Trifecta of Delicious

I am lucky enough to be surrounded by family and friends that support my love of the tinned sardine and enjoy taking part in the reviewing process. My wife is always there, always willing to tear into a new tin. Her excitement is comforting. We've recruited her mother into the society. My kids (3 and 5 year old girls) love themselves some sardines. We are growing stronger as a group. There is no need to hide your enthusiasm for the tinned sardine! Fly your flag I say!
Anyway a short while back we had SALTS Paris chapter meeting at the apartment to celebrate a friends birthday. The wife and I had finally visited the Bon Marche and grabbed a few tins. We decided to enjoy these for the meeting:

Rödel sardines with lemon

Rödel sardines in olive oil

and La Belle-iloise sardines marinated in muscadet and herbs.

We had also ended up with a can of Russian caviar. Sure, why not?


This sparkling wine is deeeelicious and cheap and rediculously easy to drink. Watch out!

All sardines were really good. The rödels with lemon were good though not as popular as the rödels in plain olive oil. It's funny as with the connetable brand sardines I really like the ones with the lemon a bit better than those without. Not in this case. This night the red tin was the hit and emptied first. The la belle-iloise tin was good but there were some who didn't care for flavor of the wine. I'm not sure why but the men in the room, myself inlcuded, really liked these. I would say that these, though very different, command the same rating as the rödels with lemon.

There you go. I know that I need to do more cooking with sardines, but it's just so damn easy to cut up a bunch of whatever you have in the fridge, pop a tin or three, pull a cork or three and enjoy yourself. Do it.

Rödel with Lemon

Rödel in Olive Oil

La Belle-Iloise

Bad Blogger! A Bad, Bad Blogger!

Yes, I've been a bad blogger and a bad member of this society. I have consumed tin upon tin with intention to write about them but have been caught up and run over by life's wheels of confusion. Now those beautiful tins but a fleeting memory. I have photos but at this point I would be grasping at a memory to describe those fish in any detail. It'd be similar to wringing the last drops from a dry sponge or better yet squeezing the very last bit of juice from an already taxed lime onto the proverbial Taco Al Pastor of the blogoshphere. I have attached photos of a couple of tins that I will have to revisit in order to inform you all of their content.

There was this one,

Which, if memory serves, was not quite as exciting as this one. Deliciousness....I think.

So, to reintroduce myself to the world of writing about sardines the plan was to take a visit to the Bon Marche for some real nice tins with the Wife and kids. However by the time we actually left the house it was getting too late, the Metro was packed and the kids were getting hungry. We ended up hitting the Franprix for a couple cans of Connetable Sardines. Hey, at least I'm blogging again, right? I mean they're good damn fish, especially if you're used to what you get in the States.

First up was the 'Pen Duick' (a type of yacht?) 'Belles de l'Atlantique' Sardines in extra virgin olive oil. Okay, they were good I guess. When I opened the tin I was almost surprised by the size of these suckers. Some big ol' fish! We found them to be very unremarkable and bland. They were not at all fishy, which is good I guess, but could have really used a pinch of salt. The oil they were in didn't look so great either, so there's that. Oh, and they were firm and not mushy which is a plus.

So, uh, I'll give these two tins. I think my persepctive has changed a touch.

Next up is a tin I actually bought for lunch and is a regular staple of my diet, The Connetable Sardines in extra virgin olive oil with lemon. I like these. They're rich in Omega 3's ya' know? Anyway, upon opening this can I was comforted by the unassuming small size of these handsome fish. They taste clean and salty with a nice hint of lemon from the slices sitting at the bottom of the can. Yum. I found myself sopping up the quality olive oil with chunks of baguette. Yum again.

Although very satisfying and safe I give these Sardines three tins just because I have an idea of what exists out there, some truly remarkable four and five tin tins.

I am a rejuvenated and inspired man....I think.

For the Connetable 'Pen Duick' tin,

And For the Connetable Sardines with Lemon,

Sando Calrissian

Before my wife and kids left for Paris seven weeks ago and before I began living out of my industrial workspace I sat down on what were my front porch steps. I sat there with my five year old daughter and enjoyed one of the finest sandwiches of my life. My wife had read a recipe for this creation that included a parsley chive mayo and bacon. Though it also called for fresh whole sardines we made due with the old faves, King Oscar brisling sardines. Two effing Layer!
Now I apologize about the poor photo quality and that perhaps the photo of the said sandwich may not appear too appetizing but believe you me. It was absolutely delicious. Yes!

Grecian Formula.

So, staying true to my nature, I ate these fish, probably, two weeks ago and will wrangle the memory of this gifted tin of greek sardines from my beer soaked memory.




I remember that the fish was as any other handsome and firm sardines in clean tasting olive oil. Awesome and enjoyable but not remarkable.



The cheese was intense. Beautiful, but it upstaged everything else on the cutting board. A showboater.



And we also drank tequila. A bunch of it. The fact that I have any recollection of the evening is testament to my many years of practice.

Three tins.

Les Enfandines, Eva's with Lemon and a Coopers.

Although I have some previously enjoyed cans waiting for review I decided to review these while they're fresh in my memory. Last night we decided to feast on a couple of tins as supper. The Connetable sardines are of my dwindling french supply and the Eva's and the Coopers came from the Boise Co-op. This awesome tray of goodness included some jack cheese, Columbus sopressata, radishes, Mezzetta hot cherry peppers and, of course, crackers.

The Connetable Les Enfandines Sardines in Oil were as good as one could expect from fish lacking in skin and bones. Firm and not overly dry and not too fishy. They tasted clean in some nice light oil yet had an indescribable aftertaste. I find that sardine filets lack the moisture and flavor that comes with having skin and bones in the mix. If having sterile sardines is your thing then these puppies are for you and would probably receive a five tin rating.

Now onto the Eva's. The Eva brand never disappoints and these were no exception. These sardines were a pleasure to eat. Moist and flavorful with a hint of lemon that was not overpowering. I opened the can to notice a piece of lemon resting, partially dissolved, on top of some beautiful fish. Oh, man! I totally recommend these to any society members or to those who have the fortitude to appreciate tinned sardines.

The Coopers Sparkling Ale is one of my favorites. It is an unfiltered, deep colored ale with tiny bubbles representative of a trappist style ale. Delicious!

The Connetable sardines get three tins.

The Eva's get four tins.

The beer was awesome.