5 Creative Ways To Use A Tin Of Anchovies

For such a little fish, anchovies sure are packed with flavor. As the trend for tinned fish has heated up, more diners have picked up tins of anchovies hoping to get a bit of in-vogue briny flavor. For many home cooks, however, finding a purpose for anchovies can be challenging. After all, anchovies are quite potent, and have a rather specific taste that can be difficult for some to enjoy à la cart.

Of course, some do enjoy eating these fish straight from the tin, but if you're looking for specific directions for those stacks of anchovy cans collecting dust in your pantry, you've come to the right place. We've gathered five creative, delicious uses for these tiny tinned fish. Don't worry; you won't see pizza or Caesar salad on this list (though anchovies really do work wonders on a good pizza pie, and do function as the backbone for any true Caesar salad dressing). Rather, these uses give you a whole plethora of ideas for these briny little delights. You might even want to grab an extra can or two to try each and every suggestion.

Butter makes everything better. Anchovies, likewise, have the power to enhance pretty much every dish to which they are added. Why not bring these two flavor enhancers together into one delicious compound butter? Anchovy butter works incredibly well as a spread for toast, a base for garlic bread, a topping for steak and veggies, or even as a base for pasta sauce. The blend of rich, fatty, creamy butter and intensely salty anchovies also makes for a showstopping addition to charcuterie and butter boards.

To make anchovy butter, bring the butter to room temperature, finely chop some anchovies, and mix them with a small amount of oil from the tin before rolling and wrapping it all together in plastic wrap or wax paper. You can add additional seasonings and flavorings to your anchovy butter to further enhance it; garlic, for example, adds a good bit of savory flavor that further rounds out your butter. You can also add capers, lemon zest, dill, or green onions for more of a flavor punch. The butter you use also makes an impact on the overall flavor; a salted, cultured butter, for example, has a tangy, savory flavor that goes well with anchovies.

Briny cocktails aren't new. Olives, after all, are the backbone of any dirty martini worth its salt. But what about adding anchovies to the mix? Anchovies make for a great martini addition, and can be incorporated in multiple ways. For example, if you want just a touch of anchovy flavor, you can stuff olives with anchovies as a garnish for martinis. You can also muddle anchovies with martinis before straining and serving, or you can even add a few drops of anchovy oil to top your 'tini for a delicious and super-briny twist.

Other cocktails are just as apt for a fishy twist as martinis. Take, for example, the gimlet. A lime and gin- or vodka-based cocktail, this drink makes for a surprisingly good, savory sipper. The cacio e pepe gimlet from Thompson Italian restaurant (via Eater), for example, features a Parmigiano Reggiano-infused vodka that gives an umami note to the drink, which tastes absolutely sublime. So, why not make an anchovy gimlet by infusing vodka or gin with anchovies? You can add other flavors to flesh your gimlet out, such as flavor-infused olive oil or cracked pepper. If you're in search of a more straightforward cocktail, you can also add anchovies to a classic bloody Mary, either as a topping or mixed in to the tomato base.

Anchovies work well in many pasta sauces — you just need to be mindful of technique. For example, you can make a simple anchovy pasta by sauteeing chopped anchovies, garlic, and chile peppers in butter before adding cooked pasta, a bit of pasta water, and freshly grated Parmesan. Here, the anchovies provide an essential spine to an otherwise bare-bones pasta, plus the savory flavor of the fish adds a good amount of salty flavor that pairs well with the Parm.

You can also use anchovies as the base for a red sauce. Simply chop up your fish and add them to the other aromatics in your dish to simmer. The anchovies dissolve after the tomatoes are added, lending your sauce a rich, savory edge that helps balance the brightness of the sauce (you can also add it to jarred sauce for an instant flavor boost). Other sauce ideas for your anchovies include white and mustard sauces. The latter especially brings added brightness and acidity to anchovies, and pairs well with a simple plate of pasta or even as a sauce for fish, such as tilapia. You can also add a sauced fillet to a plate of pasta.

One little fishies, two little fishies, three little fishies, more. Anchovies belong in so many dishes, including steak. Anchovies give steak a kick of extra intensity and flavor that helps the dish really pop. We've covered the compounding joy of compound butter with anchovies, and this butter works well as a steak topper, but what about adding anchovies in a more immersive way? By adding these tiny, umami-rich fish to a steak marinade, you can infuse it with intense, salty, briny flavor.

To make, finely chop anchovies (the number varies based on preferred intensity) and add to a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, and seasonings such as rosemary, thyme, and garlic. You don't have to stop at marinating steak; you can also use anchovies to marinate chicken and pork, or use them in a chicken dish cooked in a buttery pan sauce. Marinating the chicken of the latter dish with anchovies further amplifies the flavor.

Soup's on, and anchovies are in. Anchovies make an excellent addition to many soups since they provide an intense umami punch that can really round out a stew's flavor profile — much like adding a Parmesan rind. To incorporate, simply finely dice your anchovies, add to your aromatics, and saute before adding in your broth, cream, or crushed tomatoes.

Anchovies make a great addition to many soups, from Italian wedding soup to beef and barely soup. You can also use it as a base for seafood soups, such as clam chowder or lobster bisque. If you want to skip dicing your anchovies, you can always used anchovy paste. Just be careful; it's quite concentrated, and if you do use anchovy paste, you're left without that delicious anchovy oil that can also supplement broths. You can also use dried anchovies to make anchovy broth; this is often used in Korean cuisine, and can be used as the base for many delicious soups.