Sardines aren’t actually a species of fish, but are several varieties of small fish related to the herring. The first U.S. sardine cannery opened in Maine in 1875, when a New York businessman set up the Eagle Preserved Fish Co. in Eastport. (source CBS News).

Sardines aren’t as popular as they used to be in the late 1800s through the mid-1900s, but are making a comeback due to their excellent health properties.

INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS

SARDINE CANAPES
Have ready some yolks of eggs, cooked until firm, and an equal bulk of sardines, each rubbed to a paste. Mix thoroughly, and season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Toast small triangles of crustless bread, butter them, spread with the sardine mixture, heat thoroughly in the oven, and serve piping hot as a first course at dinner or luncheon.

SARDINES IN EGG CUPS
Cut hard-boiled eggs in halves crosswise and take out the yolks. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each cup. Rub the yolks to a smooth paste with olive-oil and add half a dozen sardines skinned, boned, and mashed. Season with salt, pepper, mustard and lemon-juice. Fill the egg cups, and serve on lettuce leaves with French or Mayonnaise dressing.

SARDINE AND EGG SALAD

Skin and bone a dozen sardines and put them in a mortar. Remove the shells from an equal number of hard-boiled eggs and cut them into halves crosswise, so as to form cups with pointed edges. Put the yolks into the mortar with the sardines, add a tablespoon of chopped parsley, a dash of pepper and salt, and work to a smooth paste. Moisten with salad dressing and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cut a thin slice from the ends of the egg cups, that they may be set upright on the serving-dish, and fill with the mixture, making it round on the top like a whole yolk. Arrange these on a bed of watercress, or shredded lettuce, and sprinkle plentifully with French dressing.

BAKED SARDINES
Marinate drained sardines in lemon-juice, then drain, sprinkle with cracker crumbs, and put into a hot oven for ten minutes. Cook together a heaping teaspoon each of butter and flour. Add one cup of tomato-juice, and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Season with salt, pepper, grated onion, and sugar. Arrange the sardines on toasted strips of brown bread, pour the sauce over, and serve.

SARDINES ON TOAST

Melt two tablespoons of butter in a skillet, add two tablespoons of flour and a dash of paprika, and stir until smooth and browned a little. Then add half a cup of stock and half a cup of sherry. Stir until thickened, then let it simmer a few minutes. Add nearly a cup of sardines, from which the bones and skin have been removed and the flesh separated into small pieces. Let stand until very hot and serve on toast.

CURRIED SARDINES

Mix together one teaspoon each of sugar and curry powder with a saltspoon* of salt. Put these into a skillet with one cup of cream and half a teaspoon of lemon juice. Stir until the mixture is hot, then put into it ten or twelve sardines. In the meantime, heat some butter or oil in a second skillet, and in it some bits of bread a little larger than the sardines, and round slices of tart apple. Serve each sardine on a bit of bread, pour a little of the sauce over the top and garnish with a round of apple. The slices of apple will keep their shape if the apples are cored and then cut into rounds without paring.

*saltspoon – a miniature spoon used with an open salt cellar for individual use before table salt was free-flowing.

SARDINE BALLS
Pick the required number of sardines into fine pieces, season to taste with salt, pepper, and onion juice. Make into small balls, handling as little as possible. When the or saucepan is hot, butter the balls enough to prevent sticking, place in the pan, and shake gently for a few minutes until brown. Serve hot.

SARDINES WITH CHEESE
Drain the sardines and lay them on strips of toast or crisply fried bread. Cover thickly with Parmesan cheese and bake in a hot oven* until light brown in color. Remove and sprinkle with chopped parsley and pour over all plenty of lemon juice. Serve very hot.

*hot oven – a hot (or quick) oven is about 400-450 degrees Fahrenheit.

FRIED SARDINES
Drain large sardines, dip in egg and crumbs, fry, and serve on toast.

SCALLOPED SARDINES

Drain the sardines, pick the fish over, removing back-bone and tail, and flake with a fork. Place a layer of the sardines in an agate baking dish, cover with one cup of sauce (see below), then a layer of cracker crumbs, another layer of sardines, and so on until the fish is all used. Cover the top layer with cracker crumbs and bake in a hot oven until brown.

SARDINE FISH SAUCE
Melt two tablespoons butter in a sauce-pan until it bubbles, then add two tablespoons flour, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until smooth, and pour one cup hot milk in gradually, stirring each time. Cook until it thickens. This is a good sauce to serve with any fish.

SARDINE SANDWICHES
Cut slices of bread about one-half an inch thick, butter and toast, then trim off the crust. Remove skin and bones from the sardines, and lay them carefully over the toast. Have ready, chopped very fine, some olives and capers, mixed together. Sprinkle these over the sardines, then add a teaspoon of lemon juice to each sandwich. Cut into any shape you may desire and they are ready to serve.

SARDINE SCRAMBLE
Add the juice of half a lemon to one cupful of finely cut sardines. Use the oil from the can instead of butter. Beat six or seven eggs thoroughly and mix with the sardines before cooking.

SARDINES A LA PIEDMONT
Skin a dozen sardines and put in the oven to heat. Put into a saucepan the yolks of four eggs well beaten with one teaspoon each of malt vinegar, tarragon vinegar, and made mustard. Add a pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of butter. Stir until thick, but do not boil. Put the sardines on circles of fried or toasted bread, pour the sauce over, and serve.

CLICK HERE for an excellent article on why sardines are the safest fish to eat.

Image from Deposit Photos

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