Agostino Recca Anchovies, 28 oz (800 g)

Here is the deal when you receive these. When you open them up, if the salt they are packed in is all pretty much white, just transfer them into a container that you can close tightly and put into the refrigerator. If the salt is brown and has liquid, pour off all the liquid that you can, transfer into the jar, and cover with Kosher salt, then into the refrigerator. We have gotten them when they just arrived from Italy here locally in Scottsdale, ordered them from an importer in Pittsburg, and from Amazon. Sometimes they have the brown liquid and sometimes they don't. You just have to treat them right. To keep them from getting mushy, they need to be covered in salt. When you are going to use these, pick out the ones you want, rinse off the salt, pinch off the tail fin if it is there, open them up and take out the backbone and the innards. I do this under running water, which helps the process, while getting rid of the extra salt. These are really good in salads and salad dressings. I also use them most anywhere you would use salt, soy sauce or Thai fish sauce in cooking. Chop them up, and they will dissolve when you cook with them. No one will know they are there, but there is a really interesting flavor. I really like them in white clam sauce and many other pasta sauces. Another good use is Jansson's temptation, which is Swedish scalloped potatoes with anchovies layered in before you bake it. If you are used to the mushy, oil packed anchovies in the little cans, you will like these firmer ones better.

I was extremely disappointed with this product. I was pretty excited to find these on Amazon, but when I received them, they were not as advertised. Packed anchovies are usually packed in salt and moist. These were packed in so much liquid that when the package was open, the liquid squirted out. The fish looked like they had disintegrated and were all shredded. It was almost as if there was no meat to be separated from the bones. To top it all off, it's virtually impossible to return. This was a very disappointing experience and it is unlikely I will order from here again.

I gave four stars instead of five because I think these whole anchovies are for foodies who really like anchovies and are looking for a little extra and don't mind a little prepping. For that group I give five stars.These are the real thing from Sicily, little whole fishies packed in about 20% salt and brine. Not sayin' I recommend this to others but I just run cold water or soak them a little, take off the tiny heads and tails, and use the rest usually chopped up in anchovy dressing, fish dishes, sauces, stews, and whatever you like. Whatever tiny bones remaining I just never notice.These in my opinion are kinda salty but I usually use only one or two at a time and never add table salt so they usually blend in well with most dishes.Here's what I really like about these anchovies. Mortar them up with some olive oil, a little Dijon, some garlic and whatever and you have a dynamite dressing to drizzle over salads and raw vegetables. The result for me is eating a healthier diet and sending my cholesterol way down. (Not conjecture, actual results) Anchovies have the omega 3's and other health benefits, and are much better and safer to eat than larger fish which are said to contain um higher levels of you know what. Right now I'm on my second can and of course another benefit is not running out and having to run to the store.I didn't grow up eating anchovies and am not of Mediterranean ancestry but I consider the Recca whole anchovies as really flavorful and for me beneficial for a healthy diet. If you like anchovies or if you're a foodie looking for a little more then you might give these a try.

Good product

The ad says whole fish, I received a can of brown water with salt on the bottom. Half the fish apparently disintegrated and all that was left were bones. For those that remained, these poor fish were 2-4 inches long, headless and tail-less.. The filets I could get were even smaller. I was able to manage maybe 6oz of filets.

I read all the reviews before I bought these. And here is the bottom line.Preparation is very easy. Just rinse, and remove the bone and the tail fin. This was much easier than I thought it would be.I then soaked them for 30 minutes in water and this really seemed to reduce the saltiness.I then transferred the rest from the can and put into sealable container, covered with salt and left in the fridge.They are tasty. They taste just like they came from the sea. And they are less salty than the canned variety which is good for my diet. Will be buying again!These are also the best brand I have found on Amazon. The fish are bigger.**Update** I have had about 8 cans of these now. The quality does vary. Two cans had to be thrown away because the fish had become all mushy. But still a great product that I will continue to buy.

I love anchovies, but these were disgusting. Foul smelling, foul tasting, unlike the anchovies "sotto sale" that we ate in Italy, which were fat and sweet. We bought them in September but didn't open the can, which we kept refrigerated, till a few days ago (November). We had to thrown them away.

I should have paid more attention to the quantity of anchovies this tin has. That was my mistake though. These anchovies were amazing (used them in a table side Caesar Salad presentation). The flavor is great and after a quick rinse, we were popping them like candy...awesome fishy salty candy. Would recommend to anyone looking for the best ingredients they can buy.