Stewed Eels

Ingredients

• 2 lb eels
• 1 pint rich strong stock
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves
• 1 piece lemon peel
• 1 glass port or Madeira wine
• 3 tbsp cream
• flour
• to taste cayenne
• to taste lemon juice

Method

Skin the eels by gripping just behind the head with a cloth and making a shallow cut around the circumference below the gills. Peel the skin back over the body — it comes away in one pull if you're decisive. Gut them, rinse thoroughly, and cut into 3 cm pieces. This isn't brutality; smaller pieces cook evenly and take the braising liquid better than whole snakes coiled in the pan.

Season the eel pieces with salt and pepper, then lay them in a heavy-bottomed stewpan — do not crowd them. Pour over the stock until just covered. Stud the onion with three cloves, add it to the pan with the lemon peel and wine. Bring to a bare simmer, never a rolling boil — eel flesh is delicate and will disintegrate if the liquid churns. Braising at this temperature for 30–35 minutes will soften the connective tissue without turning the meat to paste. You'll know it's done when a fork pierces a piece with almost no resistance and the flesh begins to separate from the fine central bone.

Lift the eel pieces carefully onto a warm serving dish using a slotted spoon. Strain the braising liquid through fine mesh into a clean pan, pressing the onion gently to extract flavour — do not force it through. You should have roughly 300 ml of concentrated stock. Mix three tablespoons of cream with 15–20 g flour to a smooth paste, then whisk this into the simmering liquid. The flour acts as a roux, binding fat and liquid into a glossy sauce that clings to the eel. Simmer for two minutes to cook out any raw flour taste. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon; if it's too thick, thin with a splash of stock or cream.

Taste and adjust with cayenne — a pinch at a time, the heat builds — and lemon juice to sharpen the richness. The acidity cuts the eel's natural oiliness and lifts the wine and port. Pour the sauce over the eel pieces and serve at once. This dish holds for ten minutes in a warm bowl, but no longer.