JOSÉ Gourmet Archives

JOSÉ Gourmet Small Sardines in EVOO

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

JOSÉ Gourmet Small Sardines in Tomato

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These JOSÉ Gourmet Small Sardines in Tomato came with a recent Caputo's order. I have experienced an increasing affinity for sardines in tomato-based sauces, after having avoided them for reasons of which I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, let's try these out.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

There appear to be seven fish total. The can is a shallower one, so what you see is what you get (almost). The aroma is subtle, just slightly that of fresh sardine and somewhat vegetal. A sip of the red-tinted oil (EVOO!) is similarly vegetal, but gives no real hints of the tomato. I see no scales or fins.

Time To Eat

I was able to remove them all from the can largely intact. Underneath, and a happy surprise, was the tomato sauce from which the oil had separated. All told, there were a couple of tablespoons of it all, which I distributed over the fish and rice.

Tasting the tomato component, I find it has a subtle seasoning. The ingredients list tomato pulp, EVOO, onion and garlic, an unnamed preparation comprised of white wine, sugar, white pepper and paprika, and salt.

The seasonings account for a very small percentage of the list, but the onion, garlic and some sweetness, either from the tomato or the sugar, are the most detectable. The salt level, listed at 360mg. sodium, didn't distract.

The fish are tender, but firm enough to divide into bites with a fork without mushiness. While eating, I thought a spicy tomato version might be well-received. On the other hand, the sauce was subtle enough (I won't call it bland) to let the taste of the fish shine through.

If any complaint, it would be that there were a couple of pieces of what looked like some kind of brown grass that were either on or in one of the fish. Nothing in the ingredient list to explain it, but definitely some kind of plant material.

Main Takeaways

Tender, tasty small sardines
Well-balanced, subtle sauce lets fish flavor shine

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

JOSÉ Gourmet Small Sardines in EVOO – Crosspack

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These JOSÉ Gourmet Small Sardines in EVOO are one of several of their small sardine offerings, all pilchards. This one is the "limited edition crosspack". Crosspack is an indication the sardines are small enough to be no longer than the tin is wide. Pilchards so small are typically the most tender and flavorful. Let's see how these were.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

The aroma is clean and fresh, with no fishy notes. A sip of the extra virgin olive oil, has a rich quality about it. It has an amber tint, not attributable to smoke or other ingredient. There are eight fish total in a single layer, but I have seen cans with as many as ten.

A bite of fish alone is tender, with no scales apparent, nor dryness to the meat. The label lists salt as the only other ingredient, and I thought it might have benefited by just a tad more.

They all extracted from the can relatively easily and intact but for some of the skin. What oil remained in the can accounted for about one third of its volume. I poured about half of it over the sardines and rice.

I ate the first couple fish whole, due to their small size. But I quickly realized I'd be done in only a handful more bites. The rest I divided into smaller pieces to savor for longer.

All in all, a satisfying, sardine purist experience. Fresh, small pilchards unadulterated by any preparation or sauce. Just cooked and packed in a high quality EVOO with a touch of salt.

Main Takeaways

Tender, flavorful fish
Quality EVOO
Could have used a pinch of salt

Brand: 100 Misterios / JOSÉ Gourmet
Description: Small Sardines in EVOO, limited edition cross pack
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Portugal
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.2 oz.
Price Range: $10

JOSÉ Gourmet Smoked Small Mackerel in Olive Oil

DeenLeave a comment

I chose this JOSÉ Gourmet Smoked Small Mackerel in Olive Oil as part of a recent online order not really knowing what I would get. There was no photo. The description didn't say fillets, but all the smoked mackerel I'd had before was either slices or chunks of fish. Perhaps "small" should have been a clue.

Initial impression upon opening the can: Oh, no...

OK, maybe that assessment was a little premature. The last whole small mackerel I had was not that impressive. Its seasonings were lackluster, and the loins of fish still had most of their fins.

Pressing on. The aroma and taste of a sip of the oil were both smoky, the latter quite distinctively. The carton doesn't specify method, but it was clearly derived from natural wood smoke. I want to say it was borderline acrid, but hoped it didn't translate to the fish that way.

Extracting a fish from the can, the skin is remarkably iridescent, shifting color from charcoal to gray to blue to bronze as it moves in the light. I know that's not really germane to the flavor, but interesting nonetheless. A bite of the fish is firm, but doesn't seem dry, at least not any drier than typical smoked fish.

Out onto rice, you can see they were substantial in size, even though described as small.

Trying to pierce them with a fork, they were resistant to being divided up into bites crosswise, but did readily split open along the spine.

Unfortunately, the smoke flavor was just strong enough to predominate, and by the end had become a little fatiguing on the palate. I also thought they might have benefited by a little more salt.

So far, I've been a fan of everything JOSÉ Gourmet I've tried, but this may be the exception. YMMV.

Main Takeways

Nice looking fish
Not as small as expected
Overly smoky

See it at Amazon.

Brand: 100 Misterios / JOSÉ Gourmet
Description: Smoked Small Mackerel in olive oil
Species: Scomber sp.
Country of Origin: Portugal
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.2 oz.
Price Range: $10

JOSÉ Gourmet Smoked Small Sardines in EVOO

DeenLeave a comment

Another selection from a recent online order, these JOSÉ Gourmet Smoked Small Sardines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil were intriguing. The majority of smoked sardines are sprats/brisling, so I welcomed the opportunity to try smoked pilchards, and especially some from a premium quality producer.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

The five you see are what you get. This is one of those shallower cans. I was hoping for smaller fish, but that's OK. The initial whiff when cracking open the can was similar to that of tinned smoked oysters. The carton doesn't specify how the smoke flavor is achieved, but one has to assume from the firmness of the fish, the bronze appearance of the skin and the pink hue to the flesh that these are naturally wood smoked. A sip of the oil has, for lack of a better word, a "woody" note, like the oak-y notes of a fine red wine.

Some pelvic fins remain, but no scales evident. They are firm enough to be pulled from the can intact. The fish is tender but with that al dente bite smoked fish often exhibit. The smoke level is just right, not overpowering the taste of the fish.

Using EVOO is always welcome, but any flavor notes it might have imparted were masked by the smoke.

All in all, though, another quality selection from JOSÉ Gourmet.

Reasonably priced in lots of three at Amazon.

Main Takeaways

Not really all that small
Great smoky aroma and flavor
Good overall balance lets fish flavor still shine through

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

JOSÉ Gourmet Spiced Small Sardines

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After being impressed by their sardines with lemon, I ordered a can of these JOSÉ Gourmet Spiced Small Sardines. I pretty much knew what to expect in terms of "spiced", but wanted to see how well JG applied it.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.8/5.

The aromas of bay and clove were evident as soon as the can was cracked. As with the JG sardines with lemon, some nice looking fish. I was expecting smaller, but the size and count, six, is the same as the can of lemon sardines. Each fish lifted from the can whole without breaking, but the meat was tender and not dry. No scales evident.

The usual spice suspects were in the bottom: a slice each of pickle and carrot, a clove, a small piri-piri pepper and a few flakes of bay leaf. White pepper and salt round out the seasonings. The olive oil was nicely infused with them, the overall balance being just right. The carrot still had a little tooth to it. Not much in the way of heat from the piri-piri, though.

Examining the box, I see these are 3.2 oz. vs. 4.2 oz. for the lemon variation. So, apparently they are "small", even thought the count was the same. I did note the can seemed somewhat shallow.

Anyway, as spiced sardines go, these are top-notch, albeit a little spendy.

Main Takeaways

Thought there'd be more fish
Well-balanced seasonings
Per ounce, pricey

See it at Amazon. Currently not well-priced there, though.

Brand: 100 Misterios / JOSÉ Gourmet
Description: Spiced Small Sardines
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Portugal
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.2 oz.
Price Range: $10

JOSÉ Gourmet Sardines with Lemon in Olive Oil

DeenLeave a comment

Pay attention, reader. These JOSÉ Gourmet Sardines with Lemon in Olive Oil are, to date, the manifestation of what I think "sardines with lemon" should be. And I mean that in all respects.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

These are some really nice looking fish. There was no promise of what size these would be on the carton, but I'm really happy that they're smaller. Hopefully, that's consistent from can to can.

There's no overtly fishy aroma. The oil is tinged slightly yellow, which I hoped meant good things, either in terms of olive oil flavor or lemon-wise. I tasted the oil, as I usually do, and found a subtle yet realistic lemony essence.

Pulling fish from the can, they are firm enough. But tasting them, they are beautifully melt-in-your-mouth tender. No scales evident at all. Almost as perfect as a skin-on, bone-in pilchard can be. The lemon flavor is spot-on. There's a half slice in the bottom of the can. It retains its citrus flavor well enough so that bits of it consumed with the fish only improve the experience. Even the rind is worth tasting. Highly recommended.

I happened to crack open this can while enjoying a glass of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Its own lemony notes complemented the sardines well, its bright acidity cutting through the richness of the fish and olive oil nicely.

Main Takeaways

Really nice looking fish
Top notch lemon flavor
The lemon sardine to beat

See it at Amazon. They are well-priced there when purchased in packs of three or more.

Brand: 100 Misterios / JOSÉ Gourmet
Description: Sardines with Lemon in Olive Oil
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Portugal
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.2 oz.
Price Range: $9