Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
LATIN NAME
Sardina pilchardus
ALSO KNOWN AS
Pilchards (big sardines)
SEASONALITY
Best eaten August–February, outside peak spawning times
HABITAT
Found throughout European waters, with the British Isles usually the northernmost limit
MCS RATING
2–3
REC MINIMUM SIZE
15cm
MORE RECIPES
Garfish with olives, oregano and garlic; Roast gurnard with pepper, lemon, thyme and chilli; Lemon-cured herring; Grilled sprats with harissa dressing; Sardines with pine nuts, fennel and orange
SOURCING
goodfishguide.org; msc.org; fish4ever.co.uk; pilchardworks.co.uk (for tinned Cornish sardines)
Seafood sustainability will always be a thorny issue, if not an outright minefield. In a world where appetite for fish rages on, while stock levels fluctuate, fishing methods constantly change and international politics muddy the waters, choosing the ‘right’ fish is rarely simple. However, we can fairly unequivocally say that it’s a good idea to eat British sardines. Not all sardine stocks are as robust as they could be, but those fished around our coast – mainly in the Southwest – are both healthy and well managed.
This means it’s also good to eat British pilchards. That’s not a hard conclusion to draw, because sardines and pilchards are in fact the same thing, the only difference being size. A pilchard is a big sardine. A sardine is a small pilchard. But the nomenclature is also, these days, linked to branding. ‘Pilchard’ is not an elegant word, and most of us think of these fish coming from a tin, coated in gloopy sauce. ‘Sardine’, on the other hand, conjures images of the Mediterranean island, Sardinia, after which these fish may or may not have been named – either way, the association with a hot, sunny and sexy place is good for sales. There’s nothing wrong with that. Anything that encourages us to eat this oily-fleshed, wholesome and sustainable little fish is good in my book.
There are several related species known internationally as ‘sardine’, but only one, Sardina pilchardus, which swims as far north as the British Isles. It’s been an important commercial fish on the south coast as far back as the sixteenth century, at least.
In days gone by, the Cornish pilchard industry relied in part on lookouts, or ‘huers’, who would be stationed on cliff tops in the season, scouting for masses of the silvery fish. A shout of ‘hevva!’ (which comes from the Cornish word for ‘shoal’), channelled through a tin trumpet, signalled that they had been spotted and, by means of special signals, the scout would then help guide the boats with their nets to the right spot.
Most of the fish caught would be packed in salt and these were exported in great quantity to European countries, particularly Italy, where they were much valued on days of Catholic abstinence. Oil pressed from the fish would also be burnt for lighting (and a pilchard lamp does not smell as bad as you might think). They remained an important commodity up until the beginning of the last century. At this point, alternative forms of preservation took precedence over salting, and the popularity of other tinned fish such as tuna and salmon grew. These factors conspired to diminish trade to the point where, in 1995, only a minuscule 7 tonnes of pilchard were landed off Cornwall.
However, within the last couple of decades, the pilchard fishers of Cornwall have taken steps to revive their industry – and have chalked up a remarkable success story. They re-branded their catch (out with ‘pilchards’ in with ‘Cornish sardines’) and formed a trade body that both promotes the product and works to keep stock levels healthy. The catch for 2014 was 4,000 tonnes – and there are still, for now, plenty more of those silvery little fish in the Cornish sea. These days, skippers use sonar, rather than a cliff-top lookout, to locate the fish, but Cornish sardines are still caught by small boats using traditional methods such as ring and drift nets, within 6 miles of the coast.
Old-fashioned, salted pilchards are sadly no longer available but fresh Cornish sardines and tinned Cornish pilchards most certainly are. The fishery has MSC certification, and also has European PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status, meaning that they are recognised as uniquely linked to their area. They are particularly delicious in late summer and early autumn, when they are plump with maximum oil content. For good eating and good conscience, they’re one of the very best piscine choices you can make.
Sardines reach sexual maturity at a precocious 2 years old – one of the factors that enables stocks to ‘bounce back’ relatively quickly after catches are taken. The most sustainable sardine to buy is one over 15cm in length because this signifies the creature has reached that stage of maturity and so may well have already reproduced. Confusingly, that technically makes it an old-school pilchard, but 15cm-plus specimens are more likely to be called sardines these days.
As a shoaling species, most sardines are caught using netting methods that operate within the water column (rather than by methods that drag heavy gear along the bottom). These techniques are usually very selective because sardines tend to swim together, but away from other species. Such methods are not ecologically flawless. Some by-catch can occur, and as with any fishing, we can always take too much – in fact, sardines are currently being overfished in some European waters – but they are caught without damaging the seabed and its benthic flora and fauna.
The rich flesh of sardines is delicate. As with any oil-rich fish, they can soften and start to go off very soon after catching, so should be nabbed as fresh as possible. However, once gutted, there’s little preparation needed beyond rubbing off the fish’s soft scales with your thumb and giving them a good rinse.
Related to herring, sardines are similarly blessed with lots of very fine bones. De-boning them is a tricky and time-consuming task, likely to leave you with a very mauled-looking, bruised fillet. You just have to enjoy those fine, calcium-rich little bits as part of the sardine experience (or eat tinned fillets, where the cooking process renders the small bones all but undetectable).
It is, however, very easy to remove the main ‘backbone’ part of the skeleton of a sardine. This is done by simply laying a whole, gutted fish on a board, belly down and belly flaps flaring outward, then pressing along the backbone until you feel the flesh release from it. Flip the sardine back over, grasp the tail and pull it gently up, bringing the spine and ribcage with it. You’ll be left with a filleted sardine ready to throw on the barbecue or toss into a roasting dish.
And few fish respond so well to the fierce crackle of an open flame or the hard heat of a high oven. The oil sizzles in the rich flesh, basting it from within, while the skin (well salted, please) crisps to a glorious, fragrant, fishy toothsomeness. Sardines are just made for the barbie. I like these char-skinned beauties partnered with something a little sharp and punchy: a salsa verde, for example, or a simple spritz of lemon juice is good. Like mackerel, sardines are also very good with gooseberries or tomatoes.
Eating a sardine escabeche – where the fish are first fried, then bathed in a hot, spicy, onion- and chilli-fragranced vinegar and left to cool – is one of the nicest ways I know to end a summer day. And, perfect as they are for the fast blast or the quick fry, sardines are also ripe for the slow-cook treatment. Barely simmered in a tomato sauce over a very low heat for up to 4 hours, they emerge tender and delicious, with all the bones and even the head soft enough to eat.
Tinned sardines (or pilchards) are such a different animal from the fresh ones, that to me they hardly suffer by comparison, but can be enjoyed for a separate set of virtues. They are all about that yielding oily flesh that flakes so lightly yet tastes so rich. And somehow you know they are doing you good, oiling your joints and feeding your brain. In fact, fast food (I can open a tin in seconds) is rarely so virtuous. Not only do they provide oodles of healthy omega-3 fats, but the bones, softened within the fish flesh by the canning process, deliver a healthy shot of calcium too. I like tinned sardines crushed on to hot toast just as they come, but I also sometimes ‘bloody mary’ them first by mixing them with tomato ketchup, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and a pinch of celery salt. I’ve even been known to add a shot of vodka to take this superb snack to its logical conclusion. Tinned sardines are also fantastic flaked into a potato salad, strewn on to an omelette, folded into hot pasta, crushed into a coarse pâté (with crème fraîche and lots of lemon) or mashed into a steaming jacket potato with a generous amount of butter and perhaps some capers and a little chopped parsley. I like tinned Cornish sardines, as well as the MSC-certified ones from Fish4Ever.
GRILLED SARDINES WITH POTATOES AND ROSEMARY
As the sardines cook under the high heat of the grill, their lovely juices soak into the layer of potatoes underneath, lending them a fabulous flavour. This works with herring too. Serves 4
750g cooked new or waxy salad potatoes, cut into 3–4mm slices
2 garlic cloves, cut into 1–2mm slices
Leaves from a large sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
12 fresh sardines, scaled and gutted
Lemon juice
Sea salt and black pepper
Preheat the grill to its hottest setting.
Put the sliced potatoes into a large bowl and add the sliced garlic and chopped rosemary. Add the olive oil and a little seasoning and turn the whole lot together gently with your hands, trying to keep the potato slices from breaking up too much.
Choose a large, lipped baking tray that will contain any juices. Spread the garlicky, herby potatoes in a single layer on the tray. Place under the grill and cook for a few minutes until the tops of most of the potatoes have taken on a little colour. Remove the tray and turn the potatoes over with a spatula. Don’t worry if you miss the odd one or two.
Season the sardines inside and out with salt and pepper and lay them randomly over the potatoes. Return the tray to the grill. Cook for 3–4 minutes or until the fish are a little blistered and golden, then carefully flip each one over and grill for a further 2–3 minutes until just cooked through.
Squeeze a little lemon juice over the sardines and potatoes then serve them with any juices from the baking tray, with a green salad and some good bread on the side.
