco.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4/5.

At first, I wasn't sure these were sardines, they were so big. Two (sometimes three) big fat ones squeezed into a can and swimming in harissa! Usually, I prefer my pilchards smaller, more like in the 3 to 5 per can range, but at 99 cents I guess I can't be too picky.

Hot sauce here is a misnomer. The down list ingredients say "natural hot flavor (capsicum, etc.)", but it's not hot. This is a mildly spicy, vinegary, unctuous (in a good way) sauce. This is the kind of stuff you would want a whole bottle of to put on that can of plain sardines you just bought. At 150 calories, the only thing keeping me from having two cans was the 660mg. sodium. Can't have everything, I guess.

Update July 2025: Sadly, these have been changed again, and are now brisling sardines in a much bolder sauce.

Brand: Aldi/Northern Catch
Description: Sardines in Hot Sauce
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Morocco
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.25 oz.
Price Range: $1