Made a salad with these sardines but I didn’t really like it. Super oily and very fishy tasting. Should I have drained the oil? Not used mayonnaise? Honestly using both I was expecting it to be oily. I probably didn’t mind the oiliness as much as the fishiness. Is it because the sardines were “dried” as indicated on the package? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.
by poppietott
16 Comments
I think you’ve got the wrong species for your taste… you’ve bought brisling sardines (sprattus sprattus) instead of pilchards (sardina pilchardus). Last one is an entirely different species, which in my opinion has less fish-y taste. Try reading the small texts on the box, lol!
Cut the fishiness with something like mustard or vinegar. Looks like you may have used sweet pickles?
I think you need to choose your fat source: can oil or mayo, not both.
In this case, you think it’s too fishy, so I would’ve drained the oil and kept the mayo.
Kewpie mayo
I have assumed that “dried sardines” might be a translation error, intended to indicate that they’re smoked sardines—and there only lightly.
I have better success relying on true sardines (Sardina pilchardus), which are larger and generally more meaty, rather than brisling sprats (Sprattus sprattus) like these, for “tuna” salad-type preparations. I always drain the oil, and let mayonnaise or some such take its place, but some folks use the tin oil to whip up the dressing.
Seconding. Brisling are fishier imo and also tend to be softer/less meaty due to their size, so when you break them down at all i find the texture and taste combo a bit unappealing. Especially with too much oil or mayo on board. They’re best on a cracker with hummus/cream cheese/pickled veg to balance imo.
For a salad, definitely look for bigger pilchards or mackerel if you can find at a comparable price.
You put all the oil in and then added an enormous amount of mayonnaise.
Sardines are going to taste like fish, however. If you don’t like the taste of sardines, don’t get that brand and don’t get them in oil. Get them packed in water. Oil holds onto the flavor of the fish and water removes some flavor.
Skip the mayo.add chickpeas, red onion, olive oil and an acid like lemon juice or vinegar. Hot sauce would also work and either fresh baby tomatoes or sun-dried
Use deens in water for salads, not oil. Add a vinegar source as they will be fishy. Rice vinegar or tabassco are my go tos.
Way too much oil, your fish is wadding in a shallow pool in pic 3
I would say over mixing, and I don’t put mayo. I think you tried to replicate a tuna salad with sardines. Just have the cracker and a light mix of sardine pickle and celery etc so you can have more of a contrast between the different items
part sour cream is an option
As you can see on the package, these are for the gourmand’s pleasure. Next time select one for a gourmet
This brand is gross, I feel like nothing would make them more palatable.
Probably should’ve used sardines in water (drained), and used less mayonnaise.
Tinned fish in water is for recipes; tinned fish in oil is for eating.
Well do you like sardines in general?