# Anchovy substitution



## goodgiver (Aug 28, 2006)

Can a person substute sardines for anchovies?  If so do you clean them first of the mustard and/oil and bones or what ?


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## AllenOK (Aug 28, 2006)

I haven't had sardines in years, but if I remember right, sardines are much milder in flavor than anchovies.  I use anchovies all the time at work.


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## VeraBlue (Aug 28, 2006)

goodgiver said:
			
		

> Can a person substute sardines for anchovies?  If so do you clean them first of the mustard and/oil and bones or what ?



That's kind of like asking if you can substitute oranges for limes.   Both are citrus but the flavours are distinctly different.

Same with sardines and anchovies.   Being small is the only thing those fish have in common.  The texture of the flesh is different and the flavour is not the same.  

I'm not suggesting you cannot make the substitution...I just wouldn't call it a substitutuion, I'd call it a recipe change.


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## BreezyCooking (Aug 28, 2006)

Hate to disappoint you, but you can't substitute sardines (mustard sauce or not) for anchovies - it's like apples & oranges.

The only way you "might" be able to do it is if you were talking about fresh anchovies & fresh sardines, or salt-packed anchovies & salt-packed sardines (if there is such a thing).

But you can't substitute canned sardines for canned or jarred anchovies.  They're not even remotely similar once they're canned, except for coming from the same fish family.


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## Robo410 (Aug 28, 2006)

if all you need is a salty flavor in a salad or dressing, feta cheese (a really good sheeps' milk one) will do ok.  But if it is in a cooked recipe, probably not.  However anchovies melt away leaving a nutty flavor.  But if we're talking vegetarian needs...hmmm, check a vegan cook book for substitutions.


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## Michael in FtW (Aug 28, 2006)

Here is my opinion on this ...

Sardines are often listed as a substitute for anchovies ... but I often wonder if the people who came up with that idea have ever tasted both! With possibly only one exception that I know of - they taste nothing alike. 

Anchovies are salt cured ... they then are then either packed whole in cans of salt or split, deboned, and packed in oil.

Sardines, on the other hand (with the exception I mentioned above - if they are salt cured and then packed in oil - but you don't generally find those) are just packed in their tins with oil, tomato sauce, or mustard sauce and then cooked in the can during the canning process.

If you are going to use sardines - YES - blot off the oil or rinse off and blot dry if packed in tomato or mustard sauce. Filleting them to remove the bones is up to your preference.

Sardines will not have the flavors developed during curing, will not be as briney, and will have the flavor of what they were packed in.


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## Mylegsbig (Aug 28, 2006)

are anchovies filled with internal organs? that kind of stuff just makes me really sick.

But i LOVE fish sauce, so um....


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## Andy M. (Aug 28, 2006)

Mylegsbig said:
			
		

> are anchovies filled with internal organs? that kind of stuff just makes me really sick.
> 
> But i LOVE fish sauce, so um....


 
They are when they're swimming in the ocean but  by the time they get to you, they're just filets.


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## Michael in FtW (Aug 29, 2006)

No - they are gutted and generally have the head removed - although I have seen some (once or twice at most) packed in salt that still had the head on.

Now, your fish sauce is an entirely different "kettle of fish" ... from an entirely different region of the world. Anchovies are salt cured whole or fillets of fish - fish sauce is fermented fish juice - don't know how much of the fish is used for this.


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## Sephora (Aug 29, 2006)

We had a grocery store closing so I picked up some anchovies 70% off and some cans of sardines for 10 cents each.  The price difference tells me enough.  I gave the sardines to my cats as treats.  They loved them.  Anchovies have a completely different feel, look, taste, texture.  They aren't the same and I wouldn't substitute one for the other.


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## TATTRAT (Aug 29, 2006)

No substitute for salt packed anchovies. I do keep a tube of anchovy paste on hand in the fridge, but I have to agree with everyone, NO subbing anchovies.


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## Harborwitch (Aug 29, 2006)

Lea & Perrins Worchestershire sauce has some of the flavor of anchovies because they are an ingredient so depending on the recipe it might work..  Sardines are just not the same at all.  I could sit and eat sardines in Louisianna hot pepper sauce all afternoon - couldn't eat anchovies like that!


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## jennyema (Aug 29, 2006)

i could eat both anchovies and sardines all day (but not .10 a can  ).

They are not interchangeable, as people have said.

What are you making?


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## BreezyCooking (Aug 29, 2006)

I love them both too - but enjoy both differently.

I love good canned sardines - the ones in olive oil, as well as the ones in "sauces" (mustard, tomato, & even "hot" sauce!!).  One of my & my mom's favorite sandwiches is olive-oil-packed sardines with sliced raw red or sweet onion & lettuce on a hard roll.  Yum!!

As for anchovies - I love cooking with them, as well as enjoying them on salads & pizzas.  Again, prefer the jarred ones in olive oil to cheaper canned versions, although I do like the ones rolled around capers.  I do have to admit, however, that I'm not a fan of the salt-packed ones.  Even with rinsing - even soaking - they're still a bit too "fishy" for me.


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## Sephora (Aug 29, 2006)

jennyema said:
			
		

> i could eat both anchovies and sardines all day (but not .10 a can  ).
> 
> They are not interchangeable, as people have said.
> 
> What are you making?


It was an everythings got to go sale!!  I got spices for 70% off too.  It was great!!


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## Walt Bulander (Aug 31, 2006)

*Anchovy substitute*

If you only want the flavor, you could use fish sauce.

It is a salty anchovy extract liquid, actually similar to the garum the Romans put on everything. The story is they would fill a barrel with anchovies and salt, leave it in the sun for a year, and whatever ran out the bottom, was the sauce 

It comes from Thailand (nam bplah), or Viet Nam (Nuc Mam).

I buy Squid Brand in the supermarket. You get about a quart for a couple of bucks, and It lasts for about 2 years before its expiration date. I usually discard about half, even though I put it in things as diverse as vinigarette dressings and potato salad. You just need from a few drops to maybe a teaspoon.

You can't really taste it, but, it adds a depth of flavor that you miss when its not there.

Go ahead and try it, just don't smell it, or you won't use it.


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## rdcast (Sep 2, 2006)

how about kippers? Kippers are awesome


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## Shunka (Sep 2, 2006)

Walt Bulander said:
			
		

> If you only want the flavor, you could use fish sauce.
> 
> It is a salty anchovy extract liquid, actually similar to the garum the Romans put on everything. The story is they would fill a barrel with anchovies and salt, leave it in the sun for a year, and whatever ran out the bottom, was the sauce
> 
> ...


 I'll have to look for this, thank you for bringing it to my attention!!


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## mish (Sep 2, 2006)

goodgiver said:
			
		

> Can a person substute sardines for anchovies? If so do you clean them first of the mustard and/oil and bones or what ?


 
Goodgiver, can you show us the recipe?  First instinct, IMHO, is that tuna or salmon (maybe adding capers) might work.  But, can't tell w/o seeing the recipe.


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