[petertard]

Anyone ever eaten an eel ? What was it like ?

[Teddybleads]

Lovely. Not the jellied variety but I've had it a lot as sashimi, cold ina salad and warm with bacon and sauté potato. It's a good meaty fish.hard to describes close match..

Smoked eel is also very good.

[Glawster2002]

Elvers are a traditional Gloucestershire dish, but they are so expensive now that they are rarely eaten.

[Teddybleads]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glawster2002

Elvers are a traditional Gloucestershire dish, but they are so expensive now that they are rarely eaten.

I thought elver fishing was illegal now. Perhaps I'm wrong. It's not very P.C. to eat them anymore either way because of the very fast decline in in eel numbers.

[cosmic buttplug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teddybleads

I thought elver fishing was illegal now. Perhaps I'm wrong. It's not very P.C. to eat them anymore either way because of the very fast decline in in eel numbers.

Quite right, too. The European eel is thought to have declined by around 90% or so in the last 40 years. Unable to confirm whether is anything to do with the recent closure of this well-known East End establishment.

[Pumping Iron]

Had them in a Japanese restaurant, wasn't a big fan.

[Shrike]

I've had jellied eels - not impressed really. Very sharp bones and the flesh was pretty insipid. Also had eels cooked in a spinach sauce - again not impressed. I think that's me and eels done now.

[cnbcwatcher]

The thread title made me think of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AckvdGbk4w

[MJsDirtyDiana]

I’ve never eaten an eel and can’t say that I ever wish to! On a horrid BBC show that I regret watching a woman ‘bravely’ caught an eel from the Thames and cut the poor creature in half whilst it was alive!

[Glawster2002]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teddybleads

I thought elver fishing was illegal now. Perhaps I'm wrong. It's not very P.C. to eat them anymore either way because of the very fast decline in in eel numbers.

You can still fish for elvers but it is strictly controlled and licensed. There are very heavy fines now for elver fishing without a license.

Eel numbers have been decimated in the last 20 years, when I was a boy I used to fish in the Gloucester canal and back then you caught more eels than anything else, now it is a rarity to catch an eel.

[Glawster2002]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJsDirtyDiana

I’ve never eaten an eel and can’t say that I ever wish to! On a horrid BBC show that I regret watching a woman ‘bravely’ caught an eel from the Thames and cut the poor creature in half whilst it was alive!

The most humane way to kill an eel is to cut it's tail off, breaking its back. Death is instantaneous.

[Shrike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glawster2002

You can still fish for elvers but it is strictly controlled and licensed. There are very heavy fines now for elver fishing without a license.

Eel numbers have been decimated in the last 20 years, when I was a boy I used to fish in the Gloucester canal and back then you caught more eels than anything else, now it is a rarity to catch an eel.

I recall as a child in the '70s staying at Charmouth, Dorset - the river there was full of elvers for a few days one week, then they had all passed through. Us kids had great fun catching them with our little nets, though we put them back as it never occured to us or our parents to eat them. Odd to think they've become so rare.

[stripedcat]

I tried them in both a Pie and Mash shop, and a seafood stall. The jellied variety that is. They are quite nice and do refresh your mouth. Have them with the chilli vinegar and white pepper. I think some people don't like the texture of the jelly though - much like some people don't like jelly on canned ham.

I think they are probably quite nice smoked as well. Probably good if they are battered and deep fat fried. That would probably be like Rock or Huss(aka Dogfish).

[RegTheHedge]

As others have mentioned they re big in Japan

Personally I quite like them in japan or the East End

[Pixie Queen]

I've had smoked eel and it was really nice but the thought of jellied eels make me want to puke - I think it may be a perceived texture issue.

I caught the end of a programme on TV a while back and they said the decline in eels could be partially down to flood systems and other type of water related defences. I wish I could recall the terms they used but basically it was man made barriers put in place for one reason or another and the wee eels couldn't make it past them to their river, canal, stream or pond.

That was the gist I got watching the last 10 or so minutes.

[barbeler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glawster2002

The most humane way to kill an eel is to cut it's tail off, breaking its back. Death is instantaneous.

Doesn't sound right to me – chopping the head off is a much better idea, although the body will continue to contract for a long time after it is dead, even if in pieces.
The traditional way to skin an ell is to nail its head to a shed door, then cut round behind its head and peel the skin off in one piece with a pair of pliers. That would be rather difficult if you'd cut its head off.

[indianwells]

Smoked eel is very nice. Jellied eel is something I really don't fancy.

[breppo]

I love smoked eel.
Decline in eel numbers has been contributed to a combination of pollution, especially dioxins, man-made barriers that prevent proper migration, but mostly overfishing, especially of the glass (very young) eels that were caught in huge numbers by Southern-European fisherman to be sold to Asia where they are a delicatessen.
Luckily EU legislation forbids catching of glass eels since 2012. Hopefully that helps to restore the population somewhat and I don't have to pay € 36,00 for a kilo of smoked eel (which was a bargain) any longer.