On the grill today...

Rob Keeble

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GTA Ontario Canada
Well earlier this week, i had a hankering for something i last had at least 16 years ago and they take me back to folk i grew up with as neighbors from Mozambique.

Now for those of you that may know, Mozambique was a former Portuguese colony. Then when Frelimo started their "liberation" movement, the former colonists move to SA.

Now food wise they brought a range of different great dishes, as a former South African, its hard to decide which would be most popular....

One is a Peri Peri Chicken flatty done on charcoal grill....oh man to die for....

Another is what we called LM Prawns ....these were wild shrimp/prawns caught in waters of Indian Ocean just off the coast of what is today Maputo and was back in the day called Lourenço Marques ......these were huge and real tasty again cooked with a spicy Portuguese sauce......

The list goes on.....but with all the noise we have had around here with the Euefa cup going on and all the European flags being waved around i was reminded of what my neighbors would put on the grill during a soccer match on the radio while sitting outside.......can you guess.....it comes from the sea near Portugal...

They swim in shoals and are very good source of everything for your diet.........no not in tins but fresh ...had to be bought frozen from fish shop........

Yup nice big fat Portuguese sardines......$6.99 for a whole bunch...

So how to prep?

Defrost , lay in caserole dish on bed of rock salt, then cover completely with rock salt and leave in fridge for few hours. Salt draws that oil from them and makes them milder.

Then get hot charcoal going and have you grilling surface pretty close to coals.

Now these things only take a few minutes or so to cook. You stick them straight on grill and it grills the skin somewhat.

Key is to eat them asap direct from grill to plate...no pause. You got to catch the gelatine in liquid form on the bones.
To eat them you take a fork, hold sardine upright on its belly and stab the fork in behind the head. Then holding the fork, use a table knife and peel the meat left and right of the dorsal bone down its length.

Meat will peel off the bones and you will be licking your chops wanting more.

What goes with the sardines is a plain boiled potatoe which you serve with olive oil drizzled over it.

Now thats a dish that will make any Portuguese persons mouth water...lol

If you like fish, give these a try, you will be amazed , cheap, excellent source of all the good stuff for young and old.

You can also serve some green bell peppers grilled and peeled with olive oil as a green.

Now my mouth is watering, the sardines are in the fridge in their salt and i am off to get the bbq cleaned up and ready...

Oh...dont forget to add a glass or two of nice crisp white wine to wash it down.....

See ja[emoji106]
 
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The chance of me finding big fat Portuguese sardines here in the high Southwest desert? About the same as me waking up tomorrow and suddenly being handsome. :rofl: Probably just as well, since I'm not a big fan of most fish. But you are, so I hope you enjoy your fish feast!
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Finally after resizing i got tapatalk to insert attachment and now we have a pic of the sardines. Only a few days late Rob, but u know what they say, better late than never. Lol

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Sounds like a feast. Being from the Midwest it's always interesting to see other cuisines and cultures. Here at the institute we've got a majority of international population, so they are always trying to work up dishes that the students and researchers would have in their home countries, so I've gotten exposed quite a bit in the last few years. Though, I'm sure many of those are much more Americanized than they would be in their home countries due to the availability of products used.
 
Want to add something.....i should not have used the clamshell type grid i did. Its been years since i did these and i missed two things.....must descale before salt, and cook direct on grill no squashing between grills. Could have turned just as easy with a pair of tongs.

Hope i remember for next time.
 
How did the frozen ones compare with fresh?

I had some fresh ones once and they were truly amazing. Of course I also like the canned fish as well, so maybe I'm weird (sardines in oil heated over a camp fire with some fire toasted bread though.. .mmmm tasty!).
 
Ryan my local fishmonger a store that only sells fish mostly fresh, says they better than the fresh ones. He says when he does get the fresh, by the time they at his place on ice, they not that great or in great shape. These are flash frozen on boat and if left to thaw don't have that frozen fish taste. These Sardines cannot be successfully cleaned before cooking, they too small even though they in the 6 to 8 inch size range and delicate, so they cannot take a beating in the handling like bigger fish.

I love tinned sardines of certain brands all mashed up on toast. Good Sunday night diner with a boiled egg. But those are the really small guys you eat whole.
Got some super already cleaned and deboned canned ones from Costco a while back.
Still not something i eat each week, but when the hankering for that salty fishy flavor comes round they handy to have around.
 
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