Anyone a fan of tinned fish?

[HillBill]

Serious question.

I know not many are.

Got into it quite a bit lately. Cheap Sardines, Middling Mackerel... Expensive stuff... (think £24 for 3 tins expensive, One is awesome, one not so awesome, one yet to be judged)

But seriously, Tinned fish... What do you like and how do you eat it?

Recipes?

 

[Pattree]

Yeah. I have half a dozen little tins of mackrel in oil. I use them for snacks with rice or a baked potatoe. They benefit from more oil and a squeeze of tomatoe puré and/or a few flaked almonds but I don’t do much. Just snacks.

I always take one to camps but usually bring it home again.

I was told that you can heat them up by opening the ring pull tin and folding a paper towel into the oil and setting fire to it. I tried it and It sort of works but you’ve lost the oil

 

[HillBill]

Yeah. I have half a dozen little tins of mackrel in oil. I use them for snacks with rice or a baked potatoe. They benefit from more oil and a squeeze of tomatoe puré and/or a few flaked almonds but I don’t do much. Just snacks.

I always take one to camps but usually bring it home again.

I was told that you can heat them up by opening the ring pull tin and folding a paper towel into the oil and setting fire to it. I tried it and It sort of works but you’ve lost the oil

Its Potato.
Tomato.
Puree

Where you from again? You went from can't spell,to using a French acute accent... Pure.. becoming Pure ay, Sounds the same...but you're testing me. '

All that aside...Finishes up with a common youtube hack for oily fish?

I asked a serious question, with reasons. X

 

[TeeDee]

I'm definitely on a journey for exploring tinned fish for a few reasons - not that you asked for reasons per se.

Mostly sticking currently with Herring , Mackerel and Sardines.

Currently have found Sardines can vary wildly from the very poor in taste/texture to the very good and as I'm trying to make a point of eating more per week and me being partly frugally Scottish in blood lineage , I'm trying to find the right price point for value vs cost.

Mackerel and Herring I find to be more meaty versions of fish I can easily crack open and eat Cold.

I have no recipes or special combinations - yet - I've found some barbarous ways of improving flavour ( masking by overpowering ) cheap fish with sauce but then that is more about taste deception as opposed to enhancement.

Canned fish is a good call for the kitchen cupboard I think or camping trip/left in a car for easy high quality food on the go.
Sardines is now regarded as a super food -- If you look into 'Sardine Fasting' is an actual strategy of sorts for creating cold resistance and dieting whilst avoiding carbs.

 

[bobnewboy]

I’m a fan, as tinned fish was a favourite of my Dad. Particularly sardines, pilchards, tuna, herring, mackerel, salmon and anchovies. To be honest I prefer fresh anchovies but they do get a bit expensive. I like all of them in their usual presentations - oils, tomato sauces, brine, pepper and mustard sauces. I must also confess to buying rollmops and other preserved fish products when passing IKEA. I worked for a Swedish company for 30 years, visiting Stockholm fairly frequently so this may have also contributed to my taste for fish of this type. That also led to trying surstromming (sp?) just the once at a friend’s house, but it’s not something I’d wish to repeat….

 

[Chris]

I like tinned smoked or sweet cured mackerel a lot. Always got about 10 tins in the cupboard as an emergency source of protein.

 

[Broch]

As a student, way back, pilchard bolognaise was a staple - one cheap tin of pilchards and spaghetti was a meal for about 30p.

We always have tinned fish in stock - tuna, salmon, sardines, pilchards, crab, and anchovies. The missus makes an excellent instant sardine pate

 

[Danceswithhelicopters]

What a coindence.

Came back from a long trip and had nothing in the house apart from a tin of red salmon in brine. Lightly drained, a few capers, lemon juice and GBP and spread out onto toast.... I forgot how good it was.

 

[William_Montgomery]

Always try to keep a healthy supply of tinned tuna and mackerel in the house. Used mainly for simple back-up meals, sandwiches, pasta, rice etc.

Often keep them tucked away with other store cupboard ingredients that can be used together as a complete meal if need be.

 

[Falstaff]

Eat loads, buy them bulk from Costco. Sardines, mackerel and less so of the Tuna in water/oil. When I can get it, also a fan of Costco smoked mackerel and kippers.

Mix in with sweet potato hot with chilli and spring onions, with rice instead of egg, easy (any fish) nicoise (hot or cold), in pitta breads with salads stuff. ciabatta sarnies with pickelled beetroot, or saurekraut.
With beans and flash-boiled courgetted ribbons with lemon and olive oil .
Pasta, stir fry's etc. you name it, the worlds your fishy oyster.

High calorie/protein so on calorie restriction days a half tin is enough, but needs a lot of restraint not to eat the rest!
When I can buy fresh fish cheap I'll freeze or use it, but don't touch Irish Sea and wary of southern north sea fish, both due to level of pollution. Morrissons do cheap salmon heads, fish head soups are common in Asia, but but I guess that's something you have to get used to eating in the UK.

 

[HorseGuy]

Tinned sardines or mackerel in tomato sauce mixed with barbecue baked beans on seeded toast. Delicious and only take five minutes to cook.

Occasionally I have tuna with pasta and sauce or with mayonnaise and sweetcorn in a sandwich.

 

[FerlasDave]

The missus makes an excellent instant sardine pate

Recipe please?!

 

[oldtimer]

Good to see folk calling pilchards pilchards. My Cornish soul curdles when Sainsbury's call them Cornish sardines. My parents seemed to eat nothing else but tinned pilchards when I was a child.
When we're in France we regularly go to the village Sardinade - sardines grilled over vine clippings in huge quantities. These are fresh caught locally but we also have a local shop that sells only tinned fish. We eat tons. Parmentier brand recommended.

In England and when travelling in the camper van we regularly eat tuna pasta for its convenience and its taste. Recipe: boil handful of fusili, when cooked drain and add can of tuna in oil, squirt of tomato puree (note spelling although acute accent missing from first e) sprinkling of paprika and mix well. I was amused to see my grandchildren being packed off by our daughter in law to a new university term with a five kilo bag of fusili and multi packs of tuna.

Just counted none tins of tuna and kilo of fusili on larder. Must remember to restock!

 

[Pattree]

Good to see folk calling pilchards pilchards. My Cornish soul curdles when Sainsbury's call them Cornish sardines

Now.
Here, I am dependent on QI which is a major element of my external brain.

Apparently, herring, sardines, pilchards, and even sprats and whitebait are the same or closely related species sold under the different names at different sizes.

Ah! This seems bear out The QI Elves.
It seems that even anchovies might be the same.

Tinned pilchards in tomatoe were part of my early youth diet but I’ve not eaten them for decades.

Edited to add (off topic):
If you get a chance to see the QI Elves show: “No Such Thing as a Fish” I thoroughly recommend it.

 

[TeeDee]

If anyone is feeling flush.

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Shop the widest range of tinned fish. Nuri sardines, Cantabrian anchovies, tuna in jersey butter, sprats and octopus. Home to the original and first tinned fish subscription. Expertly crafted hampers, unique gift box ideas with mackerel, hake, cod liver, ventresca and scallops. Shop online and...

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[demented dale]

i made candle out of them. simple
1. open tin
2. stick in wick
3. light and burn all the fuel
4. eat the fish.
ps does anyone know how long it keeps? do different fish last longer? and does what they are in, ie oil or brine affect this? i would wecome any info. dd xxxx

 

[HorseGuy]

i made candle out of them. simple
1. open tin
2. stick in wick
3. light and burn all the fuel
4. eat the fish.
ps does anyone know how long it keeps? do different fish last longer? and does what they are in, ie oil or brine affect this? i would wecome any info. dd xxxx

How do you do this? Do you poke a small hole in the tin and then push the wick through the hole or do you open the tin completely before putting the wick in?

 

[Pattree]

I learned this as a method of heating the fish (it’s already cooked in the tin). I opened the whole tin and pushed a folded paper towel into the contents. I don’t think much of it because when it’s all done the fish needs more oil to make it palatable

Couple of years ago, on the TV program “The Factory” they opened a tin of sardines that had been canned 41 years before. Cherry Healey sniffed it and said it smelled fine. Noticeably she didn’t eat any of it - but that might be something to do with the TV production company’s insurance. .
I’d have at least tasted it.

Edited to add:
The tins of mackerel in my cupboard have a “use by“ date of September 2030.

 

[Falstaff]

I can say that, at least on old pilcard cans, the rust on the outside getting thru is more of a problem.

 

[Steve27752]

Yes, I like Tuna, Sardines or Mackerel with rice or on toast.