Eel is a fish whose caloric value is comparable to fatty pork. But unlike the latter, eel is rich in polyunsaturated fats, which do no harm to our body. Eel meat is very soft, so this fish is very much appreciated in cooking and real delicacies are prepared from it. Especially its taste is revealed in the preparation of first courses.

An eel is a fish or a snake

Eel is the most unusual resident of the underwater world. Scientists are still trying to study his habits. Two centuries ago, no one could understand whether an eel is a fish or a snake. But today we can say with confidence that the eel, although superficially very similar to the reptile, has nothing to do with it.

Today, there are about 700 types of eels, which are not much different from each other. Their main difference is in the habitat. Some fish live in fresh water, which is why they are called river eels. Others spend their lives in the ocean, and these are sea eels. Also distinguish European and American species.

In our country, such an unusual fish can be found in the waters of the Baltic basin, and sometimes in the Volga and in the rivers flowing into the Azov and Black Seas.

What does an eel fish look like

  • Since the eel is often called a snake, it is not difficult to guess that it has an elongated body covered with slimy skin.
  • Unlike other fish species, the eel has no ventral fins, but only the dorsal one.
  • As for its size, some individuals can grow up to 3 meters in length and weigh up to 50 kg. But on average, male acne reaches 45 cm, and female acne reaches 120 cm.
  • Thanks to its powerful jaws with sharpened teeth, eel can prey on lobsters, crabs, small fish and even birds.

It is quite difficult to hold such a fish in your hands, because it is not only slippery, but also very strong, and also quirky. If you lower it to the ground, then it, like a snake, will quickly creep away. By the way, at night the eel can creep out onto the ground and if the grass is dewy, then it will quietly live without water until morning.

Oven baked fish

Unlike the countries of Europe and Asia, where eel dishes are quite popular, it is very rare to meet such fish on our shelves. But if you are nevertheless lucky enough to see fresh or frozen eel, then do not pass by. Despite its awesome appearance, eel has very tasty meat, sweet and rich in nutrients.

 

If you do not know how to cook eel fish, then you can not worry - everything is simple here. The only thing that can cause difficulties is the cutting of the carcass. If you bought a frozen product, then, as a rule, in this form it is sold already peeled, but you will have to tinker with the fresh one.

Ingredients:

  • acne;
  • carrots and onions;
  • five to six tubers of new potatoes;
  • half a lemon;
  • ½ tsp. turmeric and paprika;
  • salt, pepper, oil, any greens.

To prevent fish from slipping out of your hands during cleaning, rub it with coarse salt.

Cooking method:

  1. We chop the carcass of the eel, salt, pepper, sprinkle with citrus juice and leave to marinate.
  2. We cut the potatoes in half, cut the carrots into cubes, and boil the vegetables until steamed.
  3. Now we take three tablespoons of sunflower oil, pour all the dry spices into it.
  4. Pass the onion half rings in oil.
  5. We combine the vegetables with onions and a part of the marinade, put them in a mold.
  6. Grate the eel with the remaining sauce and put it on top of the vegetables.
  7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, temperature - 220 degrees.

Creamy cream soup

In Japanese cuisine, snake fish dishes are quite common. And if you are a fan of exotic dishes, then we advise you to cook a gentle creamy soup with smoked eel.

Ingredients:

  • 350 g smoked eel;
  • two eggs;
  • three cups of cream;
  • half a glass of finished rice;
  • green onions;
  • 100 g of Wakame seaweed;
  • salt pepper.

Cooking method:

  1. Pour 300 ml of water into the stewpan and as soon as the water boils, pour the beaten eggs and cream. Reduce the fire, mix everything thoroughly and quickly.
  2. Five minutes later, put in cubes of smoked eel, chopped green onions, as well as ready-made rice and seaweed.
  3. Add salt and pepper to taste, cook soup for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally throughout the cooking process.

How to Cook Smoked Eel

Due to the fact that eel meat is quite soft, it absorbs aromas and the smell of smoke well. In many countries, smoked eel is used as an independent dish or for the preparation of other culinary masterpieces. We will tell you two ways to cook smoked eel: in the smokehouse and in the barrel. So, eel fish - smoked delicacy recipes.

Method 1

  1. First of all, you need to prepare a pickle of water, salt, bay leaf and allspice. To do this, add 100 g of salt and other seasonings to a liter of water, put the composition on fire, boil and cool.
  2. Now we turn to the preparation of eel. Fish should be cleaned of mucus, clean the gills and remove all the insides. We lower the carcass into the brine and leave it for at least 6 hours, or better, for two days.
  3. We wash the pickled eel and give it time to dry. At this time, we refuel the smokehouse with chips. For these purposes, you can use sawdust alder, oak or fruit trees.
  4. We put the eel in the smokehouse and bring to readiness.

You can determine whether the eel has been smoked or not, in appearance. The abdomen should open and folds will appear on the skin.

For those who do not have a special smokehouse in the house, the option of using a barrel and a small electric stove is suitable.

Method 2

  1. Sprinkle the prepared carcass with a mixture of salt, tarragon and pepper, put bay leaves in the abdomen. Leave the fish for 10 hours.
  2. Now we are making a smokehouse from a barrel.To do this, we put an electric stove in it, on top we determine the frying pan along with sawdust, juniper berries and sugar cubes. Turn on the stove for medium heat.
  3. We wash the salted eel, dry it, string it on a wire and hang it in a barrel. Close it and leave to smoke for 5 hours.

Eel stewed with tomatoes

The meat of such an unusual fish is not only tasty, but also very fatty, so eel is often baked in the oven or smoked. But no less tasty it turns out in a stew. Therefore, we offer a recipe for stewed fish with tomatoes.

Ingredients:

  • acne;
  • a pound of meaty tomatoes;
  • three cloves of garlic;
  • bulb;
  • 150 ml of any wine;
  • oil, salt, rosemary, pepper.

Cooking method:

  1. Cut the eel into pieces, but not too small.
  2. In a deep frying pan with olive oil for two minutes we pass the half rings of onions, and then put the pieces of fish.
  3. Grind the tomatoes with a blender and, together with the grated garlic, send them to the fish with onions. Fry food for several minutes until the fish gets a beautiful shade.
  4. Add salt and all the spices, pour in the wine, cover the dish and simmer for 15 minutes.

Sushi and rolls with eel at home

Unagi sushi - this is the name of their national dish Japanese culinary specialists. If you want to cook sushi and rolls with eel, but are afraid to take fresh fish, then take already smoked.

 

To make sushi with eel you will need: 120 g of smoked eel, 170 g of cooked rice, a couple of sheets of nori, sesame seeds and oyster sauce.

We will not talk about how to cook rice for sushi, and proceed immediately to their preparation:

  1. To do this, take eel and cut into portions.
  2. We cut the nori sheet into the number of strips equal to the number of fish pieces.
  3. We make blanks from rice, as for sushi. We lay a piece of eel on top, hold it down and wrap a strip of nori dipped in a brine of water and lemon juice.
  4. We spread sushi not a dish with rice down, sprinkle with oyster sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

To prepare rolls with eel, you will need: prepared rice, smoked eel, nori sheets, flying fish roe (salmon, red) and avocado.

Cooking method:

  1. Cut eel into strips. Cut the peeled avocado into strips.
  2. On a bamboo mat we put a cling film, and then a nori sheet with the rough side up.
  3. Now we spread the rice and distribute the filling of fish, caviar and avocado. Wet the edges of the nori and carefully wrap the roll.
  4. With a sharp knife we ​​cut the roll into equal pieces and put them on a dish.

Pan fried fish

Traditionally, eel is served in smoked form, but sometimes you can move away from traditions and just fry the fish in a pan. The only thing you have to do is pickle the carcass.

Such a fish is very oily, and the marinade will remove excess fat and give the finished dish a delicate, unsurpassed taste.

Ingredients:

  • acne;
  • bulb;
  • a spoon of vinegar;
  • three cloves of garlic;
  • six peas of pepper;
  • three buds of cloves;
  • anise, thyme, turmeric;
  • salt, oil.

Cooking method:

  1. We clear the eel of mucus, viscera, head and tail. Cut the prepared carcass into pieces.
  2. Pour a little less than a liter of water into the container, pour salt, pepper, cloves, anise and thyme there. Cook the marinade for 7 to 8 minutes.
  3. Pour vinegar into the cooled brine, put the chopped garlic cloves and onion rings, immerse the fish slices and leave them for 8 hours.
  4. Pour half 1 tsp into flour. turmeric.
  5. Dry the pickled eel, roll in the breading and fry in oil until golden brown.

We hope that now such a frightening fish will not scare you away with its appearance, and new original recipes for fish dishes will appear in your cookbook.

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