I usually remove one or two from the can at a time and rinse them off in cold water to remove the excess salt. Then, set aside in a small bowl with cool water to soak for a bit and drain when you're ready to use them. As long as there are no large residual crystals of salt hangin' out on the filets, you're good to go -- smush them in a mortar and pestle and use as a paste or finely chop to add to whatever you recipe you need them for. Remember that the salt-packed are -- surprise -- very salty, but that's why you're adding these suckers anyway, no? I always use salt-packed over the canned variety!
two clarifications: 1) you should pat them dry once you've drained them, and 2) by "can" in the first sentence of my response, i mean the container in which you bought the salt-packed kind, not "canned" anchovies, per se. oops!
Don't forget that you'll have to do the "wet work" of stripping out the spines. But also remember to top the remaining anchovies in the can with more coarse salt. Hold them in the refrigerator once opened.
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I usually remove one or two from the can at a time and rinse them off in cold water to remove the excess salt. Then, set aside in a small bowl with cool water to soak for a bit and drain when you're ready to use them. As long as there are no large residual crystals of salt hangin' out on the filets, you're good to go -- smush them in a mortar and pestle and use as a paste or finely chop to add to whatever you recipe you need them for. Remember that the salt-packed are -- surprise -- very salty, but that's why you're adding these suckers anyway, no? I always use salt-packed over the canned variety!
two clarifications: 1) you should pat them dry once you've drained them, and 2) by "can" in the first sentence of my response, i mean the container in which you bought the salt-packed kind, not "canned" anchovies, per se. oops!
Thank you! I recently broke bad, and bought a 600g can. I want to treat them with respect :) and I'm with you...much prefer salt packed.
Don't forget that you'll have to do the "wet work" of stripping out the spines. But also remember to top the remaining anchovies in the can with more coarse salt. Hold them in the refrigerator once opened.