Güeyu Mar Chargrilled Sardine Tails

Reviews

1. 

   Jeff (verified owner) – July 5, 2022

   Though maybe not a traditional feature or accompaniment for a cookout or barbecue with family, I thought it would be fun to open a tin or two with some family at a recent smoked ribs-focused family gathering, despite that some of that family thinks I’m weird for eating fish out of a tin. Wanting to impress my doubting family, I opened up this event-worthy tin of chargrilled sardine tails…

   Despite the fact that it was a slightly breezy day, opening this tin outside in front of 4 skeptics had them all immediately reacting to the aroma. For me, it was a very present, but smooth and pleasant aroma. Peeling the lid back all of the way exposed 4 girthy looking sardine segments. These looked pretty darn close to the size of any other sardine you might encounter that doesn’t claim to just be tails. Before meeting the chef’s knife, these look to have been slightly larger sardines than you’ll typically find in a tin.

   The sardines showed signs of having met up with a hot grill as the skin carried marks and scars of having been handled a bit before finding their way to the tin. In lifting a sardine tail out with chopsticks, I found them to hold together well.

   At first bite I found them to be well seasoned with a touch of salt, with slightly soft flesh – not mushy, just a bit soft. That softness is countered by the thickness of the segments – still giving a good bite and mouthfeel.

   I think these were delicious – great aroma, quality, texture and flavor. For the family that I shared these with, who at best may have had some experience with tinned fish in the form of anchovies on a pizza or in a salad, nobody was blown away by them, and conversely, nobody was offended either. Perhaps if served up alongside some basic grocery store brands the contrast would have found more appreciation for the care of the fish in this tin.

   Would I want to eat these every day? Yes. At this price point, is that reasonable? Not for me. I think these are a nice, experiential tin of fish that would be perfect for an occasional treat, either solo, or with fellow tinned fish aficionados.

2. 

   Brigitte Ebanks (verified owner) – October 9, 2022

   This tin is my favorite so far. They are thick sardine ends with perfect flavor and a soft mouthfeel without being mushy. Now on to try the rest of güeyu’s tins!

3. 

   vasqa670 (verified owner) – January 12, 2023

   I agree that these are nice and thick, and these is a bigger tin. They were tasty, and although I was hoping to get more of a chargrilled flavor, the sardines were still very nice

4. 

   Hream McDan (verified owner) – May 10, 2023

   A thing of beauty. There’s nothing quite like opening up a ‘special occasion’ tin like Güeyu Mar. It’s is basically as far from a daily driver as I can possibly get and it’s a joy to try. These “tails” are HUGE. Think very large pilchards cut into two chunks. They’re wonderfully meaty with an outside that’s slightly softer, an inside that’s slightly firmer but not dry. I appreciated the change in texture as it slowed me down a little. Definitely didn’t need additional salt, seasoning was on point and the oil is clearly of spectacular quality. Chargrilled? Tough for me to identify in general, it’s not an overwhelming amount of ‘grilled’ flavor but there is certainly a flavor depth in this tin that you don’t get very often.

   When it comes down to it, these are (of course!) an absolute top-tier meaty sardine. If you can’t get enough of big big sardines/pilchards in olive oil, this is a no-brainer tin for your next birthday celebration. For me, they were absolutely great and probably the best ‘plain’ giant sardines I’ve ever had … but yet, if I was to have another tin of Gueyu tails, I’d want the tails in escabeche again as that liquid really took it to the next level for me. At any rate, I’m absolutely so happy to have been able to try this luxury. This tin accurately captures the pure essence of the fanciest of fancy sardine tails in olive oil. Fancy.