Laurie4b Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I eat sardines a couple times per week because they are a good source of Omega 3s, and pretty low on the food chain, so unlikely to have mercury contamination and because they are inexpensive. (I can't afford salmon a couple times per week!) I don't love them. I tolerate them. I usually eat them with a modest amount of pasta, tomato-based pasta sauce, and red pepper flakes. This is okay, but I am looking for other ideas to try. Do you have a way of serving sardines that you like? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I eat them on spinach or arugula salads, with hard boiled egg, veggies and maybe a few walnuts. Yum! Or do like the Danes and eat them on open faced sandwiches. Toast some really great, crusty bread, add some mustard and sardines or herring, a bit of avocado perhaps and a dash of cracked pepper... Planning tomorrow's lunch! :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I *love* the sardines that are King Oscar (the red can) with black pepper. I eat them right out of the can. :blushing: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 My father adores sardines. He eats them daily for breakfast on toast, with peanut butter. (I find this completely revolting.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 My father loved sardines. I loved opening the can with the key. I have tried eating them but they are not for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 My father adores sardines. He eats them daily for breakfast on toast, with peanut butter. (I find this completely revolting.) More power to him! I'm with you, though. :svengo: Just out of curiousity, I may have to try a wee bit with peanut butter... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 I eat them on spinach or arugula salads, with hard boiled egg, veggies and maybe a few walnuts. Yum! Or do like the Danes and eat them on open faced sandwiches. Toast some really great, crusty bread, add some mustard and sardines or herring, a bit of avocado perhaps and a dash of cracked pepper... Planning tomorrow's lunch! :) So kind of like anchovies, only not salty, on the salad. I will try that. I would never have thought to add avocado to them. It's one of my favorite foods, so that will be a definite new way to try them! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I big puffy heart sardines and eat them almost every day for lunch. The brand makes a difference. I like Seasons brand totally plain, and King Oscar brand with lots of yellow mustard. The King Oscar Mediterranean variety are good plain or with crackers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Alton brown has some recipes for sprats, a version of sardines. He puts them on toast, maybe? I eat them often for lunch but I am not creative. I buy boneless and skinless sardines in water (I have been told this is the most boring version of sardines) and I mash them up with a bit of apple cider vinegar. Then I put the mashed up sardines on whole romaine lettuce leaves and sort of make a little packet/roll up of them. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I haven't had sardines in ages. I think I'll add them to my shopping list. When I was a kid we ate them in a bowl with sliced Maui onions, rock salt and a splash of shoyu (soy sauce). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatechip Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I want to like sardines, I really really do. Maybe I need to try a different brand. I like fishy but the ones I've had in the past are a little TOO fishy. Sadness! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiara Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 We have sardines mashed up and mixed with finely chopped onions, tomatoes and a tiny amount of fresh chilli. Normally as a sandwich filler or on crackers. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Well, my hermit crabs love them, but then again they also love rotten banana and dead (or live) insects. :zombie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I'm not a fan of sardines, but I have a funny sardine story to share. A friend of mine was part of a group of men who were quickly pulling together a missions trip to take supplies and help to people in a foreign country where some natural disaster had occurred. One guy volunteered to get a supply of food for the men to eat on the trip. Once they had all of the supplies on board and were airborne, the guy proudly broke out the food: bunches and bunches of cans of sardines. As the OP said, they were cheap, relatively nutritious, and they traveled well. He was very surprised that the other guys weren't thrilled with his choice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I eat them out of the can with mustard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Both of my kids love them. I have never tried them. I just can't get past the smell and the looks of them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insertcreativenamehere Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I can't stand them myself, but my youngest son has a feeding tube and so he gets them regularly because they're so healthy and taste isn't an issue for him. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Sautee or bake veggies, add rice with sardines and your fave salad dressing. Since you don't love the taste and just want the health benefits, it's all about modifying or improving the flavor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I eat sardines a couple times per week because they are a good source of Omega 3s, and pretty low on the food chain, so unlikely to have mercury contamination and because they are inexpensive. (I can't afford salmon a couple times per week!) I don't love them. I tolerate them. I usually eat them with a modest amount of pasta, tomato-based pasta sauce, and red pepper flakes. This is okay, but I am looking for other ideas to try. Do you have a way of serving sardines that you like? I have been thinking I should these too, because they are so healthy. I have a couple of cans in the back of the cupboard, from Trader Joe's, I think. I am a little scared to open the cans. What will I find? Have the heads have been taken off? Are there parts you should not eat? Is there such as thing as a fresh sardine, or only canned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Crown Prince brisling in olive oil with Trader Joe's artichoke antipasto on top. SO GOOD. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I am a little scared to open the cans. What will I find? Have the heads have been taken off? Are there parts you should not eat? Is there such as thing as a fresh sardine, or only canned? Headless. Tails usually still on. Sardines come in different sizes. Nordic-caught are best in my opinion, smaller and more delicate than Moroccan, etc. Eat 'em whole, or mash as per recipes above. All parts are edible. Skinless and boneless are available, but a lot of the nutrients are in the bones (calcium) and skins (the good fats) so you have to decide about that. Available in a dizzying array of varieties: packed in water, packed in oil, packed in mustard, packed in tomato sauce, etc. Also, double-layer, single-layer, cross-packed, which just seems related to size and type of the fishy, not the actual flavor. PROTIP: Treat sardine cans and lids and boxes like poopy diapers: they go in the outside trash as soon as possible, because they are pungent. I usually do the trash run before I even eat. And scrub down any surfaces that they touch (plates, sinks, counters), because fish-infused oil (etc) smell lingers. I've never seen a fresh sardine at a fishmonger, but I think that's because they are almost always wild-caught instead of farm-raised, so they go straight to the cannery from the ship instead of fish farm to fridge truck to fish counter at the supermarket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Kubiac is bang on - fresh sardines aren't usually sold, they start to spoil within hours of being caught. Canning them is much more economical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anabelneri Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 We went on a sardine kick last year. The best recipe we found was Tom's Pasta con Sarde, and we all really liked it. It's linked on my Sardine recipe Pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/anabelneri/food-sardine-edition/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 If you've never tried sardines before and you want to, don't buy sardines in water. That's disgusting. Buy the ones packed in extra virgin olive oil. I've tried a bunch of different ones but I always go back to the King Oscar brand. Also if you get a chance, try Bar Harbor brand. which is exceptional except that they are boneless and skinless. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 No, thank you. :D 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 We made a salad in class where we smashed sardines and avocados together and served on a green salad with lots of fennel and green onions and it was surprisingly good. I did not think the two smashed together were going to be appealing. There was probably a lemon juice and oil dressing drizzled on too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabelen Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Well, growing up in Spain, I did eat plenty of fresh sardines, particularly good on the bbq! Now I just eat them out of tins. I love them with chopped onions, tomatoes and pickles and a vinaigrette paired with crunchy French bread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I don't like them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I have seen frozen sardines here. And...something that is like a sardine but a bit bigger, but it was a sardine. And I had fresh sardines in Spain as well! delicious! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 We buy the good ones that are in olive oil and just eat them on Wheat Thins or Triscuits. It's one of our regular go-to weekday lunches. I've also occasionally dumped a can on top of a salad (again though, must be in good olive oil) and added a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to make a dressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Dh's Norwegian great, great grandfather (or something like that) received a medal from the king of Norway for inventing key-rolled canned sardines. ETA: OK, then. Turns out this is not true, though it's what the family has always said. He actually invented a couple of kinds of smoked sardines, though nothing came of it because he never really marketed them. Guess the king (Oscar II?) thought they were worth a medal, at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Last night I was grocery shopping and stopped in the sardine area...and thought of all of you :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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