The most important step is to gut the fish the day you buy them. Take a small knife and make a slit along the belly parallel to the back one. Use your finger to pull out the guts (the murky black stuff), then rinse out the insides and pat dry. If this really isn't your thing, ask the fishmonger to do it. But it's not that hard. Just conjure up your inner high school biology geek.
I seasoned the fish with pepper, lemon zest, chile flakes, garlic and olive oil, and then refrigerated them until we were ready to eat (serving size = two fish per person).
Meanwhile, I made a bread crumb vinaigrette for the fish. (Take a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan and toast a small handful of bread crumbs until crispy. Mix in some chopped parsley, a squeeze of lemon juice and diced green olives. Add more olive oil if you want.) The vinaigrette needed more acid, so I mixed in a splash of verjus (the juice of underripe grapes - it works like a mild vinegar). I also grilled some small potatoes and onions to serve alongside the fish.
When time to grill the sardines, I hedged a bit by putting a sheet of aluminum foil on the hottest part of the grill. With the oil marinade, the fish tend to flair up. I put the fish on the foil and cooked it until nearly done, then at the last minute I pulled the fish directly onto the grill grates for extra crispiness. You really don't need to flip the fish over; they were fully cooked in a matter of a few minutes.
Before eating the sardines, remove the backbone by pulling the tail toward the head. Most of the bones should come out with the tail and the head. I spooned some of the toasted bread crumbs on top. Pure, crispy goodness.
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