It occurred to me that it had been a long time since I had returned to where the journey started, with some skinless boneless sardines. Back then, I ordered King Oscar's by the case, usually consuming them as an evening snack with saltine crackers. This tin of Brunswick Skinless Boneless Sardines in Olive Oil was laying around in my stash, and I was moved to revisit this style of tinned fish. For old times' sake.
Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.
There's that aroma, somewhere between sardine and tuna. The olive oil has a golden hue. There appear to be five fileted loins total.
Let's Eat
My recollection of these was that, although tender and meaty, they were a little bland. With sodium a little on the low side at 290mg, they weren't all that salty. Seemed like a good opportunity to investigate how they would taste with chili crisp.
I first became aware of the condiment chili crisp while watching a youtube sardine reviewer. It would also be from where I learned of Salsa Espinaler. For the purposes of this review, I chose a rather spicy version of chili crisp, Chuannan Chili Oil Crisp, which you can learn more about at the link.
I was concerned this bold version of chili crisp might overpower the sardine flavor. The one the youtube reviewer had was a far tamer brand called Lao Gan Ma. But I found the heightened spice level of the Chuannan complemented the fish and vice versa. And since chili crisps are often combined with rice, the three together made for a tasty, umami-filled experience.
Main Takeaways
- Tasty sardines
- Nostalgic flavor
- Needed some spicing up
Brand: Brunswick
Description: Skinless boneless sardines in olive oil
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Morocco
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 4.4 oz.
Price Range: $2-3