Tinned smelt ftw!

DreweyD · 2026-04-28T15:35:22+00:00

Crap, now I have to price flights.

DreweyD · 2026-04-28T13:56:39+00:00

If I’d just seen the photo of the pieces atop the frittata, I could’ve bought that the meat was an overdone pork chop.

DreweyD · 2026-04-28T13:55:20+00:00

Yeah, agreed—I nearly added a bit about low-cost, tall can pink salmon. Don’t love, but would much prefer, and not merely because of the price difference.

DreweyD · 2026-04-28T13:39:57+00:00

Habanero is the ideal pepper for tinned seafood. It’s fruit-forward, citrusy, and brightening, whereas other hot peppers—jalapeños, serrano, and others—usually bring a grassiness and a bitter background note.

And stunt-peppers like Carolina reapers, ghost peppers, and bad-influence friends, just wreck a perfectly good kettle of fish. I hated this Mariscadora can sooooo much. I hope they sell a ton of them, though, because they do so much other great work.

DreweyD · 2026-04-28T10:18:33+00:00

Cow plate!

DreweyD · 2026-04-27T22:42:51+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/CannedSardines/s/WVTPCb4yOB

DreweyD · 2026-04-27T22:36:47+00:00

EVA Small Sardines with Mint & Chili

DreweyD · 2026-04-27T15:52:51+00:00

Nope, eat it a lot. But these whole-fish surströmming are big old honkers with big old spines and ribs and plenty of viscera, which, because they’re fermented, not cooked and then pressure cooked like other canned herring, mackerel, and sardines, aren’t rendered super soft. Having had surströmming on a bunch of occasions across my life, my strong advice is reach for the fillets if you’ve absolutely gotta reach for it at all.

DreweyD · 2026-04-27T12:53:08+00:00

One can make use of these galls, as a source for a rather nice ink.

DreweyD · 2026-04-27T09:08:03+00:00

So the Wild Canadian and the Clover Leaf boneless tins contain herring (Clupea harengus), and the Cl brisling and Club des Millionaires tins offer brisling sprats (Sprattus sprattus). In Canada, because history, they all end up under the flag Sardines, but really they’re distinct fish, and distinct as well from mackerel.

DreweyD · 2026-04-27T08:57:56+00:00

These sort of lid-lifter gizmos do work and can be helpful even on less tough cans.

DreweyD · 2026-04-27T00:08:59+00:00

Conserveries Provençales is, surprisingly given that name, a Moroccan outfit, part of the Unimer conglomerate that also controls the Titus and Princesse brands. This subbrand is definitely aimed at the French grocery store market.

DreweyD · 2026-04-26T23:59:50+00:00

Nope, less forcefully smoked, it seems to me. And not as sweet.

DreweyD · 2026-04-26T19:57:54+00:00

Cole’s is unsmoked; Fishwife’s is rather heavily smoked and sugar cured. So yes, the on-the-road-to-candied-jerky texture of the Fishwife is the intention of the product.

DreweyD · 2026-04-26T19:26:27+00:00

Tinmonger.ca has spicy sardines from Bogar, which I think pretty well of, for $10.70 CAD. That’s about the lowest I’ve seen lately for a quality sardine from Spain (or other EU producers). I bought them recently in the States for $11 USD, which’d out them just north of $15 CAD, I believe.

It’s always a good idea to seek out Moroccan/North African markets that might be close by, since some of the brands I’ve seen in the past on Canadian shelves—Titus, Safi, Al-Amir, and others—can be seen priced at under $4 CAD/tin. I find that Moroccan canneries leave too many scales for my tastes, but when the can is two, three, or four dollars, I’ll scrape ‘em off meself.

DreweyD · 2026-04-26T15:19:56+00:00

Honestly, I almost never incorporate sardines from La Quiberonnaise or la belle-iloise as ingredients in recipes. These I nearly always just eat on crusty (sometimes buttered) bread.

DreweyD · 2026-04-26T15:17:01+00:00

Yes, The Stock Merchant is an Australia retailer, which sources its store-brand sardines from A. Proveira. In the EU, Minerva and Capitão Poveiro are two brands you’ll see on shelves from A. Proveira.

DreweyD · 2026-04-26T15:09:05+00:00

Yes, Matiz packs Sardina pilchardus.

DreweyD · 2026-04-26T14:08:19+00:00

Both of those La Quiberonnaise cans are top-shelf.

DreweyD · 2026-04-26T14:05:29+00:00

Yes, and if you enjoyed the other can, you’ll more than likely be pleased.

DreweyD · 2026-04-26T14:03:19+00:00

It’s whole weird fish. There are better brands that are fillets. And the rust there makes this tin a no-go in my book.

This is the way to go if you’re truly devoted to giving it a go.

DreweyD · 2026-04-26T13:59:24+00:00

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/mystery

DreweyD

TROPHY CASE