Thanks for your illuminating comments. I usually cook them whole and just use a fork or knife to lift the fillet off the backbone when I’m eating them. It’s probably even easier to cut the head and tail off, first, but I don’t bother.

Your approach to grilling sounds very good. Stuffing and grape leaf wrappers are a nice touch. Still, sardines are exceptionally good just brushed with olive oil, grilled, and anointed with a squeeze of lemon when they come off the fire.

To fillet sardines you butterfly them. Split them along the backbone, and snip the tail and head end of the backbone with a knife or shears. GENTLY lift up the back bone from the tail end, pushing the meat back down as you move toward the ribs. The ribs will lift out, leaving you with a fillet. After you get the hang of it, you can do this in about a minute.

To grill sardines, stuff the butterflied fillet with yummy stuff and then wrap in a grape leaf. Paint it with olive oil and grill gently.

Anyway, those are my $0.02.

PS – Elise, go to the Davis Farmer’s Market on Saturdays; they have fresh sardines on occasion.

If you’re willing to clean them, frozen sardines are pretty good, too. That’s the only way some of the fish markets here carry them. I used some for photos this spring. Fresh, though, is better, of course.

Ok, Aleta, I’ll “bite”.. ….if I try grilling some sardines, can you tell me…

About cleaning sardines…from the pictures, it seems the skin is typically eaten, but do sardines need to be scaled as part of the prep?

About bones…do you usually eat around them, or are they soft enough to eat?

Thanks!