Sardines for frying with Bordier butter

Frying Sardines with Bordier Butter

The Frying Sardines with Bordier Butter from La Quiberonnaise are Breton sardines with salted churned butter, served right in the tin. Briefly warmed in a pan and lightly seared, they are ready to serve in minutes. A collaboration with master butter maker Jean-Yves Bordier.

Frying Sardines with Bordier Butter are pre-cooked Atlantic sardines from the La Quiberonnaise cannery, packed in a tin with salted Breton churned butter from Jean-Yves Bordier. Unlike aged vintage sardines, these are best enjoyed warm, lightly seared in their own butter. The butter for heating is already in the tin—a clever, honest concept, almost like a mini cooking kit for a warm meal. It’s perfect for those short on time who still want something refined on their plate.

This recipe is a collaboration between two Breton masters: one of France's top fish cannery producers and arguably the most renowned artisan of churned butter. "When my butter cries, it sings," Jean-Yves Bordier used to say, and here, that butter sings alongside fine, tender fish. His churned butter is kneaded and beaten by hand—a craft hardly anyone practices anymore. It’s no wonder that top chefs across Europe swear by his butter.

A refined, pure recipe

Just two ingredients that belong together: sardines and salted churned butter.

Before opening, place the tin briefly under warm water so the butter melts. Then, empty the contents into a pan and heat the sardines over very low heat so the meat remains tender. In just a few minutes, you’ll have a warm, buttery dish that tastes of the sea and Brittany. It’s so simple, yet it feels like it was freshly fried at the harbor. You can find the right butter for the rest of the week in our lightly salted Bordier butter.

With crusty bread and a colorful salad

These frying sardines only need good bread to shine.

Crusty baguette or dark bread soaks up the butter and is therefore a must. They are just as lovely served with a colorful salad, parsley potatoes, or simply with a squeeze of lemon. For a quick dinner, fry a few potato slices right in the same pan. A glass of dry white wine or a Breton cider pairs perfectly. A quick, warm meal that still tastes like something special. It doesn't get more Breton than this for an after-work dinner.

Two Breton houses, since 1921

La Quiberonnaise has been working at the Quiberon fishing port since 1921; Bordier stands for the art of Breton butter.

The cannery was founded by Henriette Jourdan, and today her grandchildren, Bernard and Thierry, run the house in the third generation. The fish are caught along the Atlantic coast and processed by hand within 48 hours. In 2015, the house received the "Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant" label for its living craftsmanship. For this special recipe, they partnered with Jean-Yves Bordier, whose churned butter is a household name throughout France. Two houses that take their craft seriously, united in one tin. You can find the frying sardines here alongside many other canned fish products from La Quiberonnaise.

Gentle heat, and plenty of bread for mopping up

Gentle heat is key; warm the sardines slowly so they stay tender and don't fall apart. Carefully flipped, the melted butter sears along with them, and that's half the battle. Plenty of bread is essential for mopping up the butter, followed by a squeeze of lemon for freshness. The 115-gram tin serves as a small meal for one or two people. If you are looking for the pure, aged classic, you will find it in the red tin with olive oil.