Sardines

[GB]

I have never had sardines (that I know of), but have seen them mentioned on DC a lot lately. I would really like to try them, but I don't know the first thing about them other than they come in a can. Do you need to prepare them or can you just open the can and pop them right in your mouth? Do they have bones that need to be removed? Give me suggestions. Thanks guys!

 

[Alix]

Far as I know you eat them right from the can, no deboning. They are considered an excellent source of calcium. They make me want to gag though. And yet, I love smoked oysters, go figure.

 

[jennyema]

Sardines are my middle name. When I was 10 I thought every little girl ate them for Saturdau lunch!

Anyway, you just open the can and eat them. Bones, skin and all. They have been processed in a way that the bones are soft and just a bit crunchy. You can always pull them out if you want, as the fish itself is "fallin' off the bone" in texture.

I have eaten them from very cheap to $8 a can and can tell youthat the $8 can was very nice, but not nice enough to pay that much again. I get Portugese (speled rong) kinds from Stop and Shop that are nice, and some from Titan Foods in NYC, but otherwise King Oscar and Bumblebee and Roland are all good reliable brands.

They come plain (in oil usually) or in sauce/seasonings. I really like the ones in mustard and the ones in hot sauce with olives and pimentos. For your first sardine tasting, I would probably recommend one with some kind of seasoningthat you like.

I eat mine on good crusty bread if I have it. Crackers and pita work, too. Or you can eat them on their own. I recommend the bread route.

You might want to buy a can and some nice bread and cheese, maybe some pickles or olives and a bottle of wine and have a nice "nibble" type dinner. I do this often.

Let me know what you think.

 

[lulu]

I mentioned them today. You don't need to take the bones out, but, if I can't get them boned I do take out the back bone, just a personal preference.

I only really like them in the recipe my family call "Catsick" sorry, can't help the name, but then I learned about **** on shingles here today, so I figure this name makes me and the board equal, lol. The taste is a bit like a pizza.

1 tin sardines (I like boned and in olive oil, but anything with do)
some cheddar or cheddar style cheese, grated...to taste
splash of Worcester sauce
good squirt of ketchup

combine and sprad/spoon on to what ever bread/english muffins/crumpets you have to hand and shove under the grill...or USA Broiler till bubbly and golden on top.

They taste excellent, better than you would imagine. American style Pizza really is closest I can get to the description. We have them as a snack or as a side for salad/soup and near the end of the pay month! But we love it.

 

[SizzlininIN]

GB.....when I was a little girl my dad worked 2nd shift and on Fridays or if I didn't have school the next day I'd wait up for him to get home and we'd sit out in his garage and eat sardines and crackers.........great memories. I haven't had any since and honestly I don't know if I could eat them now.

 

[GB]

Thanks guys. Next time I am at the store I will pick up a can. I can't wait to try something new.

 

[ChefJune]

I have always enjoyed canned sardines. I prefer them canned in olive oil. They were one of my Dad's favorite lunches, and we'd eat them together on saltines.

OTOH, FRESH sardines are really delicious. If you live anywhere near a Portuguese or Italian neighborhood, you should be able to find them at the local fish market. Fresh sardines will remind you of smelt, and are delicious grilled or battered and fried. I could eat a million of them!

 

[Ishbel]

I don't like tinned sardines, although my cat adores them! BUT fresh? They are a wonderful, oily fish - I adore eating them straight off a grill and squeezed lemon juice, by the sea in Portugal or Spain.... Rough local bread and a mixed salad - bliss on a plate

 

[kadesma]

GB,
you will love them, Lulu and Jenny and Sizz all had the right way to down em My dad use to mash them with some lemon and spread them on crackers, I added mayo which I know you mildly dislike, so chuck that idea..But really they are nice with bread, crackers and I love them with crackers and big fat juicy grapes.

kadesma

 

[attie]

I like them on toast with finely sliced [or diced] onion and lemon juice.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I LOVE canned sardines - the regular ones in olive oil, the ones in mustard sauce, in hot sauce (there are all sorts of new ones out there!!). Just love them. And they're good & good for you.

You eat the entire thing - bones & all. The bones are soft - you don't even notice them - & as was posted previously, are an excellent source of calcium.

One of my favorite sandwiches growing up was sardines on a hard roll with lettuce & a slice of raw onion. Sometimes we'd just use the sardines whole; sometimes we'd mash them up with a small dollop of mayo. Okay - maybe I was a weird kid - lol. But boy, those sandwiches were great, & both my mom & I enjoy them to this day.

The sardines that now come in sauces (mustard, chili, hot sauce, etc., etc.) I just enjoy plain.

 

[VeraBlue]

They are ready to eat. For the feast of saint joseph we always had a pasta dish made with sardines, fennel, capers, tomatoes and toasted breadcrumbs. As a kid it scared the outta me. Now, I love it and cheat every now and then by preparing it when it's not the feast of saint joseph.

They've got a very strong taste, but it's multi dimensional and thoroughly satisfying. Go for it.

 

[my65289stang]

Buy some triscuits, spread some plain cream cheese on, a little piece of sardine....soooo good

 

[Constance]

I love sardines too. I usually buy the Bumble Bee brand in olive oil, and eat them on crackers with mustard. But you all have some interesting ways of eating them that I'll have to try.
When I was a young mother (back in the stone ages), I used to go to a place that sold surplus items from the trucking industry. For instance, I bought a nice stove there for $50, that only had a small dent on one side.
One day I went in, and they had sardines in the same size can that we buy salmon...13-14 oz? I'd never heard of the brand, but they were super cheap, and I thought I'd give them a try. I bought a couple of cans, and they turned out to be the best sardines I've ever had. They were large...5-6" long, packed in olive oil, about 6 to a can, and very tender and delicious. I went back the next day and bought all they had.

 

[CharlieD]

I love Sardines and I hate Sardines. I love the portugise kind I used to get back in Soviet Union and i hate ones that are available here. I wish those of you who like them could try the portugise kind they are just so much better, yum.

 

[Robo410]

a canned sardine is a canned fish like canned tuna or salmon or oystrers etc...acceptable, pleasant, useable etc. but a fresh sardine is fine food for sure!

 

[Chopstix]

GB, since it's your first time, try to get the Portugese or Spanish canned sardines in spicy olive oil. They're the best. (I myself can't stand sardines in tomato-based sauces.) Also I prefer to remove the scales, center bone & innards, which is very easy to do.

 

[kitchenelf]

GB.....when I was a little girl my dad worked 2nd shift and on Fridays or if I didn't have school the next day I'd wait up for him to get home and we'd sit out in his garage and eat sardines and crackers.........great memories. I haven't had any since and honestly I don't know if I could eat them now.

Sizz - my Dad and I ate them with crackers every Friday night after swimming - what a neat memory!!!!!

GB - if you find you like them then look for a REALLY good tin of them. They will be thicker than most you find. The ones I had were from Italy and they were the BEST I have ever had. Of course I was at the Gourmet Food Show in New York - but hey, they sell them somewhere!!

 

[Snoop Puss]

Tinned sardines make a great snack when mashed and spread on toast. They're jam-packed with calcium (the bones are very soft and hence eaten, upping the calcium intake) and very good for you.

Fresh sardines are really good but a bit of a menace to clean as they have quite large scales that are unpleasant to eat. Fresh anchovies are better in that respect and have a slightly firmer texture. The simplest way to cook them is to clean them, sprinkle with a little salt and then fry/grill in a tiny amount of oil (the thinnest of films) on what the Spanish know as a "plancha" or any flat-based grill or frying pan. To eat, take the head of the sardine between the thumb and forefingers of one hand and the tail in the other and gently prize the flesh away from the bones with your teeth. Not sure if I've described that well, but it's by far the easiest if messiest way to eat them. The flesh comes away from the bones very easily. If you're the refined type, you can of course use a knife and fork but you won't get to eat as many as someone using their fingers!

 

[Seven S]

RECCA is an italian brand that is known as EXCELLENT