Tin to Table: Fancy, Snacky, Recipes for Tin-thusiasts and A-fish-ionados

By Anna Hezel

A Bon Appetit Best Cookbook of Spring 2023 and WIRED Best Cookbook of 2023

Tin to Table cracks open the secrets of tinned fish cooking with over 50 recipes, from no-fuss snacks to fresh salads, hearty mains, and creative no-recipe recipes for quick pop-and-eat meals.

From the sparkling shores of the Mediterranean to the salmon smokehouses of Alaska and the deep blue coves of Spain and beyond, tinned seafood offers a world’s worth of flavorful meal inspiration. Sail through the pages of this rich, briny guide to discover how to bring more tasty tinned seafood into your life and onto your plate. Just as carefree and delicious as the contents of the tins themselves, the recipes in Tin to Table offer an ocean of knowledge and cooking inspiration, whether you’re enjoying these preserved delicacies straight out of the can or using them as a base for fancy dinner party fare, including:

Triple Pickle Smoked Salmon Butter Sandwich
Canned Clam Garlic Bread 
Sardine Curry Puffs
Caesar Popcorn (Negronis optional!) 
Tuna Noodle Casserole 2.0 with Salt and Vinegar Crumbs
Vermouth Hour Potato Chips with Mussels, Olives, and Piparras
Mac and Mack(erel)

Anna Hezel uses her keen food wisdom to help you discover tasty meal inspiration and navigate you through the world of tinned seafood with handy field guides, smart pairing suggestions, and shopping resources, so you can live that breezy, tinned-fish life anywhere or anytime. 

TINNED FISH MANIA: These canned goods aren't just for survivalists—they're luxury imports, souvenirs, and collectibles. We've reached an age, as Eater has pointed out, where Americans are willing to spend $45 on a tiny tin of conservas (as they're often called in Spain and Portugal) to snack on while they sip their wine. Bon Appétit is suggesting them as all-purpose stocking stuffers. Tinned, canned, jarred, preserved: these sea creatures are a pantry must-have. And Tin to Table shows you how to use them all! 

ONE-OF-A-KIND CANNED FISH COOKBOOK: Whether you are exploring a pescatarian diet or simply broadening your cooking horizons, this unique guide covers a wide variety of tinned seafood rather than focusing solely on a single ingredient such as sardines or salmon. Full-color photographs showcase mouthwatering dishes while playful illustrations round out the fun foodie vibe throughout.

SUSTAINABLE COOKING IN A CAN: In an age of conscious consumerism, canned seafood can offer transparency about sourcing, fishing methods, sustainability, and mercury levels that can be difficult or impossible to trace among the fresh seafood at the supermarket. As more and more home cooks cut down on their meat consumption out of concern for the environment, canned fish offers a happy alternative, packed full of protein and omega–3s. Its convenience, nutritional value, and long shelf life don't hurt either!

Perfect for:

• Home cooks, college students, picnickers, and seafood lovers 
• A great host gift or self-purchase for those who enjoy entertaining 
• An educational and practical resource for sustainable cooking enthusiasts 
• Pairing with a specialty tin of fish to create a memorable birthday, holiday, or special occasion gift for foodies and cookbook collectors 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chronicle Books Digital
• Release date: Apr 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9781797215525

Anna Hezel

Anna Hezel is the senior editor of TASTE and the author of Lasagna: A Baked Pasta Cookbook. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Bon Appétit, GQ, Rolling Stone, the Wall Street Journal, Eater, Food52, Lucky Peach, and more. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Book preview

Cover: Tin to Table, Fancy, Snacky Recipes for Tin-Thusiasts and A-Fish-Ionados by Anna Hezel

Copyright © 2023 by ANNA HEZEL.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 9781797215525 (epub, mobi)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hezel, Anna, author. | Craig, Chelsie, photographer. | Citrin, Alex, illustrator.

Title: Tin to table : fancy, snacky recipes for tin-thusiasts and a-fish-ionados / Anna Hezel ; photography by Chelsie Craig ; illustrations by Alex Citrin.

Identifiers: LCCN 2022048430 | ISBN 9781797215518 (hardcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Cooking (Canned foods) | Cooking (Seafood) | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX821 .H49 2023 | DDC 641.6/12--dc23/eng/20221024

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022048430

Photographs by CHELSIE CRAIG.

Food styling by MAGGIE RUGGIERO.

Prop styling by SELENA LIU.

Cover photo by ANTONIS ACHILLEOS.

Cover food styling by ALI RAMEE.

Illustration by ALEX CITRIN.

Design by LIZZIE VAUGHAN.

Typesetting by FRANK BRAYTON.

Typeset in Brush Crush, Harriet Text, Trade Gothic, and RB Bubble Flight.

Arroyabe is a registered trademark of CONSERVAS LA GAVIOTA, S.L. Bar Harbor Foods is a registered trademark of Look’s Gourmet Food Company, Inc. Bogar is a registered trademark of Joseph M. Anderson. Bonilla a la Vista is a registered trademark of BONILLA E HIJOS, S.L. Cabo de Peñas is a registered trademark of CONSERVAS DEL NOROESTE, S.A. Cento is a registered trademark of Alanric Food Distributors, Inc. Clamato is a registered trademark of Mott’s LLP Mssi LLC. Codesa and Codesa Serie Oro (Gold Series) are registered trademarks of CONSERVAS CODESA, S.L. Connétable is a registered trademark of CONSERVERIE WENCESLAS CHANCERELLE COMPANY. Conservas Santos is a registered trademark of CRUZ DOS CALIÇOS-ALIMENTAÇÃO E BEBIDAS, LDA. Da Morgada is a registered trademark of GKV, INC. DBA. Diamond Crystal is a registered trademark of Cargill, Incorporated. Don Bocarte is a registered trademark of CONSERVAS SELECCIÓN SANTOÑESA, S.L. Donostia is a registered trademark of Blue Planet Foods, Ltd. Dongwon is a registered trademark of DONGWON ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. Espinaler is a registered trademark of ESPINALER 1896 S.L. Fishwife is a registered trademark of Alpay DBA Fishwife. Fly By Jing is a registered trademark of Fly By Jing Inc. Frank’s RedHot is a registered trademark of The French’s Food Company LLC. Fox Family is a registered trademark of Trinity Chips, LLC. Jacobsen is a registered trademark of JACOBSEN LLC. Kewpie is a registered trademark of KEWPIE KABUSHIKI KAISHA TA. King Oscar is a registered trademark of King Oscar LLC. Lao Gan Ma is a registered trademark of Guiyang Nanming Laoganma Special Flavour Foodstuffs Co., Ltd. Maldon is a registered trademark of Maldon Crystal Salt Company LLC. Maille is a registered trademark of COMPAGNIE GERVAIS DANONE CORPORATION. Matiz is a registered trademark of Power-Selles Imports, Inc. McClure’s is a registered trademark of McClure’s Pickles, LLC. Minerva is a registered trademark of EXPOCONSER - EXPORTADORA DE CONSERVAS, LDA. Nuri is a registered trademark of Pinhais & Ca. Olasagasti is a registered trademark of Conservas Dentici, S.L. Ortiz Gran Selección is a registered trademark of SOGEPROMA, S.L. Palacio de Oriente is a registered trademark of CONSERVAS ANTONIO ALONSO S.A. Patagonia Provisions is a registered trademark of Patagonia Provisions, Inc. Pinhais is a registered trademark of Pinhais & Ca., Limitada. Porthos is a registered trademark of Porthos Ventures, Inc. Ramón Peña is a registered trademark of CONSERVAS LA BRUJULA, S.L. Safe Catch is a registered trademark of Safe Catch, Inc. Sea Tales is a registered trademark of Fish Tales Holding BV. S&B is a registered trademark of S&B FOODS IN2C. Snow’s is a registered trademark of Bumble Bee Foods. Tabasco is a registered trademark of McIlhenny Company. Tiny Fish Co. is a registered trademark of TINY FISH LLC. Trader Joe’s is a registered trademark of Trader Joe’s Company. Triscuit is a registered trademark of Kraft Foods Global Brands LLC. Wild Planet is a registered trademark of WILD PLANET FOODS, INC. Zapp’s Voodoo chips is a registered trademark of Utz Quality Foods, LLC. Zwïta is a registered trademark of Zwita LLC.

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To Dan

There’s no one I’d rather share a tin with.

Introduction

A Field Guide to Tinned Seafood

The Tinned Fish Pantry

1.

STRAIGHT OUT OF THE CAN

2.

SNACK TIME

3.

SALADS

4.

SANDWICHES

5.

THE MAIN ATTRACTIONS

Very Fun Places to Shop for Tinned Fish

Acknowledgments

Index

INTRODUCTION

Which aisle of the grocery store can transport you to the cerulean coves of the Costa Brava, the rocky shores of Brittany, or the salmon smokehouses overlooking Alaska’s Bristol Bay? Only the canned fish aisle, where you’ll find tins full of salty treasures from around the world, miraculously preserved, sometimes mere hours after being plucked from the sea.

These tidy stacks of cans are what make the tuna melts of your late-night diner dreams come true. They’re the briny anchovies that make the world of restaurant Caesar salads and bagna caudas go round. They’re the juicy fried dace with salted black beans from China’s Pearl River Delta, which will make your stir-fries come alive. And they’re the rectangular tins of sardines that make you feel like you’re picnicking on the Mediterranean, even when you’re just taking a snack break in the middle of a long hike or an eight-hour workday.

The story of canned fish starts, believe it or not, with Napoleon. In 1795, facing the challenges of leading (and feeding) his troops across land and sea during the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon offered a cash prize of 12,000 francs to the first person who invented a new method of food preservation. A chef and brewer named Nicolas Appert rose to the challenge and spent the next fourteen years figuring out how to preserve prepared foods by heating them inside glass jars and sealing these jars against any intruding microbes. A year later, in 1810, a British businessman named Peter Durand patented a similar process using tin, and canning was off to the races, ready to feed soldiers, explorers, and inlanders with a taste for oysters.

In the intervening centuries, these tins have made their way into hundreds of dishes and cuisines around the world. They’ve fueled overseas voyages and treks up Mount Everest. Before there was refrigeration, preserving sea creatures with plenty of salt and oil, and then vacuum sealing them in tin cans to remove oxygen, made it possible for us to enjoy them for months, years, and sometimes even decades (really, it’s been done!) after they were fished out of the ocean.

A few centuries (and grocery delivery apps) later, these canned goods aren’t just a pragmatic form of survival or convenience—they’re luxury imports, collectibles, and souvenirs. (Who needs an album of vacation snapshots when you can just sit down with friends and show them the tins you brought back?) There are entire YouTube channels, Instagram accounts, lines of merch, and subreddits dedicated to the topic of tinned fish. We don’t eat canned fish because we have to—we eat it because it’s a lifestyle.

Following Spain and Portugal’s lead, a whole wave of bars and restaurants in the United States have added tins to their menus, putting as much thought and care into curating their selections as they put into their wine lists. At the end of a busy day in Manhattan, you can stop at Maiden Lane for a martini and a breathtaking tin of Don Bocarte anchovies. If you’re biking your way around Portland, Maine, on a warm summer day, you can drop in at the Shop (an outpost of Island Creek Oysters) for a Bloody Mary and a tin of Ramón Peña sardines, served with a smattering of great pickles and slices of honey wheat bread. There’s Saltie Girl, in Boston; Bar Diane, in Portland, Oregon; and JarrBar, in Seattle. This is only a small sampling of the many restaurants that are putting their own personalized stamps on curated selections of tins.

Ironically, just as many of us became comfortable with the idea of tinned fish as a luxury product, it unexpectedly became a pragmatic means of survival again. In the spring of 2020, when COVID-19 started to transform our shopping and eating habits, we stocked up on the shelf-stable foods that would tide us over between trips to the grocery store, which felt increasingly perilous. In my neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, a number of restaurants turned their out-of-commission dining rooms into impromptu grocery markets. And almost every one included a tinned fish section.

Every producer, importer, and cannery I spoke to over the course of writing this book noticed a sudden spike in interest during those early months of the pandemic. People were stuck at home cooking for themselves, and tinned seafood was a silver bullet: delicious, easy to prepare, and healthful. There were enough different types and styles of canned seafood that you could open a new tin every night of the year without ever eating the same thing twice, as you traveled from one ocean to another from the comfort of home.

As more and more home cooks and their families cut down on their meat consumption out of concern for the environment, canned fish offers a happy alternative, packed full of protein and omega-3s. And in an age of conscious consumerism, canned seafood can offer transparency about sourcing, fishing methods, sustainability, and mercury levels, which can be difficult or impossible to trace among the fresh seafood at the supermarket or on a restaurant menu.