When the Portuguese talk about sardines, they generally don't mean those tiny skinned and boned creatures compressed into a minute can.
They are referring to fresh, succulent sardines, the bigger, the fatter - the better. In Portugal, more than 60 percent of the national sardine catch is consumed fresh.
Sardines are a summertime pleasure to be enjoyed out of doors, like a barbecue. In reality, sardine season
- when the fish are plump and juicy - lasts from the end of May to the end of October, although the fat fish can keep coming until December.