Canned fish without the smell
November 13, 2022 7:35 AM Subscribe
I love eating canned sardines and herring as snacks, they are delicious and filling. But I can only eat them when everyone else is out of the house because my whole family thinks the smell is absolutely awful. Is there anything else that is as tasty, full of protein, and as easy, but less smelly? Restrictions: no cooking and shelf-stable.
I've tried buying fully cooked canned chicken and putting toppings on that but so far I haven't found a topping that tastes nearly as good.
I keep meat snacks like this around and those are good but not as filling and a bit more processed so I don't like them as much as fish. I also a lot of fruits and vegetables for snacks but this is about snacks with protein and optionally fat.
I've tried buying fully cooked canned chicken and putting toppings on that but so far I haven't found a topping that tastes nearly as good.
I keep meat snacks like this around and those are good but not as filling and a bit more processed so I don't like them as much as fish. I also a lot of fruits and vegetables for snacks but this is about snacks with protein and optionally fat.
Yeah, I think the solution needn't involve you giving up sardines/herring. My partner also doesn't love the smell, which means he just goes into the living room or bedroom when I'm eating them in the dining room.
That said, peanut butter also packs a punch in terms of fat/protein.
posted by coffeecat at 8:19 AM on November 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
That said, peanut butter also packs a punch in terms of fat/protein.
posted by coffeecat at 8:19 AM on November 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
Do they feel similarly about canned tuna re odor? The tuna packed in oil (vegetable oil or olive oil) is better tasting and (to me) less pungent than the ones just packed in water.
I also wonder if canned sardines packed in tomato sauce would be tasty and smell less intense to your family.
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:45 AM on November 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
I also wonder if canned sardines packed in tomato sauce would be tasty and smell less intense to your family.
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:45 AM on November 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
What a sad situation. I'm sorry for you.
You could make a tuna butter, imo it is less smelly, but who knows how sensitive your family is?
Blend a can of tuna with equal amounts of butter and mayo, (so the butter-mayo mix equals the amount of tuna). You can add scallions, a cocktail tomato, a bit of tomato paste, a bit of anchovy paste, parsley, capers... you get the idea. The original recipe was just butter and canned tuna in equal amounts by volume. We just eat it out of the blender, but if you refrigerate it in a fancy little bowl, it becomes like a very elegant mousse.
Lots of people use this exact recipe with other tinned or smoked fish, I just prefer the tuna version.
The same method applies to chicken or duck liver, too, though they have to be fried in some of the butter before blending. Fry them so they are pink, not red inside. Capers are very good here for acidity, but you can also use port wine or brandy. I like cooking scallions with the livers, but some prefer raw scallions for a more pungent taste.
You can make a similar paste/mousse with artichoke hearts, grated parmesan cheese and olive oil.
Another idea might be those skinny dry Spanish sausages, maybe called fuet. They keep for ever and are great for snacks.
posted by mumimor at 8:48 AM on November 13, 2022 [5 favorites]
You could make a tuna butter, imo it is less smelly, but who knows how sensitive your family is?
Blend a can of tuna with equal amounts of butter and mayo, (so the butter-mayo mix equals the amount of tuna). You can add scallions, a cocktail tomato, a bit of tomato paste, a bit of anchovy paste, parsley, capers... you get the idea. The original recipe was just butter and canned tuna in equal amounts by volume. We just eat it out of the blender, but if you refrigerate it in a fancy little bowl, it becomes like a very elegant mousse.
Lots of people use this exact recipe with other tinned or smoked fish, I just prefer the tuna version.
The same method applies to chicken or duck liver, too, though they have to be fried in some of the butter before blending. Fry them so they are pink, not red inside. Capers are very good here for acidity, but you can also use port wine or brandy. I like cooking scallions with the livers, but some prefer raw scallions for a more pungent taste.
You can make a similar paste/mousse with artichoke hearts, grated parmesan cheese and olive oil.
Another idea might be those skinny dry Spanish sausages, maybe called fuet. They keep for ever and are great for snacks.
posted by mumimor at 8:48 AM on November 13, 2022 [5 favorites]
Head to an Asian grocer and look for various shelf stable snack packs: spicy tofu, mushroom, fish, etc. The fish has a scent but the chili oil etc makes it far less aromatic than a tin of sardines or kippers.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:49 AM on November 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:49 AM on November 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
What about smoked salmon? I buy it at Mariano's, a supermarket chain in Chicago. Not the super thin, gravlax trype of stuff but smoked filets and they also sell flakes of smoked salmon. (Sadly, Trader Joe's smoked salmon is flavorless to the point of being inedible every time I try it.)
posted by BibiRose at 8:50 AM on November 13, 2022
posted by BibiRose at 8:50 AM on November 13, 2022
Mock duck? Pretty good straight out of the tin, better with a little bit of grated ginger (fresh or jarred) mixed in. (It is more processed than fish though.)
posted by Shark Hat at 9:14 AM on November 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Shark Hat at 9:14 AM on November 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: To be clear I WFH a lot so I eat lots of canned fish, I'm just looking for something for the weekends.
posted by Tehhund at 10:08 AM on November 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Tehhund at 10:08 AM on November 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
A friend of mine sent me a big box of VitalChoice canned seafood out of concern I wasn’t getting enough protein.
It was all packed in water, though they do offer at least sardines in olive oil, and my experience of the odor hierarchy is: red salmon (Coho) > tuna (Skipjack) > sardines > pink salmon. I was surprised how unsmelly the pink salmon turned out to be.
posted by jamjam at 10:12 AM on November 13, 2022
It was all packed in water, though they do offer at least sardines in olive oil, and my experience of the odor hierarchy is: red salmon (Coho) > tuna (Skipjack) > sardines > pink salmon. I was surprised how unsmelly the pink salmon turned out to be.
posted by jamjam at 10:12 AM on November 13, 2022
Fish jerky (salmon's really good) is one option that's pretty shelf-stable and not quite as fragrant.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:37 AM on November 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:37 AM on November 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Rollmops.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:57 AM on November 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:57 AM on November 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
Smoked trout? It tastes delicious and smells more like bacon than fish.
posted by wintersweet at 11:23 AM on November 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by wintersweet at 11:23 AM on November 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
I suddenly remembered that canned squid might be an option. I don't find them stinky at all, and they can be delicious. Weirdly, they are not available here, so I can't tell you the brand name, but I'm going to another part of the country at the end of the week, and can give you the name then.
posted by mumimor at 2:23 PM on November 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by mumimor at 2:23 PM on November 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
They sell anchovy paste in tubes. I find it smells much less because there is less fish exposed to air, and you can squeeze it onto a cracker and eat it immediately.
posted by ananci at 5:05 PM on November 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by ananci at 5:05 PM on November 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
Are canned oysters less smelly to him? I love those.
posted by music for skeletons at 5:21 PM on November 13, 2022
posted by music for skeletons at 5:21 PM on November 13, 2022
Octopus in general, and smoked octopus especially, is not as distinctly fishy smelling. Unsmoked, with lemon and dill is pretty goddamn tasty too. It also happens to be bycatch in many instances, even if it isn't labeled as such, so that's fun and responsible eating.
2nding wintersweet though; The fish-smell-sensitive folks in my household have no reactions to smoked trout. Smoked fish in general have a tendency to be as aggresively fishy smelling. It can be found in tins, but places like trader joes often carry it in vac-packs that are probably less fishy smelling even than the tinned stuff.
Outside of fish, duck confit, pork (belly or butt) confit turned into rillettes, will totally get you there, and don't get fishy at all. Extremely easy to DIY medium-to-larger batches and freeze as needed. I do about quart at a time in little 1/4 pint ball jars. An afternoon of work can get you all the rillette you need for a year easy.
posted by furnace.heart at 6:51 PM on November 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
2nding wintersweet though; The fish-smell-sensitive folks in my household have no reactions to smoked trout. Smoked fish in general have a tendency to be as aggresively fishy smelling. It can be found in tins, but places like trader joes often carry it in vac-packs that are probably less fishy smelling even than the tinned stuff.
Outside of fish, duck confit, pork (belly or butt) confit turned into rillettes, will totally get you there, and don't get fishy at all. Extremely easy to DIY medium-to-larger batches and freeze as needed. I do about quart at a time in little 1/4 pint ball jars. An afternoon of work can get you all the rillette you need for a year easy.
posted by furnace.heart at 6:51 PM on November 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
Seconding octopus and smoked trout (imo smells more smoky than fishy). You might also find the smells mitigated with some kind of acid and/or citrus, herbs especially the "fresh" ones like parsley or dill, and oil. Keeping the cans refrigerated may also help.
I've also found that canned salmon and tuna are less smelly, and the single serving pouches of the above can be enjoyed and disposed of with minimal griping from the sensitive sniffer of the household.
...Weird suggestion, but could you enjoy your fave tinned fish outside on the weekends? Any "offending" trash or recyclables could possibly be dealt with outside.
posted by OhHaieThere at 9:04 PM on November 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
I've also found that canned salmon and tuna are less smelly, and the single serving pouches of the above can be enjoyed and disposed of with minimal griping from the sensitive sniffer of the household.
...Weird suggestion, but could you enjoy your fave tinned fish outside on the weekends? Any "offending" trash or recyclables could possibly be dealt with outside.
posted by OhHaieThere at 9:04 PM on November 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
I am not a big fan of fish and fish smells but found that canned sardines in a tomato based sauce are less smelly. Smoked sardines are intensely stinky to me.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 9:39 PM on November 13, 2022
posted by kinddieserzeit at 9:39 PM on November 13, 2022
Shelf-stable, no cooking, protein, fat, and a tasty snack rather than a meal: my current go-to for this niche is salt-and-vinegar flavour roasted peanuts. I thought they might be a UK-only oddity, but it looks as if they exist in the US too. Definitely less healthy than canned fish, but they tick your other boxes (well, provided you actually like them), so... maybe?
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 9:44 AM on November 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 9:44 AM on November 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
What kind of sardines are you currently eating? I feel like different brands or types will smell different so maybe there's a can of sardines they're ok with. To my nose the sardines I eat don't smell very different from cat food and everyone's already gotten used to that smell thanks to our cats.
How about dried squid (surume)?
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:39 PM on November 14, 2022
How about dried squid (surume)?
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:39 PM on November 14, 2022
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-He turns on the fan over the cooktop
-He opens a window in the kitchen
-He immediately washes out the can with soap and water
-He sprays Citrus Magic allllll over the kitchen
-He only eats canned fish in the kitchen
It works for us.
posted by cooker girl at 7:41 AM on November 13, 2022 [7 favorites]