I've never had sardines any other way but tinned! I actually like them on a sandwich with pickled onion!

The recipes below came out of the Ark.

Angels Lament
1 large tin sardines
2 onions
2 tablespoons plain flour
300ml milk
salt and pepper
1/2 cup grated cheese
breadcrumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped capsicum
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
triangles of buttered toast

Pour oil off sardines into a frypan, saute onions until tender but not brown. Add flour, cook 3 minutes, stir in milk and cook until thick, season with salt and pepper. Place sardines in an ovenproof dish, cover with prepared sauce, top with combined cheese, capsicum and breadcrumbs. Bake at 180°C until topping is crisp. Garnish with toast triangles arranged around edge of dish.

Sardine Dinner
2 tins sardines, drained (reserve oil)
60g butter
1 tablespoon sardine oil
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon mustard
salt and pepper
Worcestershire sauce
grated cheese

Heat butter and oil, add flour, stirring well, then stir in the milk, mustard, sauce and seasonings. Place sardines on toast, pour sauce over and sprinkle with grated cheese.

I like sardines best on toast.

I have a recipe that calls for wrapping them in bacon and grilling them. Never tried it.

You could try dipping them in orly batter and deep-frying them. I think it could work if you drench them in flour first to make the batter stay on.

We stock up on Spanish sardines whenever we visit our local import store, La Espanola (some CFers have been there already). I just stand over the sink with a fork...but I have heard of and filed in the back of my head some pasta recipes that sound good. Here is one from Food Network....Rachel Ray...

Sicilian-Style Sardine Pasta with Bread Crumbs Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cups flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Coarse salt and coarse black pepper
2 tins sardines, 4 ounces each, drained, boned and chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound linguini, fresh or dried, your choice, cooked to al dente in salted water

To a large skillet preheated over medium heat, add 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 4 turns of the pan, and chopped garlic. When the garlic speaks by sizzling in oil add bread crumbs. Stir bread crumbs until deeply golden in color. Add parsley and a liberal amount of salt and pepper, about 1 teaspoon of each. Transfer bread crumbs to a dish and reserve.

Return skillet to heat and add 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 3 turns of the pan. Add sardines and red pepper flakes to the pan and saute over medium heat 2 or 3 minutes. Add hot, cooked pasta to the skillet and toss with sardines. Add bread crumbs to the pot and toss thoroughly to combine and evenly distribute the mixture. Taste, to adjust seasonings, and serve.

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Episode#: TM1D06
Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

I haven't even *thought* of sardines in years!

One of my favorite lunches as a kid was a sandwich of sardines smushed on white bread with a squeeze of lemon juice. mmmm...

I think I need to go buy myself a few cans!

I am a bit of a sardine-o-phile in that they're one of the few tasty snacks you can have while on a low carb diet.

Having said that, there is a HUGE difference in the quality of canned sardines. Basically, you get what you pay for. Of the readily available ones, I like the Norwegian ones (is it King Oscar or Prince Oscar?). The smaller the fish, the more delicate the flavor. A double-layer pack will of course have smaller fish. While I usually buy the small wood-smoked ones, they used to have some sardines packed in pesto sauce which were quite yummy. I can't find them any more.

Sardines packed in olive oil seem better than those packed in sild or soy oil.

On the other hand, I've tasted some cheapo sardines from Morocco that I wouldn't feed to a cat--and I don't like cats :)

I have used a good quality sardine or two in place of anchovy paste when making caesar salad dressing in the blender. Different but delicious.

I used to be able to buy big fat sardines from Portugal....they cane in a yellow tin and it almost cost me a finger opening it several times..
I love sardines...I believe one of the best "messes of sardines" I ever ate was in Spain on the coast, they were deep fried whole....I didn't ask about guts...or head....but I think you just ate it all....wonderful!!
Linda c

I love sardines - my parents used to buy Smelts for pan frying like the above recipes.(I know, a different fish) I can't imagine a canned sardine holding up to pan frying. When my son went to preschool, he wanted to take Sardines for his lunch! DH convinced him he wouldn't have any friend at recess if he did! Thanks for the memory this brought back!

its King Arthur and here's the link... who knew there were so many ways to can sardines.

http://www.kingoscar.no/KingOscar/main.nsf/pages/60018028EF5DE43FC1256B430052FBC9

this recipe from Gourmet sounds tempting to me

beer-batter-fried sardines and lime
Gourmet : June 1999

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Frying the lime wedges gives them a pleasing golden color and enables the juice to squirt out with the slightest pressure.

Serves 2.

Quick Kitchen

1/2 cup beer (not dark)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
two 3 3/4-ounce cans brisling sardines
1 lime
4 cups vegetable oil
In a bowl whisk beer and salt into flour until smooth. Drain sardines and pat dry. Cut lime into 8 wedges.
In a 3-quart saucepan heat oil over moderately high heat until a deep-fat thermometer registers 375°F. Working in batches of about 8 and holding sardines at head end to avoid breaking, dredge fish in batter to coat completely, dragging lightly against side of bowl to remove excess, and fry, stirring, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. With a slotted spoon transfer sardines as fried to paper towels to drain. Fry lime wedges in oil until they begin to turn golden, about 30 seconds, and transfer to paper towels to drain. Serve sardines with lime.

FWIW the folks at Chowhound (now what is a loyal Cooking Forum denizen doing over there? Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa...) did an exhaustive taste testing on over 50 brands of sardines. Their rankings:

OVERALL RANKINGS

1. Angelo Parodi Sardine Portoghesi allolio di olivo Portugal/Italy - $1.99
2. Roland Sardines in Olive Oil - Morocco - $2.95
3. BELA-Olhão lightly smoked sardines in olive oil. - Portugal - $1. 75
4. Matiz Gallego sardines in olive oil - Spain - $2. 99
5. Idamar Portuguese Sardines in olive oil - Portugal - $2. 25
6. Gonsalves Sardines in olive oil Portugal - $1.99
7. Da Morgada Sardines in Pure Olive Oil - Portugal - $3. 99
8. Albo Sardinas en aceite de oliva virgin extra Spain
9. Cabo de Penas Sardinillas en aceite de oliva - Spain
10. El Corte Ingles Sardinas en aceite de oliva - Spain
11. Palacio de`Oriente Sardinas en aceite de oliva - Spain
12. Garavilla Sardinillas en aceite de oliva Spain
13. 5 Estrellas Grandes Hoteles Sardinillas en aceite de oliva - Spain
14. Albo Sardines in Olive oil Spain - $4.99
15. King Oscar Sardines Mediterranean style Norway, packed in Poland - $2.99
16. Yankee Clipper lightly smoked sardines in soybean oil Morocco - $2.49
17. King Oscar Extra Small Sardines in fish oil 2 layers Norway - $2.99
18. Sardinas de la Costa en aceite de oliva - Spain
19. Cuca Sardinas en aceite de oliva - Spain
20. Connetable Sardines entières à lhuile dolive vierge extra - France - $2. 95 (on sale, usually $4.50
)21. BELA-Olhão lightly smoked sardines in cayenne pepper-flavored extra virgin olive oil. - Portugal - $1. 75
22. Crown Prince One Layer Sardines in soy bean oil no Salt - Scotland - $1. 85
23. Beach Cliff Sardines in soybean oil USA / Canada - $.69
24. Brunswick Sardines in Spring Water No Salt Added Canada - $1.19
25. Madrigal spiced sardines in vegetable oil Morocco - $1.59
26. Brunswick Sardines in Olive Oil Canada - $1.19
27. King Oscar Extra Small Brisling Sardines in purest virgin olive oil Norway - $2.99
28. King Oscar tiny tots Sardines in olive oil two layers Norway - $2.99
29. Bumble Bee sardines in tomato sauce - Mexico - $1. 29 (15 oz)
30. Cracovia - Poland - $2. 55
31. Palacio Real Small Sardines in Olive oil (slightly smoked) Spain - $2.99
32. BUMBLE BEE Sardines in Water Poland - $.89
33. King Oscar Sardines in pure spring water Norway - $2.99
34. BELA-Olhão lightly smoked sardines in lemon-flavored extra virgin olive oil. - Portugal - $1. 75
35. Bumble Bee Sardines in Oil Poland - $.99
36. Paco Lafuente en aceite de oliva - Spain
37. Mega Sardines in tomato sauce with chili The Philippines - $.79
38. Brunswick Sardines in Mustard Sauce Canada - $1.19
39. Bumble Bee Sardines in Mustard Poland - $.89
40. Yankee Clipper lightly smoked sardines in tomato sauce Morocco - $2.49
41. Yankee Clipper lightly smoked sardines in mustard sauce Morocco - $2.49
42. King Oscar Sardines in tomato Norway - $2.99
43. Brunswick Sardines in Mustard and Dill Sauce Canada - $1.19
44. King Oscar Skinless & boneless Sardines in olive oil Morocco - $2.99
45. Gourmet Award lightly smoked sardines in tomato sauce Morocco - $1.89
46. Pacific Star Lightly smoked sardines in vegetable oil - Thailand - $. 99
47. Calmex sardines in tomato sauce - Mexico - $1. 19 (15 oz)
48. Brunswick Sardines in tomato & basil Sauce Canada - $1.19
49. El Mexicano Sardinas en salsa de tomate con chile - Mexico - $1. 09 (15 oz)

We stock them and eat them out of the tin. I never considered cooking with them either. I'll have to play around with that Rachael Ray recipe.

Had some for dinner last night.
Just plopped on a cracker. Served with slices of mozzerella cheese and raw veggies.

Yum!

Deanna

(pssst arley I hang out at chowhound too - some good recipes there - and I know there are other GWers there too)

THE ONLY WAY TO EAT EM IS POUR THE OrIGINAL JUICE FROM the can, replace with vinager. let soak, and eat with saltines. Amen..... sorry about the caps.

Variation on fedup's recipe (if there can be a variation on "THE ONLY WAY"?) is to substitue pickled chile pepper juice for vinegar.

Jim

I have fixed a pasta dish similar to the recipe that jessyf posted. I didn't have a recipe - I just called it "pantry pasta" but it was surprisingly like Rachel Ray's recipe, including the breadcrumbs! It was fast, tasty and there. The sardines I used were packed oil.

I'm going to try the vinegar/pickled pepper juice and see how I like it. I have always liked sardines packed in mustard the best, ever since I was a kid, on saltines.

seagrass

And, here's an off topic reference because if you have a storehouse of worthless knowledge you're dying to share it with others even if no one asks about it:

In William Faulkner's last novel, The Reivers, the plot revolves around a stolen racehorse. The stable groom is the only one who can motivate the horse to run; his secret is that he discovers that the horse is crazy about sardines. By waving a sardine at the horse in the final turn the horse puts on a burst of speed and wins the race.

Sounds unlikely, but he won a Pulitzer for the novel.

I always buy my Canned/Tinned Sardines at Costco. They are packed only in Olive Oil and Salt.

First I would sautee chopped garlic till fragrant. Then add all kind of onions (yellow, white or red). Usually I do at least white and yellow. Sautee till fragrant.

Add Seasoning. I use Salt, Black Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes and a pinch of Sugar. Mix well.

Then I put all the sardines from the can (including the oil) on top of the onions and garlic carefully, SET stove to the lowest setting, COVER for about 5 minutes.

I add Red or Yellow or Green Bell Pepper all around and ON TOP of the Sardines, close until the peppers are wilted.

Carefully flip so that the onions and garlic are well distributed.

**When sauteeing the onions and garlic, I use only Extra Virgin Olive Oil**

My son LOVES this and always ask me to make it at least 3 times a week. The key is the Bell Pepper. It adds tanginess to the usual sardines taste, and of course the Onions and Garlic helps.

If you have Red Shallots, that would be best. If I see it on sale at my local HEB, I would grab a bunch.

Good Luck and Let me know how you like it.