We don't do (in the dished up sense) a great deal of freshwater eel here in the land downunder but our rivers and dams are stocked with the slimy suckers. Some as thick as your arm. Do any of you eat the stuff on a regular basis? Are there eel dishes unique to a particular area perhaps? I'd appreciate your tested recipes. I might go out and jag myself a couple and give them a test drive.
1
agingaquarian
DD can't help with recipes. But occasionally here we see smoked eel and eel pate, both of which are excellent. Think there are small companies producing the product.
I once tasted a freshly caught one (really fresh). It was slimy as one imagined and full of bones. Ugh!
The pie and eel stuff in the UK - my husband tasted once - eels plus the green 'gravy'. Now we eat a lot of things including jellyfish and sea slugs, but he said it was the most revolting thing he'd ever eaten.
However, to go back to my original comment - smoked eel (like smoked salmon) and eel pate - I really think it's got a market. I genuinely enjoy both.
2
anonymous
Yeah, I'm aware of the smoked eel angle, aa, as there is a company here in Tasmania that imports the smoked variety worldwide and at one point had a contract to supply the privileged punters flying in the pointy end of Qantas with their product. I've occasionally jagged the odd one when trout fishing and just wrapped it in foil and let it steam away in the embers of a fire but have never bothered researching a way to dish it up as a main.
3
tilly_star
Never had the big ones as an encounter with a jeelied eel as a child put me right off. I'd like to try smoked eel though.
I am off to Spain today and the area that i am going to in the North has a river that is famous for its elvers. Delicious, lovely little things. I will have a plate of those while I am there. Just gently friend with a pinch of salt and a little garlic.
5
anonymous
I'd hazard a guess that you could substitute elvers for whitebait in patties. All eyes and crunchy little bones.
6
cocodrilo
7/30 was "doyo-no-ushi-no-hi" in Japan, and peopel traditionally eat grilled eel on this day for a protein fix to help stave off heat exhaustion. My farmers' market had guys grilling unagi (river eel) which was braised with a teriyaki-like sauce and I bought two gigantic ones which I served over rice that evening. It was fantastic! The name of the dish is "kabayaki",
8
agingaquarian
#6 Cocodrilo - that sounds interesting indeed, except that you don't tell us about the bones which for me is the worst problem with eel. Please explain!
9
baz_faz
Brown and Forrest in the UK has wonderful smoked eel. For Londoners, they have a stall at Borough Street market on the first Saturday of the month.
A few years back I had a boating holiday in New Brunswick. My old mate Danny caught an eel one day. I cut it up and fried it, finishing the dish with soy sauce and chilllllllllli.
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