You open the can! :)

But srsly, my favorite sardine application is Fisherman's Eggs! http://www.chow.com/food-news/47126/7-things-to-do-with-canned-sardines/ Basically sardines baked with eggs on top, add some garlic/onion, that type of stuff to your taste. Great served with kale or collards, hot sauce optional. I like the Wild Planet sardines in marinara best for this.

I also loved sardines in EVOO on a salad with avocado, tomato, cucumber, and a little vinegar of your choice. Salt and pepper and it's an instant dressing.

They're also good mixed in crab cakes (not the bready kind, Paleo-police!!!)

I find canned sardines go nicely with kimchee. The strong flavors of the kimchee cover up the sardines.

quality sardines (wild planet) taste better than cheap tinned sardines

Homemade Caesar dressing

Nom Nom Paleo posted a recipe today for a general purpose sauce using anchovies and capers: Leon's Caper and Anchovy Miracle Sauce

Use as a salt source in other dishes (instead of adding salt or fish sauce or coconut aminos)

Sauerkraut!

and

I second Kimchee!

I eat sardines with chipotle tabasco sauce, or with sauerkraut. I don't particularly care for them on their own, but when I eat them with something tangy, they're a lot tastier!

Be really, really hungry.

Buy REAL sardines, not in a can, and grill them. Sea salt, ground pepper, a little lemon. Yum. It's like the difference between Chicken of the Sea and a nicely seared Ahi.

But I know, not as practical.

Get really good sardines that have been cleaned well, heads removed & deboned, packed in good olive oil.

Look for Brisling sardines. They're smaller, taste better, and you can eat the bones. Or don't, because they're already too expensive and I don't need anyone else discovering them!

My big ass salads (I miss them dearly) but once we get back to Israel where they have decent lettuce leaves and avocados I throw in tomato, cucumber, lots of lettuce , can of sardines in olive oil (don't dare drain them you miss out on a lot of flavouring) and half a avocado to top it all. Mix and season with salt and herbs if you wish. That is usually the highest carb meal I have. Except the days I have beef liver mixed with scrambled eggs and tomato paste (the concentration of tomatoes really deliver the carbs) but later through the day is usually carb free or at least very low.

I also eat sardines right out of the tin with salt, curry or other yummy spices. I have yet tried them with eggs.

Feed them to an animal that will eat sardines and then eat that animal.

I would say, if you don't like them - don't eat them. It's just not worth it!

Crystal hot sauce.... So good, really cuts against the saltiness of the sardines

I'm not sure if sardines and anchovies are the same thing, but if they are - my favorite way to eat them (anchovies) is melted down in grass fed butter and olive oil (they disappear). Once they reduce, I sautee veggies in the mixture. Shredded cabbage is my current obsession in this sauce. It gives the veggies a salty/nutty flavor.

I jazz up my canned sardines by rolling them in shredded coconut and then frying them in a little grass fed ghee or coconut oil.

I ate sardines at a Spanish tapas bar and I've been trying to recreate that experience ever since. They were broiled with lemon butter, garlic, parsley, dill, and sherry. At home I do pretty much the same thing but I use whatever wine I have on hand. Vermouth is pretty good in it. I do prefer mine warm.

cover in chocolate and deep fry in veggie oil?????

I like mixing sardines with tahini and sea salt. It's like a flavor- and nutrient-dense tuna salad. Throw in some finely chopped raw onion, maybe some hot sauce, and I'd say you're good to go. If it's too dense you can add an acidic liquid, like lemon or apple cider vinegar or my recent favorite: pickle brine. Or just water if you're boring.

Put mustard on them. Or marinara.

Used to hate them, but learned to embrace them. I buy the ones packed in EVOO. I hate the fishy smell so I just rinse the sardines a couple of times and maybe let them soak in water a bit before rinsing again. The smell goes away with the oil and it tastes a million times better. Almost like tuna.

Try "white sardines" you might like them better. They are really delicious. Sardines are so good for you. Kudos to you for sticking in there and trying to eat them.

This hasn't been mentioned... it might be worth your while to spring for the expensive ones. They tend to have way more of a clean fish flavor.

sardines broken up & put into an omlette, then add hot sauce (which probly contains sugar, so maybe leave the hot sauce)

i eat that pretty much everyday

Sardines, arugula, lemon juice, a nice piquant olive oil, salt and pepper, avocado, green or black olives. Mmmm.

Honestly though, before I started to appreciate sardines, I would cover them in hot sauce and eat them with avocado ;)

I eat them with caramelized onions, or eggs, or with garlic...they are fantastic. Try them with good mustard or hot sauce. I absolutely love wild planet's sardines and they are a pretty good price too.

I break them up and mix them in a salad (usually stuff like spinach, cucumber, peppers and tomato). It makes the texture bearable and gives me a fat source with my vegetables for better nutrient absorption. Tastes pretty good too.

If you have a cat, she may just like them as is....straight from the can, lol. Why eat them if they don't taste great? Plenty of other options....

I have never met a sardine I didn't love. I guess I don't really understand the question.

Thank you so much for this thread. I hate sardines so much but I know there's a way to make them tolerable, the health benefits and price is so worth it. Right now I have a paste of some recipe that tastes like bad fish and I am going through these suggestions to find help. I am eating it with pickled jalepino slices right now. I LOVE pickled jalepinos but it's not much of a meal. Tahini next? I had actually thought of adding that to the sardines but I worry that I get my cooking ideas from Oscar the Grouch sometimes. I'll also keep trying the different brands. That means I have to keep track. King Oscar Mediterranean is a "no".