How long should you cook anchovy and anchovy paste to extract the most flavor?
Like with garlic, I always feel like I either overcook or undercook my anchovies when I add them to a flavor paste.
I guess the first question is if when using a paste instead of whole or chopped do you need to lower the heat or cook less time, and the second question is how can you tell you properly extracted the flavor from the anchovies?
Best Answer
This is completely personal opinion, but I do not believe it is possible to overcook anchovies when they are being used to add flavor to a dish. The optimal situation is that you cook the food long enough for the anchovies to completely break down. It is an entirely different issue when you actually want to serve them as a featured ingredient instead of a seasoning.
With either paste or whole/ chopped, it is impossible to undercook as both are ready to eat as sold, unless your anchovy can was ready to burst due to a little Gram-positive bowling-pin shaped spore-forming rod called Clostridium botulinum having some fun.
Getting to the actual questions, when using a paste it doesn't actually need any cooking, just stir it in and you are ready once it's incorporated. If you can't see the lump of paste you have successfully extracted the flavor.
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Can you overcook anchovies?
Fillets should be firm, and look like minifish. If they are mushy, do not use. Cooking with anchovies requires some care. High heat or overcooking will turn them hard and bitter.How do you make anchovies taste better?
Incredibly versatile with big, savory, briny flavor, they can really do not wrong, whether they're chopped up and stirred into tomato sauce, dissolved in shimmering olive oil, or laid on toast smeared with good butter for a quick snack. These mighty little fish add a pleasantly funky boost to almost any dish.What is the ratio of anchovy paste to anchovies?
For things like tomato sauce or salad dressing, where the anchovies are mashed and essentially dissolve right in, a squeeze of smooth anchovy paste is a great choice. For reference, 1 anchovy fillet = 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste.Is anchovy paste as good as anchovies?
After determining that one fillet averages 1/2 teaspoon minced by volume, we ran some tests. In recipes like beef stew, where a modest amount of anchovy is intended to subtly bolster the meaty flavor, 1 teaspoon of anchovy paste made an acceptable substitute for 1 teaspoon of minced anchovy fillets.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Andy Kuzma, Klaus Nielsen, Klaus Nielsen, Katerina Holmes