sardines in olive oil
Sardines are any type of small oily fish like sardines, mackerel, herring, milkfish,or even smelt, that have been preserved in oil or packed in sauce. I like sardines, I love sardines in olive oil, but I could only find one store that carried them in olive oil (Thai made as well) and was pricey to say the least. So I set out on an internet search and found this recipe, I have made this several times with excellent results.
yield
serving(s)
prep time
25 Min
cook time
6 Hr
method
Slow Cooker Crock Pot
Ingredients For sardines in olive oil
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brine, see instructions
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3-4mackerel, whole, about 12 inches long
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3/4 colive oil
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3/4 cwater
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3/4 cpickle juice
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3bay leaves
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2 Tbspblack peppercorns, whole
How To Make sardines in olive oil
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1Clean your fish, I use 4 mackerel, remove the head, tail, insides, and clean well on the inside along the backbone, a toothbrush is handy for this. Lightly scrub the skin, there is no scales just to make sure it is cleaned up nicely. Leave skin on and bones in.
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2Cut each fish into 3-4 pieces, place all in a bowl with a lid.
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3Prepare your brine with 1/4 salt for 2 cups of water. I do this separate so I don't make more brine than what is needed. Make a batch and pour over the fish pieces, make more as needed to cover the fish. Place a plate on the fish to keep them in the brine if needed.
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4Refrigerate the fish for at least 3 hours, I normally refrigerate overnight.
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5Remove the fish from the brine and place in a slow cooker, add the olive oil, water, pickle juice, bay leaves, and peppercorns.
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6Put the slow cooker on Low setting for 3-6 hours, depending on size of fish, 3 hours for small fish, like milkfish, and 6 hours for mackerel. Check the fish about an hour before the time, you are looking for soft fish and soft bones, if the bones are not soft, go another hour and check again, repeat until the bones are soft. -
7When done and the fish and bones are soft, allow to cool and store in the fridge in olive oil.
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8Serve as is with or on a lettuce salad with tomatoes and garlic, or as a sandwich with bread spread with mustard.
- Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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