Making anchovies

BullwinkleII

Is there any reason I cant make anchovies from strips of other fish?

From what I gather, you get a tiny fish, scrape it with a spoon gently to remove it from it's undesirable bits, scrape the other side, then put the fillets between layers of salt for a few weeks, then pull an amount out that you think you might need over the next few days, perhaps rinse them, and put them into olive oil as required.

I found a brand of anchovies that are about a zillion times better than all the others I've tried, but the cost is $14.99 for 400g or something. The same shop sells a 1kg jar of a different brand for $19.

I've bought two jars of the good stuff so far and have taken to just eating them out of the jar. Not something I ever did before.

I asked the shop owner about them and he agreed (he's someone who's opinion I trust when it comes to food) they were awesome, and said it was to do with the quality of the olive oil.

I'm not so sure.

I suspect it was more to do with the way the fish had been handled before the olive oil. I cant see how olive oil could change the texture as much as these differed from some lesser ones.

I bought 5 different brands from various shops in the hope of finding something as nice but less expensive, but some just fell apart like wet paper. One brand wouldnt even let me pull an entire fillet out without it breaking in half.

So... I want to make my own.

Is there any reason I need to make anchovies from Anchovies rather than small strips of any other fish?

And does anyone have a recipe/method to make nice firm anchovies of awesome quality?

Frank1069

Hi
I have made it with different types of fish but herring (tommy rough) are an easy one as plenty of them around and easy to catch I have used Himalayan salt and Celtic salt and also used different types of oil.
the oil helps preserve it but also experimented with chilly and garlic infused oils. so I say experiment and have fun

BullwinkleII

Frank1069 wrote:

:wave1: Hi
I have made it with different types of fish but herring (tommy rough) are an easy one as plenty of them around and easy to catch I have used Himalayan salt and Celtic salt and also used different types of oil.
the oil helps preserve it but also experimented with chilly and garlic infused oils. so I say experiment and have fun

Thanks.

Do they need to be only an hour old, or anything? Or is the day old (or whatever) stuff from a fish market ok. I'm running goldfish in my system at the moment, so I dont think I'll be using any of mine

And I've never done it before, so can you point me to site or youtube video of a reliable method that probably wont kill me, because eating my first batch will freak me out a little

Frank1069

it doesnt matter so much if its from the fish markets and as much as i am sure gold fish would work personaly i wouldnt use them lol a cheap cut will work as it will be salted but you can experiment with the different textured fish as you would know some will hold together better than others.

Titus

Hi Mr B
Welcome to the wonderful world of salted fish.
On toast for breakfast.
Add a boiled egg and lemon juice to dress a salad. Stab a leg of lamb and insert the anchovy fillets in the gash.
Move on to Caribbean salt cod fish cakes or my personal favorite, salt cod pil pil. (Garlic and chili)
I would suggest that the best anchovies are done, by hand in Portugal and Spain. Hence the price. Its a knack. You pinch the head and remove the back bone in one flick. It,s all in the wrist. Like castanets. The ladies tell me.
Try Googling; Boquerones. Spanish for..... anchovies. Spanish health law requires them to be frozen before soaking in brine. They are prepared for the table with olive oil and garlic.
Salted herring will lead you on another journey. Have fun and be sure to take some Dill pickles.

BullwinkleII

Titus wrote:

Hi Mr B
Welcome to the wonderful world of salted fish.
On toast for breakfast.
Add a boiled egg and lemon juice to dress a salad. Stab a leg of lamb and insert the anchovy fillets in the gash.
Move on to Caribbean salt cod fish cakes or my personal favorite, salt cod pil pil. (Garlic and chili)
I would suggest that the best anchovies are done, by hand in Portugal and Spain. Hence the price. Its a knack. You pinch the head and remove the back bone in one flick. It,s all in the wrist. Like castanets. The ladies tell me.
Try Googling; Boquerones. Spanish for..... anchovies. Spanish health law requires them to be frozen before soaking in brine. They are prepared for the table with olive oil and garlic.
Salted herring will lead you on another journey. Have fun and be sure to take some Dill pickles.

"Boquerones", seems like a minefield of different definitions. Some say they are treated in vinegar first, some that they are fresh, and some salted.

I need some spanish lessons.

Google translates "Boquerones" directly to "Anchovies", but then has the following to say...

Pez marino de unos 20 cm de longitud, cuerpo delgado y alargado, color azulado o verdoso por encima y plateado en el vientre, hocico prominente y boca grande; vive en bancos y abunda en los mares de casi todo el mundo; su carne es comestible.
Boquete o abertura de gran tamaño.
Boca muy grande.

which it translates into...

marine fish about 20 cm long, slender and elongated body, blue or green above and silvery on the belly, protruding snout and large mouth; He lives in banks and abundant in the seas of almost everyone; their meat is edible.
Gap or large opening.
big mouth.

That's what I want, a 20cm Anchovy!

BullwinkleII

My favorite way to prepare Anchovies is to take one out of a jar and eat them. But that's these really good ones.

My previous favorite way was to buy some Turkish Pide Bread, drizzle a little olive oil over it, add a few slices of tomato, and anchovies to taste.

Place in as hot an oven as you can for a bit.

Eat.

Matthew

What is the brand name of these awesome anchovies?
Love good anchovies , white ones especially on crackers...

superdave50

Please stop already! You're making me hungry for this magical imported delicacy And I fear I will be disappointed when can't find them locally :support:

Is there actually a possibility to make a suitable replacement at home?

BullwinkleII

Matthew wrote:

What is the brand name of these awesome anchovies?
Love good anchovies , white ones especially on crackers...

I've built them up so much now that they'll probably disappoint, so if you buy some of the ones I'm loving so much, called Capriccio anchovy fillets in olive oil, ( $13.99 for a 220g jar!) treat yourself to some of the worst I found - Ocean Rise at an 8th of the price or so. It's actually worth buying the lesser ones to make the good ones taste better

Actually I use cheap anchovies in all kinds of dishes to just add a bit of savory depth. Not enough to be fishy, but just as a salt with flavour.

I'm guessing that 220g jar weight includes the jar (and of course, quite a bit of oil), so we're looking at around $100 a kilo for the actual fish.

I just realised I can no longer afford my favorite food

I'll figure out how to make them.

Interestingly my jar says consume within 5 days of opening.

Not something I ever did with the large jars I used to buy from coles that might sit in my fridge for months after opening.

Perhaps it's just to encourage you to eat them, but I did find a few recipes online that said to layer fish and salt into a container, and leave in the fridge for a few weeks, then remove only what you wanted to eat that week, and put them into olive oil.

Who knows, but I'll find out.

Hope I don't die

Matthew

They must have improved , a few years ago they were $3
http://www.fremantleherald.com/test/2013/1/26.pdf (scroll down a few pages)
Try and find some Ortiz anchovy for inspiration.....

BullwinkleII

Matthew wrote:

They must have improved , a few years ago they were $3
http://www.fremantleherald.com/test/2013/1/26.pdf (scroll down a few pages)
Try and find some Ortiz anchovy for inspiration.....

How on earth did you find the price of my anchovies in a news paper from 2013?

You have Mad Search Fu!

That jar looks like one of those tiny jars with the lids that dont come off, then can never be used again after you eventually just stab it with your good kitchen knife in frustration, and hack the lid off. But If I can get these for less I want all of them!

I've looked around, and the price I'm paying seems normal.

BullwinkleII

superdave50 wrote:

Please stop already! You're making me hungry for this magical imported delicacy And I fear I will be disappointed when can't find them locally :support:

Is there actually a possibility to make a suitable replacement at home?

I bought some Gar fish (30cm long, 2cm diameter cylindrical salt water fish with an absurdly long pointed nose) and cut them into anchovy sized sections, and salted them layer by layer into a plastic container, then put them in the darkest recesses of our fridge to let them do whatever it is they are supposed to do.

I think I need to leave them for 6 weeks or so.

Which should give me loads of time to learn what to do next.

I'll report back here as things develop.

Basically this post is so I remember when I did it

I hope I don't die!

oceanarium

Sounds very interesting, I would like to try this too

That is if you don't die :lol:

You should be able to buy fresh or frozen food grade sardines or scaly mackerel local in SA. They would be very cheap and a better substitute for sardines with a closer oil content and strong similar flesh taste. IGA supermarkets stock them in Western Australia I would think its a likely place to look in SA.

BullwinkleII

oceanarium wrote:

Sounds very interesting, I would like to try this too

That is if you don't die :lol:

You should be able to buy fresh or frozen food grade sardines or scaly mackerel local in SA. They would be very cheap and a better substitute for sardines with a closer oil content and strong similar flesh taste. IGA supermarkets stock them in Western Australia I would think its a likely place to look in SA.

One of the things I like most about the nice anchovies I found is their firmness.

Do they have firm flesh when fresh? I've only ever had them out of a tin, and they tend to be mush. But then the bones are also mush, so I guess that's an indication of how much extra mush they added to the texture.

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