Last year, just a month after moving to New York City, I hopped on the tinned fish craze. I had attended a Fishwife pop-up in Manhattan, where I feasted on deviled eggs with smoked rainbow trout, butter & anchovy toast, salmon seaweed snacks and caviar bumps. I arrived a tinned fish skeptic and left a newfound fan — so much so, that I took home tins of Fishwife’s Cantabrian Anchovies in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and their Lemon Zest Salt.
Tinned fish has been around for centuries, dating all the way back to the late 1700s when canning and preserving foods were budding inventions. In recent years, the humble food has become an online trend — and a dinner staple, especially amongst younger consumers.
“Tinned fish is the ultimate hot girl food,” Fishwife founder Caroline Goldfarb told Nylon in a 2021 interview. “There is no food that will make you hotter than tinned fish. Straight up. Do you know a hot girl who doesn’t exist on protein? I don’t.”
Brands like Fishwife, Jose Gourmet and Luisa Paixao have “fancified” tinned fish by neatly packaging processed seafood in peel-back, often decorative tins. Restaurants, like Saltie Girl’s and New York’s Maiden Lane, also sell their own high-end tinned fish. That being said, tinned fish doesn’t have to — and shouldn’t — break your bank. There are plenty of supermarket alternatives that are both affordable and don’t skimp on quality or freshness.
“You want to make sure that brands are using higher quality oils in preserving when they're making the tinned fish,” said Barbara Rich, lead chef-instructor of Culinary Arts at the Institute of Culinary Education’s New York City campus. Most tinned fish are packed in olive oil or refined oils, like vegetable, sunflower and soybean oils. It’s best to avoid brands that use refined oils and, instead, opt for ones that incorporate olive oil or extra virgin olive oil.
According to Rich, the best supermarket tinned fish that tastes fancy but isn’t is found at Trader Joe’s. Specifically, it’s their Wild Caught Boneless Grilled Sardines in Olive Oil. The brand also sells Lightly Smoked Sardines in Olive Oil, but Rich said the plain alternative is her absolute favorite.
“The reason I really like Trader Joe's tinned fish is because everything is boneless,” Rich explained. “I mean, flavor aside, people tend to get a little squidgy when there’s bones in their fish. It’s kind of tough for people to deal with.”
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Rich also recommended Wild Planet’s canned fish, which includes tuna, sardines, salmon, mackerel, yellowtail and anchovies. Unlike Trader Joe’s, Wild Planet is more transparent about their fish’s sourcing information. The latter includes labels specifying that its fish is “responsibly harvested,” “scale free,” “sustainable” and “organic.”
Tinned fish can be enjoyed straight out of the tin or on top of crackers, potato chips and toasted sourdough bread. Rich recommended putting tinned fish on top of salads: “I make a big salad for lunch and I want a little bit of protein. Tinned fish is a perfect portion size.”
They can also be added to pasta, whether that’s with tomato sauce or olive oil, garlic and lemon. Alison Roman’s famous Caramelized Shallot Pasta calls for a tin of anchovy fillets. Tinned trout is also delicious mixed in with scrambled eggs or combined with egg yolks when making a filling for deviled eggs.
“Sounds really silly, but tinned fish mushed on crackers is really good,” Rich said. “Sometimes I'll put a little bit of it on top of avocado toast which is really nice."
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