Why It's A Mistake To Rinse Your Canned Fish

So you've heard all the love for canned fish over the last few years and find yourself with a pantry full of sardines and mussels from the best canned seafood brands, and now you need to learn how to use it all. With crackers or some toasted bread, you can turn that fish into a satisfying meal, but there are plenty of ways to use canned seafood to improve your cooking, either as the centerpiece of the recipe or to add a flavor boost to other dishes. And how about handling the fish? Part of the popularity of these products is how easy they are — just pop open a can and serve. Yet with seafood there's always a little hesitation around making sure you prep it right. For canned seafood one of the biggest questions is whether you need to wash it before you use it, so Tasting Table reached out to an expert, chef Charlotte Langley, the president and founder of Langley Foods, to ask her opinion on the matter.

According to Langley, any concern over washing your canned fish is misplaced, and can actually have a detrimental effect on your dish. "In general, I don't recommend rinsing canned fish, as it washes away some of the flavor," she told us. The simple fact is that canned fish is cooked and sterilized before being sealed in oil or its own juices, so there is no need to concern yourself with washing it.

There is one instance where chef Langley says you might want to wash your fish, but there's a trade-off. She did note that "if you find the oil or brine too strong, you can lightly rinse fish like sardines or tuna," but she warned us that you should "be mindful that you'll lose some of that preserved flavor."

Most quality canned fish is packed in oil, but even if it's in brine those liquids have been absorbing the taste of the preserved fish in the can. In fact, you shouldn't be throwing away the oil from canned fish because it's so packed with flavor that it can be used on its own as an ingredient for tasks like sauteing. So, even if washing your canned fish doesn't affect the fish itself much, you're robbing yourself of one of its biggest selling points.

If you do find your canned fish too pungent or salty, a better way to deal with this is to spread the intense flavor out by using it lightly. Instead of eating a whole sardine on toast, try mashing it into a thin spread that you can cut with some butter and/or lemon juice. Or, use it in things like pasta salad and tomato sauce where other powerful flavors will balance out the pungency. You paid good money for that canned fish, so don't go washing its delicious taste down the drain.