Name: Devilled Sardines
Ingredients: sardines; cayenne pepper; hot buttered toast

Devilled Sardines

Ingredients

sardines
cayenne pepper
hot buttered toast

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

Drain the sardines.

Assemble and bake

Place one sardine on a strip of toast.
Season generously with cayenne pepper.
Put in the oven at 400°F (200°C) until heated through.

Serve

Serve immediately.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Sardines: Provide the main savory, oily fish flavor and protein of the dish.
Cayenne pepper: Adds heat and a sharp, spicy kick that contrasts with the rich fish.
Hot buttered toast: Gives a crisp, warm base and buttery fat that carries the sardine topping.

The step that matters

Put in the oven at 400°F (200°C) until heated through. Heating only until warmed keeps the sardines moist and tender, while overheating dries the fish and toughens its flesh. Toast can also burn quickly at high heat, so watching it closely helps the base stay crisp rather than scorched.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.