  |
|
||||||
|
|
The most appetizing eels will weigh in at under 2 pounds with rich firm meat. Eel is grilled, sautéed, baked, hot-smoked or added to a stew or soup. Those who like elvers prefer to sautée them whole. Eel should not be eaten raw and is best served with an acidic sauce (using lemon, vinegar, capers, or tomatoes) to counter the rich meat. Purchasing: Buy live and prepare yourself. Don't buy eel if you haven't seen it alive. Purchase smaller eels to ensure the tenderness of the meat. Preparation: To prepare an eel, grip the neck firmly, hold with a towel or salt fingers to get a grip, hit the eel on the head with something blunt and heavy, like a mallet to kill it. The eel will continue moving throughout the process even though it has expired. To skin the eel, make a shallow cut into the skin at the base of the neck. Pull back the skin all the way around the circumference . Using a towel, grip this bit of skin and pull (pliers are sometime used); the skin should slide off the meat in one piece. To gut the eel, make a shallow cut at the base of the head all the way down to the tail and remove the viscera. Fillet, butterfly or section as you like
|
||||||
|
|
|||||||
