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Boiled Eel

Erken's recipe for boiled eel (anguille cuite) from 1914: the eel is skinned, cut into thick pieces, salted for 2 hours, and boiled 30–45 minutes in water with salt, vinegar, and parsley. Served in curry sauce or parsley sauce.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 109 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

From the chapter on fish in "Stor kokebok" (1914). Eel was bought live and skinned at home; Erken therefore gives detailed instructions for killing and skinning. Today the European eel is critically endangered and fishing is strictly regulated; the recipe is reproduced as a cultural-historical source, and can be made with farmed eel or another oily fish.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Clean the eel

    Use ready-skinned eel, or skin it yourself: loosen the skin around the head with a sharp knife and pull it off quickly with a coarse, damp cloth. Clean the fish and cut away the head, tail, and fins.

  2. 2

    Cut and salt

    Cut the eel into pieces about three fingers wide. Sprinkle generously with salt and let the pieces stand for 2 hours.

  3. 3

    Boil the poaching liquid

    Bring the water to a boil with salt, vinegar, and parsley.

  4. 4

    Boil the eel

    Put the fish pieces into the boiling liquid. Eel tolerates longer cooking than fish otherwise – figure 30–45 minutes until tender.

  5. 5

    Serve

    Let the eel stay in the cooking water until it is to be used. Serve it in curry sauce or parsley sauce.

Changes from the original

Measurements have been converted to modern units (l, tbsp). The amount of vinegar is interpreted as 1 tablespoon where the original is unclear in the OCR. Slaughtering/skinning is abbreviated, with a recommendation for ready-skinned eel from the fishmonger. The cooking time is given as 30–45 minutes.

Tidsmaskin – hva endret seg?

Velg to utgaver og se hva Henriette Schønberg Erken la til, fjernet eller endret mellom dem.

Fra19141949Modernisert
Til19141949Modernisert
1914 (korrekturlest, s. 109) → 1949 (korrekturlest, s. 133)~92% av teksten endretfjernetlagt til
1 kg. aal ål 1 bundt bunt persille 1 spiseske i spiseskje salt 1 spiseske eddik 1 l. vand. Aal kjøpes levende. Dræpes ved et sterkt slag i hodet; halen overskjæres. Skindet løsnes omkring hodet med en skarp kniv, og aalen hænges op paa en spiker. Aalen flaaes, d. v. s. skindet trækkes hurtig av med et grovt, fugtig klæde. Fisken rengjøres, hode, hale og finner avskjæres. Fisken skjæres op — eddik i 1. vann. Smøret smeltes, irøres melet, koker uten å brunes 2 å 3 fingertykke stykker, overdrysses med salt; ligger minutter, tilsettes kraften og trækker med dette i 2 timer. Sættes over ilden i røres til det kokende vand, tilsat salt, eddik og persille. Aal taaler længere kok end fisk koker. Småkoker i almindelighet — indtil 3/4 time. Aalen sættes bort 5 minutter, tilsett salt, pepper efter smak. Persillen hases i kokevandet, til den idet sausen skal benyttes, og serveres da enten serveres. Koker persillen i karrisaus eller persillesaus. sausen, vil den miste noget av sin grønne farve.

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Frequently asked questions

How long should the eel boil?
Eel tolerates longer cooking than fish otherwise – up to 3/4 hour (45 minutes) in boiling water with salt, vinegar, and parsley.
Why does the recipe take 3 hours in total?
Because the eel pieces are first sprinkled with salt and left to stand for 2 hours before boiling. The boiling itself takes up to 45 minutes.
How is the eel skinned?
The eel is bought live and killed with a hard blow to the head, and the tail is cut through. The skin is loosened around the head with a sharp knife, the eel is hung on a nail, and the skin is pulled off quickly with a coarse, damp cloth. Then the fish is cleaned and the head, tail, and fins are cut away before it is cut into three-finger-thick pieces.
What is served with boiled eel?
The eel is set aside in the cooking water until it is to be used, and served in curry sauce or parsley sauce. The recipe is from Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914), p. 109.

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