Festival sardines on bread

Name: Festival sardines on bread
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 18 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Portuguese
Ingredients: 12 plump sardines, scaled; Coarse salt; 4 large slices of country bread; 1 roasted pepper in strips (optional); Olive oil to finish

The smell of the Portuguese summer: plump sardines over hot embers, served on bread slices that catch the juices. Just like the Lisbon festivals, in your own backyard.

⏱ Prep: 10 min 🔥 Cook: 8 min 👥 Serves: 4 Direct heat Difficulty: Fácil

Method

Salt the sardines with coarse salt 30 minutes ahead.
Prepare hot embers and a clean, very hot grill.
Grill 3–4 minutes per side, without touching until the skin releases by itself.
Serve each sardine on a slice of bread — the bread is the plate.
Finish with olive oil and eat with your hands, no ceremony.

🌡 Fire & temperature
Hot embers · small fish is judged by eye: crisp skin and an opaque eye mean done.
Chef's Station: exact temperatures →

🛍 Recommended product
EKOOLOGY biocharcoal — low smoke, so the flavour comes from the sardine, not the fire.
See the products → · Where to buy →

💡 Kool tip: Leave some scales on if you love crispy skin: they protect the flesh and lift off at the end.

🍷 Serve it with: Roasted pepper on top and a glass of cold wine. That's the full festival.

Next recipe: Octopus lagareiro-style… on the grill →