Are Canned Sardines Raw Or Cooked?

Enter an upscale grocery, and you'll now find tinned seafood in many forms: From cockles and octopus, to sprats and trout. Yet don't forget the delights of reliable sardines; there's a reason the canned fish appears on shelves ubiquitously. And when you're deliberating the best uses for canned sardines, you may have a lurking — yet hugely important — thought: Are canned sardines raw or cooked?

Well, don't fear, as all canned seafood is prepared under heat for optimal preservation. In fact, sardines typically go through two rounds of cooking. First, the fillets are initially fried, smoked, blanched, or steamed, thereby sealing in flavors and easing bone removal. After combination with the canning liquid and aromatics in their packaging, the fish then further go through an extended sterilization process. Lasting nearly an hour at high temperatures under pressure, this stage eliminates all bacteria, thereby ensuring there's no risk of cross-contamination. Analogous to how store-bought egg products are pasteurized, this ensures there's no food-borne illness in a sardine can. And in the process, the fish are cooked to completion, making them ready to eat right out of the tin.

The final heating stage unites all tinned fish products, but further preparation details depend on the producer. In addition to the varying techniques used for the first round of cooking, the sardines are also prepared in distinct aromatics. You'll find the tastiest packaged fish in olive oil, as the fat enriches the palate and texture. Some sardines are canned in water, though, or a flavored liquid like hot sauce, tomato, or mustard.

So when learning how to eat canned sardines, don't treat the fish like a fresh-bought protein from the store, but rather a ready-to-use, flavor-steeped package. You can simply throw the meat right into applications, dressed up with some citrus and aromatics. Alternatively, sizzle them on a skillet to add a crispy texture, fold them into a pasta, or even bake them alongside a rich sauce. In recipes, tinned sardines offer the versatility of both a pre-prepped and raw ingredient, thereby making them so wondrously malleable.