# Eels?



## Langham (Nov 7, 2012)

Country pubs in some areas sometimes have eel tridents on display, and jellied eel used to be a staple working class dish in the UK. Now it's less common. I've had eel (both smoked and jellied) only a few times, and elvers just once, at Rules in Maiden Lane (supposedly London's oldest restaurant). It's a tasty dish but the animal itself leads a surprisingly complex life, of which I was only vaguely aware until recently:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/a...ery-of-the-deep-ends-in-Daves-frying-pan.html

I'm not sure about recommending Rules - the food is very good but the tables are too close together, although that goes for many restaurants.

https://www.rules.co.uk/restaurant/


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

It's a big country, but I've not noticed that eels are a big item in the States. Annecdotally, my barber has told me that he prepares them for his family and friends as part of his Christmas Feast of the Seven Fishes tradition (which sounds wonderful, BTW), but otherwise eels aren't usually on the menu over here.


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

Langham said:


> I'm not sure about recommending Rules - the food is very good but the tables are too close together, although that goes for many restaurants.
> 
> https://www.rules.co.uk/restaurant/


I remember Balfour recommending "Rules" back in the day. Still trying to get there myself. But if the tables are really close together, then I may reconsider that quest.


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

I've eaten it grilled at two very good sushi restaurants in DC (Sushi Taro and Makoto) and enjoyed it. Jellied doesn't sound so great, but I'll try anything once. 

Mostly, though, eels are a great snack for the stripers and I use them regularly when fishing certain locales.


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

Tilton said:


> I've eaten it grilled at two very good sushi restaurants in DC (Sushi Taro and Makoto) and enjoyed it. Jellied doesn't sound so great, but I'll try anything once.
> 
> Mostly, though, eels are a great snack for the stripers and I use them regularly when fishing certain locales.


Yes, good point about eel as sushi.

I was going to make a joke about eating bait, but then I realized that crawdads and shrimp are good eatin' too.


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## Langham (Nov 7, 2012)

Tilton said:


> I've eaten it grilled at two very good sushi restaurants in DC (Sushi Taro and Makoto) and enjoyed it. Jellied doesn't sound so great, but I'll try anything once.
> 
> Mostly, though, eels are a great snack for the stripers and I use them regularly when fishing certain locales.


Jellied eels are really just stewed in stock and then left to cool and set in their own jelly. It may sound rather dull or even unpleasant, but it's actually a great dish - authentically Victorian, certainly.

Elvers are served lightly fried, as the article suggests.

I'm not an expert on sushi but I suspect Japanese eels will be different to Atlantic eels - just as Pacific shellfish are different to our native types.


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## MaxBuck (Apr 4, 2013)

You needn't save any for me; feel free to clean the plate before I arrive.


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

Tilton said:


> I've eaten it grilled at two very good sushi restaurants


Agreed. Unagi is one of my favorite pieces of sushi.


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## L-feld (Dec 3, 2011)

For some reason I was expecting a thread about eelskin shoes, but I guess we don't have many Mafiosi on the board.

I don't think I've had eel in amy form other than sushi or just straight up broiled. I wonder how it would do on the grill...

I am picturing jellied eel to be somewhat like gefilte fish, which I love, although the aspic was always my least favorite part.

Sent from the TARDIS using the chameleon circuit


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

Eels! Eels! Eels! Give it up now!


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## jsbrugg (Nov 16, 2011)

I've only eaten eel once and it was while in a German hospital. One of my meals had a cube of jellied eel that I only ate because I thought it would be good for me. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste, but I doubt I would ever eat it again. I have only seen it in a few Japanese or Chinese restaurants, but I also cannot shake the image of the eel fishing scene in The Tin Drum. That's a more frightening horsehead scene than the Godfather.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

I caught an eel fishing for catfish in the Chesapeake Bay & Delaware river canal.

I made the mistake of picking it up with my bare hands.

It must have been days before all the slime finally washed off!! 

Still, I tried a smoked eel sushi once.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Fishing streams throughout Pennsylvania as I was growing up, I would occasionally hook a freshwater eel. Tried grilling, deep frying and stewing them and regardless of how they were cooked, they retained a rather unpleasant, muddy and otherwise tasteless flavor to them! Can't say I've ever tried pickled eel or eel sushi.


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## Hitch (Apr 25, 2012)

Where have you been all the day, Henry my boy?
Where have you been all the day, my pride and joy?
In the woods, dear mother
In the woods, dear mother
Mother be quick, I got to be sick and lay me down to die

What did you do in the woods all day, Henry my son?
What did you do in the woods all day, my pretty one?
Ate, dear mother
Ate, dear mother
Mother be quick, I got to be sick and lay me down to die

What did you eat in the woods all day, Henry my boy?
What did you eat in the woods all day, my saveloy?
Eels, dear mother
Eels, dear mother
Mother be quick, I got to be sick and lay me down to die

What color was those eels, Henry my boy?
What color was those eels, my pride and joy?
Green and yeller
Green and yeller
Mother be quick, I got to be sick and lay me down to die

Those eels were snakes, Henry my boy
Those eels were snakes, my saveloy
Urgh, dear mother
Urgh, dear mother
Mother be quick, I got to be sick and lay me down to die

What color flowers would you like, Henry my son?
What color flowers would you like, my currant bun?
Green and yeller
Green and yeller
Mother be quick, I got to be sick and lay me down to die ​


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## Jae iLL (Nov 14, 2009)

Eel is a very common dish in Korea. It's said to be good for virility, although I don't know if that's true or not. I've mostly had it grilled. We used to catch eel back in Korea, and you can sell it to seafood houses for a decent price.


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