Sign in or 
Share this
Portuguese Grilled Sardines
Advance Preparation: 30 to 60 minutes for salting the sardines
Grilled fresh sardines are as popular in Portugal as hot dogs and hamburgers are in North America. People devour them by the dozen from street vendors, in informal seaside fish houses and proper restaurants, and at backyard cookouts. So beloved are sardines in Portugal that they turn up in Portuguese outposts and former colonies all over the world. I’ve enjoyed this popular Portuguese dish in Macao, Brazil, and my former home of Cambridge, Massachusetts, where there is a large Portuguese-American community.
If your experience with sardines is limited to the canned variety, you’re in for a revelation. The only challenge is where to find fresh sardines. If you live in an area with a large Iberian or Italian population, you may be able to find fresh sardines at an ethnic fishmonger-especially in the warmer months. (The best time of year to eat sardines is between May and October, when the fish fatten for spawning.) Alternatively, you may have to settle for frozen sardines.
The salting that’s done here gives the sardines extra flavor-almost like a cured fish.
In Macao, grilled sardines are served with Argentinian Tomato Salsa and crusty Portuguese or corn bread.
24 sardines, fresh, cleaned, heads and tails left on
1 cup salt, coarse (kosher or sea)
2 tablespoons olive oil, extra-virgin
Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste (optional)
Lemon wedges, for serving
1. Rinse the sardines under cold running water, then drain and blot dry with paper towels. Sprinkle a third of the salt in the bottom of a baking dish. Arrange half the sardines on top and sprinkle with half the remaining salt. Add another layer of sardines and sprinkle the remaining salt over all. Cover and let cure in the salt, in the refrigerator, for 30 to 60 minutes.
2. Preheat the grill to high.
3. When ready to cook, rinse the salt off the sardines and blot dry with paper towels. Brush the sardines with the oil and season with pepper, if desired. If you’re worried about the fish sticking, use a hinged fish grilling basket; otherwise, oil the grate and arrange the fish directly on it. Grill the sardines until their skins are lightly charred and the flesh is cooked to flakiness, 3 to 6 minutes per side. Remove to a platter with a long spatula and serve at once. Let diners remove the head and tail, and bones, too. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing.
Serves 6 as an appetizer, 3 to 4 as an entrée
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grilled sardines - served w/boiled potatoes, grilled peppers, fresh garlic, olive oil and vinegar
Grilled fresh sardines are as popular in Portugal as hot dogs and hamburgers are in North America. People devour them by the dozen from street vendors, in informal seaside fish houses and proper restaurants, and at backyard cookouts. So beloved are sardines in Portugal that they turn up in Portuguese outposts and former colonies all over the world. I’ve enjoyed this popular Portuguese dish in Macao, Brazil, and my former home of Cambridge, Massachusetts, where there is a large Portuguese-American community.
If your experience with sardines is limited to the canned variety, you’re in for a revelation. The only challenge is where to find fresh sardines. If you live in an area with a large Iberian or Italian population, you may be able to find fresh sardines at an ethnic fishmonger-especially in the warmer months. (The best time of year to eat sardines is between May and October, when the fish fatten for spawning.) Alternatively, you may have to settle for frozen sardines.
The salting that’s done here gives the sardines extra flavor-almost like a cured fish.
In Macao, grilled sardines are served with Argentinian Tomato Salsa and crusty Portuguese or corn bread.
24 sardines, fresh, cleaned, heads and tails left on
1 cup salt, coarse (kosher or sea)
2 tablespoons olive oil, extra-virgin
Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste (optional)
Lemon wedges, for serving
1. Rinse the sardines under cold running water, then drain and blot dry with paper towels. Sprinkle a third of the salt in the bottom of a baking dish. Arrange half the sardines on top and sprinkle with half the remaining salt. Add another layer of sardines and sprinkle the remaining salt over all. Cover and let cure in the salt, in the refrigerator, for 30 to 60 minutes.
2. Preheat the grill to high.
3. When ready to cook, rinse the salt off the sardines and blot dry with paper towels. Brush the sardines with the oil and season with pepper, if desired. If you’re worried about the fish sticking, use a hinged fish grilling basket; otherwise, oil the grate and arrange the fish directly on it. Grill the sardines until their skins are lightly charred and the flesh is cooked to flakiness, 3 to 6 minutes per side. Remove to a platter with a long spatula and serve at once. Let diners remove the head and tail, and bones, too. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing.
Serves 6 as an appetizer, 3 to 4 as an entrée
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grilled sardines - served w/boiled potatoes, grilled peppers, fresh garlic, olive oil and vinegar
Sigalon |
Latest page update: made by Sigalon
, Sep 1 2007, 4:24 AM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by Sigalon
1 widget deleted view changes - complete history) |
|
Keyword tags:
None
More Info: links to this page
|
There are no threads for this page.
Be the first to start a new thread.
