My husband looks at the plate of Grilled Sardines with my ridiculously delicious green sauce spooned neatly overtop and says: “I want to love this, I know I’m going to love this, but I just feel I would love it more if I was eating it in Italy at a restaurant on the beach with a crisp glass of white wine.”
And yeah, I get it, I mean there are just some things that taste better in certain environments. I feel that way about octopus. And definitely there is something to being in Spain, Portugal or Italy and eating right on the beach where the fish was caught hours before that makes the experience feel rustically beautiful.
But these Sardines are also local, from the Pacific, right out the “Gate”! Even my local fishmonger was surprised to get them in because for years they were overfished in these parts, but now it looks like they are making a return (I hope, I hope – many sea animals depend on sardines and anchovies for survival in Northern California).
I wasn’t sure what to call my green sauce: Chimichurri? Pesto? Salsa verde? Green harissa? Caponata minus the eggplant and tomatoes? So for now it’s just ‘spicy jeweled herb sauce’. It was an experiment of sorts that I would happily put on a restaurant menu. I took everything in my garden and in the fridge that seemed appropriate and put them all together: parsley, dill, red chili flake, Meyer lemon zest, Castelvetrano green olives, toasted pine nuts, wine soaked golden raisins, white balsamic vinegar and olive oil. It’s an awesome salty, nutty, puckery, sweet, spicy combo that compliments umami flavors.
I think the real reason that sardines scare people away is that most don’t know how to eat them. And nobody wants to look like an idiot trying to debone elegantly at the table. It’s actually quite simple: using a sharp steak knife make an incision down the back bone starting at the base of the head and working down to the beginning of the tail. Then, with your fork and knife, lift the filet away from the central bone starting close to the head. Using your fork or your fingers, gently lift the central bone away from the bottom fillet and put it on your bread plate. Violà!
Grilling sardines is easy and fast. It takes about a 1-2 minutes per side. And yes, I do have some tricks that help keep the delicate skin from sticking to the grill… First, turn the grill on high, brush it clean and season it using olive oil. If the grill isn’t clean then any remaining particles will stick to the fish skin and glue it to the grates. Secondly, once the grates are hot, season them again about a minute before you put your fish down. It’s important to wait a minute so the oil on the grates has time to heat up but not long enough to cook off. You can also brush the fish lightly with olive oil, although I don’t usually do this since my grates are well seasoned.
Or skip all of that and use a grill fish pan. I hear they work well.
And lastly, don’t use those long barbecue tongs to flip fish on the grill. I know, it’s hot! I know the smell of burnt arm hair is malodorous, but if you use tongs you’re just going to tear the fish apart. You need a peltex or fish spatula. Tongs were outlawed when I cooked at Le Bernardin. We NEVER used them in the kitchen. Get one, they’re only fifteen dollars from JB Prince! I use a peltex for everything because I get a much neater flip and I don’t squeeze out juices or crush whatever protein I’m working with.
So there ya have it, how to grill whole fish like a pro! Let me know how it goes! Get out there and get your Omega 3’s and try my green sauce! I served these sardines with a simple sliced tomato plate and some creamy egg-y potato salad…
Ingredients
- 2 fat sardines per person, gutted, rinsed and patted dry
- Olive oil
- Sea Salt
- Meyer lemon wedges
- For the Green Sauce:
- 1/3 bunch Italian parsley, including the stems, chopped (chop stems fine separately)
- 1/3 bunch dill, chopped
- 1/3 bunch chives, chopped
- 1 Meyer lemon, zested
- 2-3 pinches red chili flake
- 1/4 cup golden raisins soaked in white wine
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toated
- 1/4 cup pitted Castelvetrano olives, chopped
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Mix all the ingredients for the Green Sauce together and refrigerate.
To grill sardines: Turn the grill on high heat, brush the grates clean and season them using olive oil on a paper towel. Once the grates are hot, season them again a minute before you put your fish down. It's important to wait a minute so the oil on the grates has time to heat up but not long enough to off.
Make sure the fish is completely air dried before seasoning with sea salt and putting down on the grates. If desired you can brush a little olive oil on the skin although if the grates are well seasoned, you shouldn't need to do this.
Once the fish is on the grill, turn the heat down to medium. Cook on each side for 1-2 minutes turning gently with a fish spatula (called a peltex). Remove fish gently to a serving platter. Squeeze Meyer Lemon over and top with Green Sauce.
