Grilled Sardines with Tarragon-Garlic-Lemon-Chile Butter
The grilling saga continues! This time it’s Sardines! Yes, I finally found fresh sardines here at Uwajimaya! Grilled these on my non-stick grill pan, since I was a bit afraid to use the cast iron grill. I didn’t want the skin to stick to cast iron, crispy skin is the best part of sardines! Yeah, yeah I know the theory, if you pre-heat it and apply oil, nothing will stick, etc. I didn’t want to take that chance and the non-stick grill pan worked perfectly for this. I have a real smelly house now, which is a totally different problem altogether!
The sardines were seasoned with just salt and freshly ground pepper, and grilled crispy! Back home, we apply a lot of spices to sardines and fry these, but ever since we had the crispy roasted sardines at How to Cook a Wolf , where they just used salt and pepper to season the sardines, we have been meaning to try it out. Since my oven is broken, I couldn’t roast these, I thought grilling would work just the same, and it did! To go with these, I made a tarragon-garlic-lemon-chile butter, which was the perfect accompaniment to the simple grilled fish! This butter is a versatile dipping sauce for other seafood dishes and even veggies!
Grilled Sardines
Clean the sardines and season both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat a well-greased grill pan. When the pan is really hot, place the sardines and grill for about 3-4 minutes on each side till the skin is brown and crispy on both sides.
Serve hot with the tarragon-lemon-garlic-chile-butter.
Tarragon-Lemon-Garlic-Chile-Butter
Ingredients
- 1/2 a block butter
- 2 tbsp fresh tarragon minced
- 2 large cloves of garlic minced
- 1 Habanero chilie seeded and finely minced (or use any other spicy variety of chilies)
- grated zest from 1 baby lemon
- juice of 1/2 a baby lemon
- salt to taste
Method
Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over low heat. Add the tarragon, garlic, chilies, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir well to combine, let it heat for a minute or so. Keep warm till ready to serve.
You can also use other fresh herbs in this recipe.
And obviously, this is another entry for Monthly Mingle- Grill It!
If you want to make sardines the way we make it back home check out Shn’s mouthwatering creation here.
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I still haven’t thought about what to grill… the peppers before and a smelly house now? You really want me to run in the opposite direction, don’t you
Hey, thanks for mentioning about the veggies !!
The sauce does sound really good!!
Habanero
Now we are talking 
Love this spicy hot butter, am gonna’ grill carrots and zucchini, yum yum yum!
I have some fresh sardines but my laziness to clean them is taking the upperhand…looking at these..I better cleaning them immediately….
matthi
i find them very stinky but have to admit they taste yum when fried
Hi, I loooooooooooove sardines.. mathi fry is my fav, and then the gravy with coconut, without, etc etc..can go on and on about them. I am drooling at the picture, and my mouth is watering. I haven’t had it now for 4 months:-(, and won;t be able to, until I go home to my parents’ place.
Finally!! U must have been really excited to see the fresh ones right
smelly house is something i can compromise for such pleasures once a while 
enjoyyy 
I would love to eat this, Sig, wish I was living close by.
One of those magazine hints for a smelly house is to wet a towel, hold it up and walk through all the rooms so that it can absorb the odour, but I guess this works only when the fumes are fresh and alive, not when they’ve gone and stuck to the walls and everything else. It strikes me as a very funny picture – anyone holding a wet towel up and walking through the rooms.
mmm…each time i visit your blog, I am hungry…. i haven’t found fresh sardines so far… sometimes i substitute it for smelt…my husband likes those a lot but i find smelt smelly….
Yummmm! You’re making my mouth water and its only 8 in the morning. Now I want to make some traditional “mathi fry” as well as try your recipe…looks delicious! You have a small plate idea right here when you invite us next
This is a mouthwatering recipe. Looks so good. Ur grilling recipes rocks….
Martini):
how about that spicy butter with corn :drool:
Have you been going for those photography classes? The pic looks simply gorgeous! :drool:
See, I’m leaving a comment here even though it’s not a vegetarian post.
Sig, you are killing me with these posts.
*Walking off in a huff swearing never to visit L2E when hungry*
Sra, I’m going to try your tip – I’ve limited cooking fish to once in a blue moon because of the lingering smell.
Sig, this is for Mamatha – Mamatha, please send me a picture of yourself doing that
Smelly house is a small price to pay
for those beautiful and tasty sardines.
Ohh…wish I lived somewhere close by. I would invite myself
. I can’t stop drooling
That looks really good! beautifully grilled and just perfect lighting.
Oh, I’d like to invite you to join the food photo contest. Please have a look here for more info
http://cookingetcetera.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/red-white-foodie-photo-contest/
There’re some prizes for the lucky winners
These look gorgeous. I’ve been dying to get my hands on some sardines, but have yet to find a source . . .
Love ur grilled recipes, I am gonna try them one by one and enjoy them, thanks for sharing. And the sardines, I wish i could find fresh ones here.
grilling recipe is tooo gud….fish looks mouthwatering….
Sig, I have something special for you in my blog…Check it out..
Oh Sig, I am totally in love with that photograph as well as the recipe.
Sardines are best for grilling and frying! Lovely dish Sig. Amma would pan fry them with little oil and it tastes best with pepper rasam and steamed rice. I can eat how many ever is given. This dipping sauce looks interesting!
Hi, you have a wonderful blog full of interesting recipes. This one looks yum. Hope tou don’t mind, I added you to my blogroll. Please feel free to visit my blog any time and leave comments.
Happy Cooking!!
These look great, sardines are one of my favorite things to eat. This awesome sounding butter is a new way for me to enjoy these flowers of the sea!
My mouth is watering! I can feel the crispness of those sardines, just by looking at them – you know, I don’t think I’d even mind the bones if they came to the table looking that delicious.
x x x
hey hey!! i heard that comment u gave tbc..so this is what i get for being a loyal..awesome and an amazing visitor of ur blog….
…u will pay for this sigmaaaaaa…. 
and whaaat! quit after a class…che-che-che…today’s generation has no dedication
(yep..i have decided to become a grandma!..i think it is easier that way….)
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I stumbled across your blog today, which browsing the net for Kerala food bloggers. I really like your blog, and absolutely envious that you get fresh sardines in Seattle. I have not tasted sardines ever since I came to the US three years back.
Sebastian
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