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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.

Time machine – what changed?

Pick two editions and see what Henriette Schønberg Erken added, removed or changed between them.

From19141949Modernised
To19141949Modernised
1914 (proofread, p. 109) → Modernised~85% of the text changedremovedadded
1 kg. aal 1 bundt persille kg ål (flådd og rengjort). 1 spiseske ss salt (til kokevannet). 1 spiseske eddik ss eddik. 1 l. vand. Aal kjøpes levende. Dræpes ved et sterkt slag i hodet; halen overskjæres. Skindet løsnes omkring bunt persille. 1 l vann (eller nok til å dekke). salt (til å strø over fiskestykkene). Bruk ferdig flådd ål, eller flå den selv: løsne skinnet rundt hodet med en skarp kniv, kniv og aalen hænges op paa en spiker. Aalen flaaes, d. v. s. skindet trækkes hurtig trekk det raskt av med et grovt, fugtig klæde. Fisken rengjøres, fuktig klede. Rens fisken og skjær bort hode, hale og finner avskjæres. Fisken skjæres op finner.. Skjær ålen i 3 fingertykke stykker, overdrysses stykker på om lag tre fingers bredde. Strø rikelig med salt; ligger salt over og trækker med dette la stykkene trekke i 2 timer. Sættes over ilden i det kokende vand, tilsat timer.. Kok opp vannet med salt, eddik og persille. Aal taaler længere kok end fisk persille.. Legg fiskestykkene i almindelighet — indtil 3/4 time. Aalen sættes bort den kokende lagen. Ål tåler lengre koking enn fisk ellers – regn 30–45 minutter til den er mør.. La ålen stå i kokevandet, kokevannet til den skal benyttes, og serveres da enten brukes. Server den i karrisaus eller persillesaus.

Note on Modernised

Mål er omregnet til moderne enheter (l, ss). Mengde eddik er tolket som 1 spiseske der originalen er utydelig i OCR. Slakting/flåing er forkortet, med anbefaling om ferdig flådd ål fra fiskehandler. Koketiden er angitt som 30–45 minutter.

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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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