My dad used to put them on saltines with cheddar cheese slices, jalapenos and a dash of tabasco sauce. Washed down by cold beer, naturally.
The ones sans tomato sauce are a bit bleugh, in my opinion.
So get the tomatoey ones, mash them just a smidgen, lightly spread onto hot white buttered toast, chuck under the grill for a couple of minutes, serve with a hot strong cup of tea – heaven!
Oh and keep the kitchen fan on for about 24 hours afterwards.
According to m-w;
So they might not be sardines, but they’ve ben called just that for a long time. Britannica.com pretty much agrees.
Ain’t no ham in a hamburger, neither. 
BTW; Keebler make’s a cracker called “cornbread”. Slightly sweet. Smear w/ favorite mustard and a sardine. Pretty good, IMO.
Peace,
mangeorge
One day, Ike calls Manny and says "I just found out how we can retire early and leave this “coffee-mug” job behind. We can buy a bankrupt sardine factory in Ca. for a song. They cost us 18 cents/can and we sell them for 89 cents/can. We’ll be rich in no time.
Manny bites and chips in. Ike sets it all up and things go smoothly. They are rolling in the dough. Times are good.
One day, Manny flies out to the factory, Ike takes him on the tour and shows him how they make things and how sales keep doubling every six months. Astounding. “Critical Mass” is months away.
Ike excuses himself to take a call, and Manny, hungry, grabs a tin of sardines off the line and opens it. Takes a bite. Ptui! Pfft! Spits it out. Runs upstairs to Ike’s office. Interrups his call.
“How can we be making money off this crap? It’s not edible!”
Ike says, "Oy! These sardines aren’t for eating–they’re only for buying and selling.
I like the non-tomatoey kind right out of the can with a dollop of mayo mixed in. Tastes great with beer.
I alway keep a supply around. I get a cheap (about 60 cents a tin) brand that comes packed in soy oil. They make a great healthy snack. I dump 'em in a bowl and squirt on some mustard or ketchup (sometimes both). I put them on a bagel with cream cheese one time, but it was a little to messy. It’s a quick easy satisfying snack that I don’t have to feel guilty about!
By the way, the heads and tails are removed before they pack them. The bones are too small and soft to choke on and are a great source of calcium.
I like to eat them, drained, on a saltine with cream cheese. Yum!
I once horrified a fellow shopper in a grocery store when I was shopping with my sister. I was picking up sardines, and I saw a display of the ‘boneless, skinless’ ones. I held them up, she said ‘yuk!’ I put them back and said “The bones and the skin are the best part! Heck, if they just sold cans of bones and skins, I’d buy 'em!” The man behind me had the most interesting look on his face when I turned around.
Sardines, crackers (or toast), mustard (or not) and lots of cold BEER!
Yowza!
Mmmm . . sardines on toast, my favourite comfort food. You need the ones in tomato sauce though, and you have to toast the bread first so that it doesn’t get soggy. Then dump the sardines on top, mash them up a bit and grill them until they’re all warmed through.
Mmmmm
There’s a restaurant in Asheville, NC, that has sardines to die for. They’re fresh sardines, fried up and served with stewed apples and plums. Oh my Lord, but they’re tasty.
I once bought a can of sardines, just to try them. Two got eaten, the second one after being washed under the faucet for a good 30 seconds. I threw out the rest and decided taht I could just chug down the Morton’s if I was feeling that salt-deprived.
Maybe I’ll try them mashed with mustard on toast: that doesn’t sound bad.
But the sardines from Zambra’s Tapas Bar – sweet Jesus.
Daniel
I love sardines! I think I’ll pick up a tin or two after work today.
I have two ways I like to eat them. The first is on saltines with a squeeze French’s yellow mustard. The second is with grits, a sprinkle of salt, pepper and butter. My, oh my, is that good eatin’.