I bought a 10-pack from Amazon, boneless, headless and skinless. Also low sodium and packed in water. I usually have them with lemon juice sprinkled over them and eat a salad with them. I eat them now as a replacement for tuna because of the mercury issue.

I have one can of mackerel which I want to try - but I scared!

Love them. As kids we used to eat them with Saltine crackers... miss that.

I do cut them up and toss on a salad. Orr I mash with mayo and stuff a pepper or tomato. Stuff the veggie and top with cheese and warm/brown under the broiler. It comes out pretty good for a really cheap dish.

I like Kippers even more. And pickled herring - yum. Probably have to be Scandanavian to like that.

Nope! DH is Belgian ancestry and once I introduced him to pickled herring I've had to fight for my share ever since. NOT FAIR ... THEY SHOULD BE MINE!!!! But I don't have to fight for my share of lutefisk!

Glenda, I don't know a whole lot of people that you would have to fight for lutefisk! Just knowing what it is turns me off and thats before I even see or smell it. But, to each his or her own.

I love sardines!
It's amusing that some people have posted about finding them scary!
I agree with the smelling out the kitchen though, the health benefits are worth it however.
A tin of sardines mashed up with avocado and lemon juice with some chopped green peppers and cucumber is a nice snack meal.

Can anyone describe for me what sardines taste like? Although I am a big fish eater (tuna, salmon, yellowtail, scallop, shrimp, clams, calamari), I have been way too chicken to try sardines since a bad anchovie experience as a kid.

I'd love to eat sardines for a variety of reasons but have a real phobia about it. meh.

Stronger tasting than tuna in a can, but good.

Because of the nasty experience, I suggest you try high end Kippers in a tin. They test better than sardines. Or just look for sardines in oil (not mustard/tomatoe/water) and buy the best quality you can. Cut the tails off (if you must) and eat the whole fish. The bones have been cooked to nothing due to the canning process, so no need to dig through them to debone.

I would eat with hearty, crunchy veggies, or a low carb cracker would be great, or mash with mayo and put into a low carb wrap. To me, they are better than canned tuna.

There's no comparison with anchovies, except possibly that they are both small! Anchovies are very tangy and are best used sparingly as a garnish, sardines can make a meal quite easily although, as bonechew says, they are definitely fishier than canned tuna. They're not expensive, so it doesn't cost a whole bunch to try them! If you know a cat, they won't go to waste if you find you don't like them.

Well, if you get the cream sauce... we offered them in tomato sauce once, and got such looks...

I get them (and "fish steaks" packed like sardines) in mustard, oil, or louisiana hot sauce. They are really good, though I couldn't eat them every day, or I'd get tired of the taste.

I know they are good for us...

blech

I am trying

Thanks you have inspired me to go and buy some sardines! Lovely with pickled onions and pickled peperoncini. A bit tired of the sausages and beef.

Hmm... I found some sardines in olive oil in my regular market yesterday! They're Bonta brand, product of Spain and the ingredients are sardines, olive oil, salt. They weren't inexpensive - $2.29 per tin so they'd better be extraordinarily good!!

I know!! I do too and that irks me to no end. I wish they would pack them in olive oil. To compromise I end up getting the ones packed in water or mustard sauce.

You're in Canada and that is a good sign. I hope I can find those sardines here in Ontario.