Acciughe alla griglia – grilled anchovy

Acciughe alla griglia – grilled anchovy

When is a sardine not a sardine………..?

Out shopping I saw what I thought were some lovely looking fresh sardines – only later when I checked the spelling of Acciughe (also often called Alici) did I realise that the sardines were in fact anchovy!!   I think you have to go a long way to beat simply grilling sardines and adding a little lemon and salt to compliment the oil rich “silver darlings” – so in my ignorance these anchovy were handled in the same way (which is just what the Italians do too!)

The BGE was set up for direct cooking with the cast iron grill in with the wider sided bars uppermost and heated to around 180C.  As we are a little limited for space on the Mini BGE the anchovy had the heads removed to allow a little more space.   They were then simply gutted and then rubbed with salt and olive oil and then tossed on the grill.

The anchovy were grilled for around 4-5 minutes a side until the skins started to blister and the fish took on some colour.  I find it easier to do this without overcooking the fish at around a  temperature of 180C combining grilling and oven cooking that the BGE does so well rather than being tempted to cook at over 200C.  After a few minutes we added a couple of slices of bread to toast to have with the fish.

 

Once ready the anchovy were plated on top of a green salad with herby crouton and finished with a simple drizzle of fresh lemon.

These are very “moreish” – hope you enjoy!

(it works just as well with sardines!)

 

 

Not quite Grilled Sardines!

August 27, 2017
: 2
: 10 min
: 10 min
: 20 min
: Easy

Grilled Sardines

By:

Ingredients
  • Fresh sardines or anchovy
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Lemon
Directions
  • Step 1 Set up direct cooking – with the BGE the cast iron grill is best used with the wider bars uppermost – heat to around 180C
  • Step 2 If limited for space remove the heads from the fish then simply gut them and rubbed with salt and olive oil
  • Step 3 Place on the Grill for around 4-5 minutes a side until the skin starts to blister and the fish took on some colour.  
  • Step 4 Once ready serve with a green salad and freshly squeezed lemon

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2 thoughts on “Acciughe alla griglia – grilled anchovy”

  • They were great and you are right – not salty at all when fresh like this – the salting is just to preserve them – and then they are totally different! In reality, if I hadn’t checked the Italian spelling I would have continued to believe they were sardines!!

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