# Eel pie



## erehweslefox (Nov 29, 2016)

So as many of my recipes, there is a story behind this.

As you know, I spend a bit of time with my cooking researching medieval recipes. One thing that keeps coming up in English cooking is eel. 

My beloved Wife said at one time, while researching this recipe, 'I will eat an eel pie when Trump is President' We know how that ended up.

So, I am planning an eel pie. Hoping there is someone here that has made one before. We have British and Irish People right? rj, Craig, anybody? Help me please. 

I do have the eels. Took a bit of driving about. 

So recipe ideas for a man with a freezer full of eels, a penitent spouse, the usual mix of spices and other stuff you would expect, and lodge cast iron, skilet and dutch oven.

I would be interested to hear what you think of eel as an ingredient.

Hoping we have some British friends or reston or Craig chime in.

Best,

TBS


----------



## roadfix (Nov 29, 2016)

You can perhaps turn an eel rice bowl (common Japanese dish) into a pie?


----------



## CharlieD (Nov 29, 2016)

not sure about eel pie or any fish pie for that matter, pie in my opinion should be a dessert, like an apple pie. Only English can come with such an idea like fish pie. I don't even like meat pie. But fish is Brrrrr.... 

Though I have to say russian stores sell smoked eel, if you like smoked fish it's to die for. Of course i can't eat it because it is not kosher, but I used to love it.


----------



## CakePoet (Nov 29, 2016)

English Eel Pie Recipe

How ever I am  more used to  weird thing with smoked eel and  potato mash on top.


----------



## Dawgluver (Nov 29, 2016)

Hm.  Smoked eel sounds good.  Do you have a stove top smoker, Fox?

What about a pot pie type thing?  Cook the eel and use it instead of chicken, along with veggies and gravy.  Bake with a crust on top.  You could use Bisquick in an impossible pie type thing, or a couple of Grands biscuits.


----------



## erehweslefox (Nov 29, 2016)

Dawgluver said:


> Hm.  Smoked eel sounds good.  Do you have a stove top smoker, Fox?
> 
> What about a pot pie type thing?  Cook the eel and use it instead of chicken, along with veggies and gravy.  Bake with a crust on top.  You could use Bisquick in an impossible pie type thing, or a couple of Grands biscuits.



Um, of course I have s smoke top smoker, I mean dawg, did you think I wouldn't?


----------



## Dawgluver (Nov 29, 2016)

erehweslefox said:


> Um, of course I have s smoke top smoker, I mean dawg, did you think I wouldn't?




Heh.  I've never been in your kitchen!  How would I know?

Smoked eel pie sounds like a possibility.


----------



## RPCookin (Nov 29, 2016)

CakePoet said:


> English Eel Pie Recipe
> 
> How ever I am  more used to  weird thing with smoked eel and  potato mash on top.



My Webroot security blocked something that the site you linked tried to send.  

It still opened the page though, and that seems like a lot of work to prepare a product that I couldn't find around here if I looked for 10 years.  I'm not going to look, so I'll never know if I'd be successful.  I guess my palate just isn't that adventurous.  I'd try it if someone put it in front of me, otherwise....

I've seen eel on "Chopped!", and most of the cooks who were faced with it struggled to figure out what to do with it.


----------



## Dawgluver (Nov 29, 2016)

Hard to clean, lots of little bones and ookies.  Not like a walleye.  Must be like filleting a snake.


----------



## Steve Kroll (Nov 29, 2016)

I'd try it.

I probably wouldn't make it, but I'd try it.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Nov 29, 2016)

What kind of eel did you obtain?  Lamprey eel, common in the great lakes, and in rivers and streams in the British Isles, is supposed to be a delicacy accross the Atlantic pond.  However, the lamprey eels found in the Great Lakes was considered as a food, by the DNR, as a way to control the population, as when left to themselves, lampreys are parasitic on many of our large fish and can decimate the species they feed upon.  They have no natural enemies in the Great lakes to control their populations.

The reason I bring this up is that you appear to be within striking distance of the great lakes, where the lamprey is a top predator.  They are chock full of dioxins, and heavy metals and are considered unsafe to eat.

Eelpout, sometimes called losh, and other names are actually a deep-water fish in the great lakes, and in Minnestoa lakes as well.  
They look like an eel, amd will wrap themselves around your arm.  But they are considered the poor man's lobster.  The flesh is mild, sweet, and flaky, yet firm.

Just be sure what you have, and where it comes from to avoid any safety issues.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## erehweslefox (Nov 29, 2016)

Lets start with eelpout, I agree it is the poor mans lobster. We don't hold truck with those lampray eels. 

I know here in Pennsylvania we are close to your fine lakes, we edge on beautiful Erie. We use a canoe, and play Lewis and Clark I have some relatives in Michigan and Wisconsin, I am gonna come camp in your back yard. I'm serious you go out it a canoe, you might just see me and my wife there... 

so the eels are frozen. I have some time. give me some Minnesota eel recipes!

I assure you, not lamprays. 

I actually found a good fishmonger here near Philladephia. The guy makes a weekly truck move to NYC , works with the asian fish market here in Philly. If I give him a heads up, he can get anything!


----------



## CWS4322 (Nov 30, 2016)

Eelpout (burbot?) is also called fresh water cod. In MN, we often catch them while ice fishing. It used to be people tossed them on the ice. Now people take them home. Hoping to catch a few this winter. Just hoping my Dad knows how to clean them...I sure don't--only know how to filet walleye when it comes to fresh-water fish. We usually only fish for walleye or lake trout.


----------



## CWS4322 (Nov 30, 2016)

The only time I had smoked eel was in Germany. I found it too oily for my liking.


----------



## CWS4322 (Nov 30, 2016)

About 1/2 hour away from where my parents live is Walker, MN.

The town of Walker, Minnesota, holds an International Eelpout Festival  every winter on Leech Lake. In Finland, its roe is sold as caviar.  There is an annual spearfishing tournament held near Dauphin, Manitoba,  Canada. One of the highlights of the tournament is the fish-fry where  the day's catch is served up deep-fried. It may be of interest to note that burbot meat when cooked tastes very similar to the American lobster (Homarus americanus). Hence, other times referred to as "poorman's lobster".


----------



## CWS4322 (Nov 30, 2016)

erehweslefox said:


> So as many of my recipes, there is a story behind this.
> 
> As you know, I spend a bit of time with my cooking researching medieval recipes. One thing that keeps coming up in English cooking is eel.
> 
> ...


Did you get eel or eelpout (burbot)? Eel and burbots are not the same fish. Burbot is related to cod and the flesh resembles cod when you cook it.  Burbot has a very firm flesh and you have to add oil when grilling it, etc. Eel is a very oily fish, IME. Burbots kinda look like big, ugly catfish, at least the ones in Northern MN do. They also have fins, whereas eels don't.


----------



## erehweslefox (Dec 1, 2016)

CWS4322 said:


> Did you get eel or eelpout (burbot)? Eel and burbots are not the same fish. Burbot is related to cod and the flesh resembles cod when you cook it.  Burbot has a very firm flesh and you have to add oil when grilling it, etc. Eel is a very oily fish, IME. Burbots kinda look like big, ugly catfish, at least the ones in Northern MN do. They also have fins, whereas eels don't.



Oh I got the genuine eel, and I am a little woried about the oilyness. any ideas of mitigating it? I'm thinking acid, maybe adding some cider to the recipe?


TBS


----------



## CakePoet (Dec 1, 2016)

Well  as far as I know eel is fatty a fish, eel is also red listed and no kosher.  Thats all I know.

People most often enjoy the fatty texture of eel, I dont.


----------



## di reston (Dec 1, 2016)

*Eel pies*

1. Conger Eel Pie

This pie has a crust of puff or flaky pastry. The Cornish (south west England) version, the pie has beaten eggs, butter and milk poured over the chopped eel and topped with browned breadcrumbs.

3lb skined and boned conger eel
1/2 oz butter
20z finely chopped onions
2 tsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
s & p
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2-3/4 pint fish stock
1/2lb flaky pastry
1 egg

Oven 450°F, 15 mins
        350°F 30 - 45 mins

Cut the eel into 1 inch pieces. Butter your pie dish and layer the eel pieces with the onions. Sprinkle each layer with parsley and mixed herbs. Add the vinegar and enough fish stock to come up to about 3/4 depth of the dish. Cover the eel with the pastry and glaze with the beaten egg. Cook as indicated above

East Ham Eel Pie London

Eels are to London what Yorkshire pudding is to York! Jellied eels are very popular still. The availability of eels, mussels and oysters was high. Jellied Eels with parsley sauce are still very popular in London's East End. The Cornish version of this pie has the addition of currants and a topping of suet pastry.

3lb skinned eels
1/2pt fish stock
s&p
Pinch of mixed herbs
a little chopped parsley
4 oz sliced onions
1tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
savoury shortcrust pastry for the topping, enough to make a generous lid

oven: 425° for 45 - 60 mins

cut the eels into small pieces. Put in a pan together with the offcuts.Add the stock, then season with the s & p. Cook gently until the pieces of eel come easily off the bones. Lift the eel pieces out of the pan then strain the stock and pour enough to just cover the eels. Cover with the pastry lid glazed with egg.

Eel-Pie Island Pie.  from Eel Pie island on the River Thames, and greatly renowned for the quality of the pies.

3lb skinned eels
2 chopped shallots
4oz butter
a palmful of chopped parsley
s & p, pinch of nutmeg
glass of dry white wine
flour for thickening
lemon juice to taste
2 - 3 hardboiled eggs
1 1/2lbs rough puff pastry
1 beaten egg for glazing

Oven temp 450 °F for the first 20 mins then lower the temperature to 350 - 375°F for35 - 45 mins

Cut the eels into pieces and leave whole or remove the bones. Cook the shallots gently in some of the butter, until transparent. Add the parsley, nutmeg, s&p, the wine. Add the eels, adding some water if necessary. As soon as the liquid starts to boil, take the eels out of the pan and put into a 1 quart pie dish, larger if necessary.
Next make a roux with the flour and butter and then add some of the stock to make the sauce in the usual way. Check for seasoning, then add the lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the eels, and cut the eggs into quarters. place these randomly in the pie dish and put the pastry lid on. Bake on a high heat for the first 15 minutes then on the lower heat for the rest of the cooking time indicated above.

From 'British Cookery', compiled by the British Tourist Authority and the British Farm Council and published by Croom Helm Ltd, London. 1976


----------



## CWS4322 (Dec 1, 2016)

CakePoet said:


> Well  as far as I know eel is fatty a fish, eel is also red listed and no kosher.  Thats all I know.
> 
> People most often enjoy the fatty texture of eel, I dont.


I am with you on that one.


----------



## erehweslefox (Dec 1, 2016)

I totally knew di reston would come through with an eel recipe. Reston, has anyone told you recently you are awesome?

I like the Cornish one. I am descended from a bunch of Cornish malcontents. My ancestors were NOT NICE. One of the things they specialized in was building big bonfires on the cliffs to lure ships into their doom to loot. 

My beloved ancestors were offered a choice, the noose, or exciting opportunities in the colonies, which is how the Stevens came to America. Unlike most in this new venue, they eschewed political power, or even any reasonable political participation. Finding Massachusetts too hospitable, they migrated naturally to upstate Vermont. 

There they fought against New York, up until the revolution started, fought the Brits for a while (Champlain raid? All those cannons? That was us), settled back in to fighting the New Yorkers. 

I bet my great grandmother had an eel pie recipe. 

Thanks di Reston! 

Best wishes,

TBS


----------



## GotGarlic (Dec 1, 2016)

I don't know if this is important to you, but Seafood Watch from the Monterey Bay Aquarium lists eel as a type of seafood to avoid. It's raised in fish farms in Asia that cause environmental problems and they may use chemicals that can harm human health. 



> About Eel
> 
> Buyer beware! Eel ("unagi" in sushi) is very popular, but also on the "Avoid" list. Look for other seafood that's rated "Best Choice."



For details, see this page: https://www.seafoodwatch.org/seafood-recommendations/groups/eel/overview


----------



## di reston (Dec 1, 2016)

I totally agree with Gotgarlic - better safe than sorry every time! I think I'd choose monkfish as a good alternative. The thing I like about these recipes is that they are modern day and yet still distinctly Medieval - mixed herbs were medicine back then. There were some recipes that also had nutmeg and cinnamon in them, which is, again a direct throwback to British medieval food, the spices being brought back to England in the first place by the Crusaders. 

Hope your recipe goes well, bon appetit!

P:S: thanks for the compliment - I always try to bear in mind that this is a sharing community where we pass on the knowledge we have. There are lots of threads I can't contribute to because they all refer to American gadgets or methods of doing things, or dishes that haven't and never will make their way across the Pond - but all that for me is a learning curve, and I read everything that's posted with great interest!

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast     Oscar Wilde


----------



## CakePoet (Dec 1, 2016)

Also eel is red listed, that means endangered fish.


----------



## dragnlaw (Dec 1, 2016)

Mom & Dad loved to fish and hunt.  I did NOT like duck or fish. blech. But when I was a little older and we lived in Hamburg, Dad took us to a restaurant down on the docks.  Up a long wooden staircase, and embedded in the walls were fish tanks.  You chose your fish from them.  

Dad had the eel, (shudder) but I was fascinated with that flat fish, white on the bottom and both eyes on the top! LOL  and when I learned that eye migrated around I was even more enthralled.  Dad and the waiter showed me how to lift the skin, eat, then lift out the bones intact, and eat the other half.  I was in heaven! So proud and sophisticated for a 13 yr old! 

It was still another 20 - 30 years before I would eat any other kind of fish!


----------



## GotGarlic (Dec 1, 2016)

CakePoet said:


> Also eel is red listed, that means endangered fish.



Yes, I meant to mention that, too, that they're endangered. Curious what you mean by "red listed." What list are you referring to?


----------



## CWS4322 (Dec 2, 2016)

dragnlaw said:


> Mom & Dad loved to fish and hunt.  I did NOT like duck or fish. blech. But when I was a little older and we lived in Hamburg, Dad took us to a restaurant down on the docks.  Up a long wooden staircase, and embedded in the walls were fish tanks.  You chose your fish from them.
> 
> Dad had the eel, (shudder) but I was fascinated with that flat fish, white on the bottom and both eyes on the top! LOL  and when I learned that eye migrated around I was even more enthralled.  Dad and the waiter showed me how to lift the skin, eat, then lift out the bones intact, and eat the other half.  I was in heaven! So proud and sophisticated for a 13 yr old!
> 
> It was still another 20 - 30 years before I would eat any other kind of fish!


I think all of us have at one time or another been fascinated by the flounder's migrating eye. I remember learning that when I read Günter Grass' novel The Flounder (Der Butt).


----------



## CakePoet (Dec 2, 2016)

Green peace has a redlist of fish that should not be for commercial use  due to being endangered.  Sweden government has it own red list which is even more species.


----------



## di reston (Dec 2, 2016)

There was a request for a recipe. I posted it. Then I suggested that monkfish would be a good substitute. Of course I'm concerned about what's safe and what isn't, which is why I suggested monkfish. Polease don't think I'm being irresponsible about a recipe. I posted eel recipes as requested. That doesn't mean that you have to use eel. People always tweek recipes, and I am perfectly aware of that. We always have to be safe with food, and be assured that I'm fully aware of that. I posted the original recipes. It doesn't mean you have to do them word for word.

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast     Oscar Wilde


----------



## Mad Cook (Dec 2, 2016)

erehweslefox said:


> So as many of my recipes, there is a story behind this.
> 
> As you know, I spend a bit of time with my cooking researching medieval recipes. One thing that keeps coming up in English cooking is eel.
> 
> ...


I'm English and I've never eaten an eel because they are not as common in fishmongers in the north-west where I live. 

There is an Eel Pie Island in the River thames at London The Tiny island on the Thames that once held The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and the UK's Largest Hippie Commune

Yes, I know you didn't need to know that but the pictures show it to be rather pretty.

Back to eels for eating. Try Jane Grigson's "Fish Book" (alternative name for the earlier version is "Fish Cookery") or "English Food". She loved eels and has recipes for them. There's a copy of the Fish Book on Amazon for one UK penny.

(You'll have noticed from my past postings that I am a Jane Grigson fan!)


----------



## di reston (Dec 2, 2016)

Absolutely true! Eel Pie island still exists to this very day, and the eel pies that they do are considered the 'nec plus ultra' - Latin for 'the very very best' of eel pies. I've never heard of any illness or worse of people eating this dish. Jane Grigson is still one of the best experts on British cookery, and her daughter Sophie has continued the tradition. Well worth following.

By the way, just as a matter of interest, Eel Pie Island is the property of the owners of the eatery where they make it.

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast     Oscar Wilde


----------



## Suthseaxa (Dec 3, 2016)

I've just checked my copy of the Forme of Cury and there is no mention of an eel pie, but there is a nice salmon pie which you could perhaps adapt.

Tart de brymlent. Take fyges & raysouns, & waisshe hem in wyne, and grinde hem smale with apples & peres clene ypiked. Take hem vp and cast hem in a pot wiþ wyne and sugur. Take calwer samoun ysode, oþer codlyng oþer haddok, & bray hem smal, & do þerto white powdours & hoole spices & salt, & seeþ it. And whanne it is sode ynowgh, take it vp and do it in a vessel, and lat it kele. Make a ciffyn an ynche depe & do þe fars þerin. Plaunt it above with prunes damysyns: take þe stones out; and wiþ dates quartered and piked clene. And couere the coffyn, and bake it wel, and serue it forth.

Admittedly though, I have never tried eel, so I am unsure if the flavours would match up!


----------



## skilletlicker (Dec 3, 2016)

Lived a long life of adventurous eating but never tasted eel.
Never even seen one on a fish hook, menu or in a grocery store . 
Feeling deprived.


----------



## buckytom (Dec 3, 2016)

I"ve only had/made Japanese style bbq'd eel over rice, aka Unaju, bit these recipes make me want to try something different.

My unaju from this past summer:


----------



## erehweslefox (Dec 13, 2016)

First off, thanks for the input. It will make the recipe come together. 

Second, thanks for ideas on eel. Suthseaxa, yeah I do for medieval recipes go to Forme of Cury, Have you read Maxime de la Falaise, Seven Centuries of English Cooking?

Third, anyway, eel as an endangered species? Have any of you ever canoed in Canada or North Eastern USA? They are all over the place. I consider them an invasive species, and I am gonna eat them, before the eat me.

They aren't to the taste of the north american food eater, but I think they can be eaten. I did have to reach out to an immigrant community to find a source. It isn't at the corner grocery store. 

I'll let you know how it works out when I do the pie. Following closely to the fishe pies from Falaise, and I think Sutheaxa would recognize them from Forme of Cury.


----------



## CraigC (Dec 13, 2016)

GotGarlic said:


> Yes, I meant to mention that, too, that they're endangered. Curious what you mean by "red listed." What list are you referring to?



She is probably referring to a CITES (Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species) listing. The snakes that I used to breed required a CITES permit to ship internationally.


----------



## erehweslefox (Dec 13, 2016)

Hey, thanks for bringing up the red list and the CITES listing. 

My current fishmonger, probably does not look at that list. He makes a run up to NYC and one down to Maryland once a week, supplies a lot of restaurant trade, and I am fairly convinced he is connected to some form of organized crime. 

However, really good fresh fish. 

I think I should be careful what I ask him for, and if the eels I have are endangered, I am going to be quite sad, but they are in my freezer, and as such, while not being repurchased, shall be eaten.

Concerned as any about our fisheries. I don't know, any ideas about using a morally questionable food source? I mean going to the grocery (best fish around here is at Wegmans) is also questionable. This guy goes directly to source, gets the best fish. I also kind of think if I wanted a dolphin steak, or a nice penguin he could just get that. 

I don't usually need rare ingredients, but I did want eel, just because it was so central to the eel pie recipe I've been looking at. Wanted to try it. 

TBS


----------



## GotGarlic (Dec 13, 2016)

erehweslefox said:


> Concerned as any about our fisheries. I don't know, any ideas about using a morally questionable food source? I mean going to the grocery (best fish around here is at Wegmans) is also questionable. This guy goes directly to source, gets the best fish. I also kind of think if I wanted a dolphin steak, or a nice penguin he could just get that.



The decision about whether to use a morally questionable source of anything obviously lies with each individual  As I mentioned before, Seafood Watch - www.seafoodwatch.org - is the source I use for information on which fish and seafood to buy and which to avoid. 

I would certainly not buy anything from someone I suspected of being involved with organized crime (!!!), but I guess that's me


----------



## dragnlaw (Dec 13, 2016)

erehweslefox said:


> ... and I am fairly convinced he is connected to some form of organized crime.
> 
> TBS



  uh oh...  be careful! that is perilously close to slander, not to mention retribution/retaliation and maybe a stinky fish in your future.  This is the internet you know...


----------



## medtran49 (Dec 13, 2016)

erehweslefox said:


> I don't usually need rare ingredients, but I did want eel, just because it was so central to the eel pie recipe I've been looking at. Wanted to try it.
> 
> TBS


 
And are we going to get pictures?  It seems you write/talk about these odd recipes, but we never see pics?


----------



## erehweslefox (Dec 14, 2016)

medtran49 said:


> And are we going to get pictures?  It seems you write/talk about these odd recipes, but we never see pics?



Well, mainly because I use morally questionable sources.

Actually my camera is a pain in the arse to upload stuff. I found out I have one on my phone, so there is that.

I promise you one thing, on Eel Pie Day, you will have a picture of said dish.


----------



## GotGarlic (Dec 14, 2016)

erehweslefox said:


> Third, anyway, eel as an endangered species? Have any of you ever canoed in Canada or North Eastern USA? They are all over the place. I consider them an invasive species, and I am gonna eat them, before the eat me.



90% of the eel sold in the United States comes from Asia, where, as I mentioned before, they are farmed in ways that are detrimental to the environment and can contain chemicals dangerous to human health. 

From what I've read, most of the eel caught off the coast of the United States is glass eel, or babies. They're then shipped live to Asia and raised there, then imported back to the US as adults. They don't reach reproductive age in the wild, which is how they have become endangered. 

Don't take my word for it, though. http://puccifoods.com/pucciseafood-...-american-eel-delicacy-many-future-uncertain/


----------

