5 Ways You Can Use The Leftover Oil From Canned Anchovies

Tinned fish are trending in the United States at last – we're a little behind the rest of the world when it comes to this versatile food – and anchovies in particular are becoming the belle of the aquatic culinary ball. One of the best canned fish to keep in your pantry, these 4-to-10-inch long saltwater dwellers are relatively sustainable, provide a wealth of nutritional benefits, and offer a strong, savory flavor that works alone as a snack or when used as an ingredient in other dishes.

Once you've eaten these tiny, briny, umami-packed fish, you're left with a can of oil (provided you didn't buy the salt-packed or water-packed versions). Before you toss this leftover oil in the garbage, remember that it's infused with rich anchovy flavor, making it liquid gold. Rather than throwing it out, you can reduce food waste and elevate the flavor in other dishes by using it as an ingredient in everything from butter to salad dressing to soups and stocks.

In many cases, wherever anchovies work, their leftover oil will suffice, too. Whole anchovy filets are one of the keys to puttanesca sauce, a rich, briny Italian tomato sauce perfect for coating long pastas like spaghetti or linguine. The fish flavor of the anchovies doesn't quite survive the cooking process, but the umami notes remain, resulting in a sauce with a deeper, more savory complexity. The same goes if you're using the oil that the fish was canned in.

The initial step in this iconic tomato sauce is to saute garlic cloves and anchovies in olive oil. To achieve a puttanesca-like tomato sauce, simply replace the regular olive oil with the leftover oil from your tin of anchovies. About 2 tablespoons' worth is all it takes for a sauce that will have your guests asking how it's so good.

For a number of us, the idea of anchovies on pizza was the epitome of "yucky" when we were kids (perhaps thanks in part to the 1990 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movie scene where Michelangelo orders a pizza and vehemently specifies "no anchovies"). But it's time to approach this pizza topping idea -– or at least the oil it's packed in — from a grown-up-foodie's-eye view: Anchovy oil has a lot of flavor to offer a pizza pie beyond fishiness.

Packed with the savory punch that anchovies are renowned for, the leftover oil can add a subtle, complex depth to pizza while enhancing the other flavors; the sauce can taste richer, the cheese cheesier, and so on. All it takes is a little drizzle over the finished product after baking to impart a touch of richness. Alternatively, mix in a few drops of leftover tinned anchovy oil with your tomato sauce to enhance the flavor. Similarly to how you can add MSG to tomatoes to upgrade their flavor, the natural glutamate in anchovies (and their oil) can enhance the sweet-and-savory notes of your pizza's tomato sauce, which will inform the flavor of the whole dish.

Incorporating tinned anchovy oil in salad dressings is a great way to use up this flavorful leftover, and Caesar dressing in particular is perfect for the swap: The inclusion of anchovies in the recipe is part of the reason that restaurant Caesar dressing tastes better than store-bought. Aside from providing a savory backbone to the dressing, they bring a salty depth and a subtle, pleasant fishiness that complements the rest of the ingredients without being overpowering.

Opting for anchovy oil in your dressing allows you to experiment with the fishy flavor before committing to whole anchovy fillets. The benefits of the fish themselves will still be there; the effect will just be milder. Start with including a tablespoon of the olive oil that your anchovies were packed in and give it a try. Go up to 2 tablespoons if you like what you're tasting and want more of it.

Anchovy butter is a richly unctuous condiment that lends an incomparable decadence to savory foods. A typical recipe calls for combining a generous quantity of chopped anchovies, minced garlic cloves, and butter. The latter's richness works double-time in this dish, balancing the intensity of the anchovies and the pungency of the garlic. At room temperature, it's divine rubbed all over a chicken before roasting, and melting and drizzling it on fresh popcorn epically elevates the snack.

If you've already eaten all your tinned fishies or just want to dip your culinary toe into this flavor combination to see if it's right for you, tinned anchovy oil works wonderfully. Start with a smaller quantity of anchovy oil to test out the flavor and saltiness, taste, and increase from there if needed.

Anchovies feature in a variety of soups and stocks from around the world, from the flavorful anchovy-kelp stock of spicy Korean tofu stew, to the briny, savory secret in soups like pasta e fagioli. But you don't have to go full-fish to get the benefits of anchovies in your soups; as with other dishes, a little tinned anchovy oil is sufficient to achieve that deep, umami-packed complexity.

If working with stock, make use of the fish's salty savoriness by adding leftover anchovy oil at the end of the cooking process, after you've skimmed off excess fat from the stock's surface, as Chef Marcos Campos told Tasting Table. Since the oil is salty, use it in place of the salt you'd add in the final stages to enhance flavors. To build a rich backbone in soups, add the oil early on, cooking your aromatics and vegetables in it. In terms of ratios, be mindful of anchovy oil's concentrated pungency and saltiness; start with ½ to 1 teaspoon for every 4 cups of liquid — it doesn't take much!