What can I do to make canned sardines more palatable?

[Plan B]

I'm trying to eat more of them for health rerasons. I don't dislike them. I just find that after about one can a month they get really boring. Is there anything I can add, like mustard or hot sauce or something? Is there any brand which tastes better?

[Mama Zappa]

1. Feed to cat
2. Wait 24 hours until processed by cat
3. .....
nah, better not go there :D

As a fish-hater, I'd say the task is an impossible one but how about adding to something like a tuna casserole (already slightly fishy), or adding to a pizza (are sardines that different from anchovies?)

[romansperson]

Pasta de Sardine

Ingredients

• 4 oz. dry fettuccine pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 (3.75 ounce) can sardines in tomato sauce
• pinch red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for about 8 minutes, or until almost tender.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook for a few minutes until soft, then add the garlic, and cook until fragrant. Stir in the sardines with their sauce. When the sardines heat through, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the pasta is ready.
3. When the pasta is almost done, drain, and add it to the sardine sauce. Stir, cover, and turn the heat off. Let stand for a few minutes to absorb the flavors of the sauce. Squeeze juice from the lemon over the pasta. Divide onto serving plates, and top with red pepper flakes and grated Parmesan cheese.

[muldoonthief]

I put them on toast, with Dijon mustard, and hot pepper rings.

[plnnr]

I'm trying to eat more of them for health rerasons. I don't dislike them. I just find that after about one can a month they get really boring. Is there anything I can add, like mustard or hot sauce or something? Is there any brand which tastes better?

Your supermarket doesn't sell them in hot mustard?

Sardines on saltine crackers - thems good eats.

[cher3]

I mash them with plenty of regular yellow mustard and eat them on crackers. Ugly as sin, but tasty.

[teela brown]

I'm eating more of them, too, to try to naturally take down the cholesterol levels a little. I like them on slightly sweet good whole wheat bread, and then add something sharp like a squeeze of lemon juice and/or a sprinkling of capers.

And if you buy brands packed in the Mediterranean at Italian or Portuguese markets, they'll just taste better right out of the can. I don't know why that is - maybe they use a better quality of olive oil or something.

[Quercus]

Never underestimate the power of garlic sauteed in olive oil. Plus maybe some tomatoes or capers or whatever is around.

[Caricci]

My mother and grandmother used to make them just like tuna - mixed up with mayo and served on white bread. It was crunchy. They apparently served it to one of my Aunts by marriage when they first met her because they had no idea it was freakish.

[scr4]

Is there any brand which tastes better?
I don't know about specific brands, but I noticed my supermarket sells several different kinds ranging from something like $0.79 to >$2. I tried them all and there's a big difference. The cheaper one contains larger fish (fewer of them, obviously), the texture is more coarse and there's a stronger smell of fish guts (not necessarily a bad thing, but not always what I want).

Also they have both "in oil" and "in water" versions. I'm not paranoid about fat intake (as long as it's not trans-fat) so I usually get the more tasty "in olive oil" version.

[ouryL]

To uncooked rice and as much water as recommended on package, add sardines, minced onions, ginger, soy sauce in a skillet that can be covered. When rice is tender, mix and feed to your cat. :o
Our mother couldn't get us to eat it, but if you like stuff like that. Bon appetit! :p

[Acsenray]

It has been some time since I bought canned sardines, but I recall them being packaged with several different kinds of flavoring -- oil, mustard, tomato, etc.

[Triskadecamus]

Go to Portugal.

Eat Sardines there. They don't have them in cans.

Of course, after that, you won't eat sardines anywhere outside of Portugal.

Tris

[Plan B]

Plus maybe some tomatoes or capers or whatever is around. :eek:

[Plan B]

Go to Portugal.

Eat Sardines there. They don't have them in cans.

Of course, after that, you won't eat sardines anywhere outside of Portugal.

Tris
Seriously, are you saying they come in jars? They sell them fresh? Is it worth looking around on the web to see if I can get something shipped from Portugal?

[Largo62]

I must just be fussy, but when I discovered those little buggars were too small to have the guts removed I could never eat them again. I hear they're good for feeding your flowers, though. ;)

[Kalhoun]

Use them as bait to catch something a little more edible (not that I consider fish to be food...but some people do!)

[Triskadecamus]

Sardines are not a specific fish. In Portugal, the ones they use are a bit larger, although still very small. They are oiled, Olive oil, I think, and strung on a string, and smoked. You buy them either loose, or on the string. They are salted, I think, too, although not much. I am pretty sure there are some other ingredients, although I can't tell you just what. But man, they are addictive. A bit firmer, and dryer than the canned ones, of course. You can buy them in other places in Europe, as "Portuguese Sardines."

Tris

[Wile E]

C'mon people, if you really don't like sardines why do you even bother to open these threads? The comments of how yucky you find them to be got old several sardine threads ago. The OP actually wants to eat them and did not ask to be talked out of it or grossed out. Believe it or not some people actually do like them, even if you may not, that's how human taste buds work. :rolleyes:


I was raised on sardine sandwiches on white bread with mayo and lettuce and that's still how I prefer them. Sometimes I throw on some chips for extra crunch.
I could never bring myself to eat the spines though, mom always took them out for me, now I have to do it for myself.

[kaylasdad99]

Serve them alongside something that you don't personally consider to qualify for being called "food".

For me, that would be oysters, beef liver, and rutabagas.

And, errrr, sardines, I'm afraid.

[WotNot]

If you're eating them primarily for health reasons, why stick to sardines? There are other oily fish you may enjoy more:

Salmon
Trout
Mackerel
Herring
Pilchards
Kipper
Eel
Whitebait
Fresh Tuna
Anchovies
Swordfish
Bloater
Cacha
Carp
Hilsa
Jack fish
Katla
Orange roughy
Pangas
Sprats

Not all of these may be readily available where you are, but there ought to be enough to give you plenty of variety.

[Krokodil]

Get the kind that are packed in mustard. Put them on saltines and shake some hot sauce on them; Tabasco will do fine.

[Dijon Warlock]

You should be able to get them packed in water, oil (olive and soya are locally available), tomato sauce, and mustard...and probably other things as well.

I prefer the ones packed in mustard sauce: mash them and stir them until they are an 'omogenous mess, guvnah, and spread them on saltine crackers. The crunch of the saltines hides the crunch of the spine/bones (which may be gross, but are loaded with calcium). They're also good (IMHO) in deviled eggs.

Hot sauce is a good bet, as mentioned.

[Malacandra]

I just had some for lunch on Ryvita wholegrain crackers. My local supermarket turns out several different flavours; these were in oil with whole red chillies. Yum.

__|__ to the threadshitters. :rolleyes:

[An Arky]

Get the skinless boneless ones. They're right there next to the rest. They're more expensive, but worth it.

[George Kaplin]

A tiny dash of Tabasco sauce can go a long way.

[Lars Aruns]

Get the skinless boneless ones. They're right there next to the rest. They're more expensive, but worth it.
Are there skinless and boneless sardines? In the UK? Ahh, you're in the US. Good grief, I wish I could find something like that here. I liked sardines when I was a kid, but that was because my mom bought them fresh and spent whole afternoons cleaning them. Lovely food, but I'd never spend all that time.

[zoid]

Didn't marinara used to (ages ago) have sardines in it by default or is that another tomato sauce I'm confusing?

Either way - any body got a good recipe for tomato sauce for pasta with sardines? I bet that would be good.

[Goblinboy]

Wow, I've always bought them in mustard or hot sauce and eaten them right out of the can with crackers and milk. (Yes, I know it sounds gross, but I like it.) I've never even considered eating them on a sandwich or mixing them with something out of the can. Thanks for all the yummy ideas everyone.

[Shagnasty]

I 5th or so the hot sauce and saltine angle. Purists like myself in this school of of thought use Tabasco and plain saltine crackers. It certainly isn't boring.

[Johnny L.A.]

:eek:
Ar? :confused: Actually tomatoes and capers with sardines sound pretty snacky.

[scr4]

Didn't marinara used to (ages ago) have sardines in it by default or is that another tomato sauce I'm confusing?
From here ("http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-marinara-sauce.htm):
The word marinara is derived from marinaro, which is Italian for “of the sea.” Because of this, many people mistakenly believe marinara sauce includes some type of fish or seafood. However, marinara sauce loosely translates as “the sauce of the sailors,” because it was a meatless sauce extensively used on sailing ships before modern refrigeration techniques were invented.

[Johnny L.A.]

“the sauce of the sailors,”
Sounds like something out of a gay porn film.

[Duke of Rat]

Sounds like something out of a gay porn film.

Nah

because it was a meatless sauce

[zoid]

Fair enough - but I still say it would be good.

[cmkeller]

Mama Zappa:

1. Feed to cat
2. Wait 24 hours until processed by cat
3. .....

Profit!!

[zoid]

On further review it seems I was thinking of puttanesca (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puttanesca) but that's anchovies not sardines.

:smack:

[Bridget Burke]

Sardine "salad" (w/scallions, vinegar & oil) makes a fine stuffing for an avocado. The rich smoothness of the avocado sets off the fishie tanginess quite well. Perhaps a dusting of parmesan?

My recipe is from a Mexican cookbook. This one has similar ingredients, presented differently.

Avocado Sardine Toasts (http://www.leitesculinaria.com/recipes/cookbook/avocado_sardines.html).

For any recipe--try different types of sardine. I prefer the smaller ones. Pretty good simply on Ry-Krisp with pieces of red onion....

And I've seen some interesting pasta sauces, usually made with sardines in olive oil.

[Typo Knig]

I used to make "sardine salad" as a kid. I must have started with the boneless, skinless, canned sardines - I was under 12 and opening the can was pretty much the limit of my culinary skills.

As I recall I opened the can, drained the oil (they didn't even have tuna packed in water in those days), and mixed the sardines with sweet pickle relish to taste. (The same idea as tuna salad, but without adding mayo.) It was an easy lunch during my elementary school days.

[OneCentStamp]

I like them on a nice crusty baguette with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and a good shot of hot mustard and/or hot sauce. Yum. Now I'm hungry.

Oh, and I don't care about guts or bones or whatever. It's all good. :p

[Wile E]

Didn't marinara used to (ages ago) have sardines in it by default or is that another tomato sauce I'm confusing?

Either way - any body got a good recipe for tomato sauce for pasta with sardines? I bet that would be good.

I was watching Rachel Ray's 30 minutes meals and she made a tuna puttanesca sauce and I remember thinking that it might work with sardines. I'm sure you could find the recipe on the Food Network site, foodtv.com. But it was basically a puttanesca sauce without anchovies but with lots of tuna instead.

Now I am craving sardines but the boyfriend is coming over for a couple days and he doesn't like fish and I won't even eat it around him lest I have to listen to his snarky comments about my food choices, like some of those in this thread.

By the way, I give the sardine guts to my cats, I could not open a can of sardines and not give them a taste unless I wished to be murdered in my sleep.

[CateAyo]

If none of the foregoing seems feasible, use them to bait a buzzard trap and then eat the buzzard.

[Sapo]

Aye, aye for Tabasco and Saltines.

Are you looking for something quick and dirty or something to prepare for a real meal?

In tomato sauce with capers over polenta, they are a real hit.

Also in a vinaigrette, over Saltines (think Pico de Gallo), or even go all the way and make tacos.

One general tip (unless you have found something you like), skip the prepared cans. Go for plain in olive oil, add the seasonings yourself. That's the difference between eating something that came from a can and something that tastes like a can.

The bitch about canned sardines is that they disintegrate by just looking at them sideways, which limits your options cooking them. You either have them mashed, or you are just adding some sauce on top (and keeping all the tin taste).

[Triskadecamus]

What I made for lunch today.

I put about one eighth cup of chopped olives in a tiny tupperware container, and a fine chopped shallot (about a quarter cup) in another. I covered the shallot with fresh ground pepper, and a tablespoon of lemon juice, and shook it up, so it wouldn't get brown. I put a bit more than a quarter cup of Medium Salsa in a larger bowl, and sealed it up. I put those, and an small Hass Avocado, and a can of "King Oscar two layer sardines in olive oil" into my lunch bag.

Come lunch time, I peeled and mushed up the Avocado, drained about half the oil, or more off the sardines, and dumped everything into the bowl the salsa was in, and stirred it up. I just ate it with a spoon, but you could use chips with it, or make it into a sandwich, if you wanted to. I enjoyed it a lot.

Later in the week, I will try another tin of sardines, and see what happens to them.

Tris
--------------------------------
"It's quite cool." ~ Gandalf ~

[Oslo Ostragoth]

(are sardines that different from anchovies?)ditto.
I adore anchovies with salad and pizza (thank you Conan's). But I don't know what the difference is from sardines.

[pulykamell]

I'll add hot pepper flakes occasionally but, to be honest, canned sardines pack quite a lot of flavor as it is. I normally just eat them with some Swedish crisp bread.

[Layla01]

Sardines with tomato slices topped with cheese (basil or oregano sprinkled on top). Grill until the cheese melts. Yummy!

[singular1]

Sardine virgin here - I'd like to try them, just to get more seafood into my diet, but I'm a coward. What do they taste like? Is it like tuna at all? I've always avoided them because they look so disgusting, but that's pretty ignorant of me, and we're all about fighting that, right? So what should I be prepared for?

[OneCentStamp]

Sardine virgin here - I'd like to try them, just to get more seafood into my diet, but I'm a coward. What do they taste like? Is it like tuna at all? I've always avoided them because they look so disgusting, but that's pretty ignorant of me, and we're all about fighting that, right? So what should I be prepared for?Very rich and intense. Salty and fishy, but that doesn't really cover it.

[Johnny L.A.]

ditto.
I adore anchovies with salad and pizza (thank you Conan's). But I don't know what the difference is from sardines.
You know how anchovies taste: a little bit fishy and a lot salty. Sardines' fishy taste varies from brand to brand, but they are generally not very salty. I've had sardines that I had to 'doctor' to make them edible, and ones whose taste was so delicate I thought the Club Crackers I put them on were too strong for the fish. But generally, to me, sardines taste a little bit like chunk light tuna in oil. The texture is completely different, but they're closer to tuna than anything else I can think of at the moment.

And yeah, I always like to have a tin of anchovies around just in case. Usually I use them when I make a frozen pizza, but they're good with knäckebröd too.

[Malacandra]

On further review it seems I was thinking of puttanesca (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puttanesca) but that's anchovies not sardines.

:smack:

Amusing that the article talks about avoiding a strong fishy taste. :dubious: :D

[MyglassISfull]

I mash them up in the tin and spread on toast, then grill.

You know a tuna melt tastes good? A mashed sardines melt DOESN'T. :(

[Savannah]

I don't think I've ever eaten a sardine in my life. I can't decide, from reading the thread and recipe suggestions, if I would really like them or really dislike them. Hm.

I want to see some Stargazy pie

...a Cornish dish made of baked pilchards (sardines) and 5 other kinds of fish covered with a pastry crust. The pilchards are arranged with their tails toward the center and their heads poking up through the crust around the edge, so that they appear to be gazing skyward.

[OneCentStamp]

Amusing that the article talks about avoiding a strong fishy taste. :dubious: :DLet's just not go there, man. :p

[Projammer]

Simple pleasures. Sardines and Saltines.

Not an answer to the OP, I know. But there you are.

I just need to find a brand that packs them the short way in the can.

Savannah. Just go out and buy a tin, even the most expensive one won't leave a mark on your budget. Then pick a recipe or style from the thread and dig in. I'd recommend something simple first so you're actually experiencing the sardine rather than all the additives.

[MacTech]

I haven't yet tried sardines, but I do like anchovies, one thing I've found to mitigate some of the intense saltiness from anchovies is to rinse them very thoroughly before eating, make sure to get as much of the oil and salt out of them as possible, they become much more palatable, and don't end up tasting like salt-wrapped-salt

hmm, wonder what heating them up in my cast iron skillet would do to them, that thing makes *everything* taste better

[Savannah]

Savannah. Just go out and buy a tin, even the most expensive one won't leave a mark on your budget. Then pick a recipe or style from the thread and dig in. I'd recommend something simple first so you're actually experiencing the sardine rather than all the additives. I shall report in if I get brave! (Hey, dinner tonight was chili con carne with bison. Bravery could happen again.)

(Bison was yum!)

Edited to add that after seeing a stargazy pie, though whimsically appealing, I don't think I could make or eat one. Damn. Stargazy pie! What a name!

[jnglmassiv]

Consider Riga smoked sprats (http://www.russianfoods.com/showroom/product01407/vendor003E7/default.asp). It's pretty much sardines that have been smoked and layered in what I feel is a better oil*. I usually get them for around 99 cents/can around here. Word to the wise: Dispose of the tin and remaining oil immediately. Like outside. And maybe a few doors down. The aroma turns from smokey-tasty to foul-deadfishy within a few hours.

More here:
http://latviansonline.com/index.php/sprats/

*I just checked one of my cans. They're packed in sunflower oil.

[Johnny L.A.]

Consider Riga smoked sprats (http://www.russianfoods.com/showroom/product01407/vendor003E7/default.asp).
I'll second those. I have two tins of them in the cupboard right now.

As far as disposing of the tins, I rinse mine in hot water to get rid of the oil and then put them into the recycling box.