My Italian friend would take a big whole sardine, like 5 inches long (or bigger), put olive oil, salt and pepper on it, hold it above his head and chow it down. I couldn’t do it..the raw head and tail were not edible to me! (let alone everything else) Maybe you should amend your statement saying you would win a canned sardine eating contest. Those things wouldn’t fit in a can. Still don’t know he did it, but them EYE-talians don’t play at chow time!!
Canned sardines for sure. They cook them right in their bones but at that temperature, the spines are very edible.