Anchovies

I’ve been in search of better anchovies recently and can report on two very good options. I’ve tried many other brands that are available locally including Ortiz and the two I’m recommending are several steps above.

Jay Miller recommended the Don Bocarte anchovies from Despana. I ordered some and they are extremely good, though the price is high and Despana wants to express ship them since they are refrigerated. I guess these may need to be kept cold due to lower salt content, but I’m not certain.

https://shop.despanabrandfoods.com/products/don-bocarte-anchovies

BTW don’t throw away the olive oil that these are packed in. It’s very good on bread.

Another very good option is Donostia:

These are a bit saltier than the ones above but less so than store brands. The texture is excellent. Donostia ships free for orders over $70-ish so these end up less than 50% of the Despana cost for me.

I may continue to order both of the above. I’d use the Donostia fish in anything since the cost isn’t that high. I would prefer to eat the Don Bocartes by themselves as it shows off their texture and flavor.

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Glad my recommendation worked out for you! I fell in love with those anchovies.

I recently purchased a 500g flat of Anchoa, Serie Oro, Gold Series Anchovies in Olive Oil from Regalis foods. They are brown, flat packaged in layers and much firmer than any jarred anchovy. Perfect eaten on a slice of grilled ciabatta

I had a terrific dish made with these anchovies at Rue Cler in Durham about a year ago: Anchovies in Sea Salt (Alici Salate).

Also, some hazelnuts from Gustiamo were a revelation, I don’t think I realized until tasting them that it had been years since I’d had a hazelnut that wasn’t at least starting to turn rancid.

Hat tip to Nathan V. (VLM) for introducing me to Gustiamo.

Thank you for that recommendation! I will be sure to check them out.

We had liked the line kept in the fridge ate Whole Foods, but they changed. This could be a great way to get the joy back!

^^^ These are what I use. Very different flavor compared to oil-packed. You have to fillet them but it’s pretty quick once you have the hang of it.

I use salt-packed anchovies that are repackaged for sale by my local market, so I don’t know what brand it is. Regardless, I recommend salt-packed over those kept in oil because I find the flavor to be far less fishy.

I love this thread. Don Bocarte are the best that I’ve found, but they certainly aren’t cheap. I need to try some of the other suggestions.

Aren’t anchovies supposed to be (salty and) fishy? I guess I’ve never had high end anchovies.

Any of you [fellow] anchovy lovers use colatura d’alici…in your cooking or otherwise?

They’re all salty, but some of the supermarket brands are intensely so. The salt packed ones can be soaked so you can modulate the saltiness quite a bit.

As for fishiness, I think we all want our fish to taste like fish, but we don’t want them to taste “fishy” :slight_smile:

BTW until I found the Donostia and Don Bocarte anchovies, I also preferred salt-packed, but I like these oil-packed versions more.

Solid data points. Thanks CG!

This. When I say fishy, I mean it in the rotten sense.

You [inadvertently, it seems] raised a very interesting point…about “fishy”…

the colatura is both appealing and “fishy” in the sense you use it.

I do.

I stopped by Despana this past weekend to pick up some anchovies for a party. The price came as a surprise but I swallowed a bit and went ahead.

what kind did you get? white or brown?

These:
https://www.amazon.com/Anchovies-Extra-Virgin-Olive-Oil/dp/B00FAL0WFW/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_4?hvadid=262829015691&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9024578&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14469345512487419083&hvtargid=kwd-433752566611&keywords=don+bocarte+anchovies&qid=1553609468&s=gateway&sr=8-4-fkmrnull

Wish I had thought to check Amazon first. These are noticeably less expensive than what Despana is charging.

Were you buying the big can? I looked on Amazon for the small containers and they were more expensive than Despana.