I can’t shake the image of a big guy with a lit fish sticking out of his mouth. 
Smoked lox, chubs, or trout on a bagel with capers and tomato or avocado is my favorite breakfast!
When I get lit it’s usually Phish with a Ph. I’ve also been known to shake hands with beef.
You can’t go far wrong with a tinned sardine. One thing to be aware of is that “pilchard” is the same as “sardine”.
My favourite is fresh, simply grilled. Good god they are outstanding when they are fresh.
Or, drain and empty a tin into a blender, bones, skin and all. Add tomato puree, olive oil, paprika (smoked or hot or both) salt and pepper as you desire, heck, shove in a finely chopped sweet onion if you fancy. Blend to a smooth mush and use as a sandwich filling or a dip. There are few things better for you.
I like the thin, little ones, in oil. Brisling, I think they’re called? I like to pour out most of the oil and refill the can with hot sauce.
So I was inspired to restock, and it looks like Cracovia sardines are my usual purchase, as well as Polski Smak mackerel filets. Oddly, I could not find any sardines packed in spring water. I even checked the American section where they have Bumble Bee and King Oscar and all those, and they only had the oil and the sauced ones. Guess there’s not much demand for it in my neighborhood. I was really curious what they would be like.
Timely. Mr. CK is on a Keto diet and wondered about Sardines, as they are cheap and different from what he has been eating. He asked, “How do you eat sardines?” Straight out of the can, warmed up, in a recipe (no carbs, of course)? Neither of us come from families or places in which sardines are anything but a metaphor for being squeezed into a small place.
What does the board say?
See my suggestions in post #7. Most often, for me, it’s out of the can or (as I just did for breakfast) on a buttered roll (or in a sandwich.)
ETA: Oh, wait, no carbs. Hmmm…then straight out of a can. I guess you can do lettuce wraps and things like that, if you wanted. That sounds like it would be good to me, too. Or as the protein portion of a salad. Is there such a thing as no-carb crackers? I would imagine they would be good on those, as well.
I get Norwegian brisling sardines, and serve them on rye wasa crisps, which is a Scandinavian crunchy flat bread. I layer the sardines pretty heavily, so the ratio of fish to carb is high. But I’m not avoiding carbs. If I were, I’d probably just eat them out of the can with a fork.
I don’t like “spicy”, so I avoid any that have mustard or spice. Ymmv.
Good way to get them. Defrost, coat with olive oil and kosher salt and black pepper, then grill.
Smelts are a good alternative. Most seafood markets and many groceries will have them frozen. There are big ones and little ones. Both are good battered and fried but the big ones have a lot more flavor. Most people pull the spines out of the big ones before eating.
You may be able to find small fresh mackeral, almost identical to sardines. Just make sure they are fresh and eat them right after purchase, mackeral is known for it’s short shelf life, that’s why much of it is sold in a pickling brine.
Nm. Misunderstood post.
Hmmm. I used to enjoy canned mackerel frequently when I was a teen, but haven’t had it in many years. Time for a trip to market.
Amazon is actually pretty good for this. I just ordered a 5 pack of Matiz Gallego Sardines (in Olive Oil) and they were heavenly. Look for ones that are from the coast of Spain and Portugal for fantastic flavor.
Matiz Gallego canned octopus is great.
Also try pickled herring. It’s sold in the refrigerated seafood section, but it lasts a long time in the fridge (last jar I bought had a sell-by date almost a year away) so it’s almost as convenient as canned fish.
+1000!
Though if you can’t get them a tin of sardines is a good, inexpensive lunch, about a buck. With saltines and a beer/near beer life is good!
Hmmm, I wonder… If you got very thin crackers made of food-grade superfine pine sawdust… 
I get the impression that “sardines” is some times in some places used as a sort of generic term for “little fish in a can for eating”, and that pilchard is the specific non-ambiguous term for the “classic, real” sardines.
I’ve had sardines in mustard, creamy dill sauce, tomato sauce, hot sauce, oils but, somehow, never any in water.
Smoked sprats from the Baltics are my preferred canned fish. For straight sardines, King Oscar in olive oil costs a little more but I think are worth the premium. Kipper snacks are tasty, too.
Yes, I think that’s the legal definition of sardines. Actually, Wikipedia says there are a dozen species of fish that are legally classified as sardines when they are small, and half a dozen that are called pilchard, including the slightly larger versions of several of the “sardines”. They are mostly closely related species of oily fish, though.
I like King Oscar brand, which is Scandinavian, not Portuguese. I think it has a milder but richer flavor. I always get the ones packed in oil, but they also sell some in spring water.