Eels Stewed Wiggys Way

Take two pounds of fine silver* eels; the best size are those that are not much less than a three-shilling piece in circumference, quite fresh, full of life, and as brisk as an eel; such as have been kept out of water till they can scarce stir, are good for nothing. Gut them and rub them with salt till the slime is cleaned from them, wash them in three different waters, and divide them into pieces about four inches long: you may season them with salt, and beaten mace or nutmeg, and then egg and bread crumb them; dredge them with a little flour, and fry them in drippings till they are brown; lay them to dry on a hair sieve.

* The yellow eels are apt to taste muddy; the whiteness of the belly of the fish, is not the only mark to know the best; the right colour of the back is a coppery hue, very bright; the olive coloured are inferior; and those tending to a green are worse.

Have ready a quart of good beef gravy; it must be quite cold when you put the eels into it, or the skin of the eels will crack, and the beauty of this dish consists in sending them up whole: set them on a slow fire till they boil, then put them by the side of the fire to simmer very gently for a quarter of an hour, take them out of the stewpan with a fish slice, be careful not to bruise their skins, lay them on a dish about two inches deep, mix two teaspoonsful of flour with two tablespoonsful of port wine, stir it into the sauce by degrees, and strain it over the fish through a tammis sieve.

Obs - To kill eels instantly, without the horrid torture of cutting and skinning them alive, pierce the spinal marrow close to the back part of the skull with a sharp pointed skewer: if this be done in the right place, all motion will instantly cease.

How To Fry Eels

Skin and gut them, and wash them well in cold water, cut them in pieces four inches long, season them with pepper and salt, beat an egg well on a plate, dip them in the egg, and then in fine bread crumbs; fry them in fresh clean lard, drain them well from the fat, garnish with crisp parsley; for sauce, plain melted butter, with the juice of half a lemon in it.

Spitchcocked Eels

This the French cooks call the English way of dressing eels, and though not of their own inven-tion, they frequently send it up to the best tables.

Take two middling-sized fine silver eels, leave the skin on, cut off the Leads, slit them on the belly side, and take out the bone and guts, and •wash and wipe them nicely, and then cut them into pieces about three inches long, wipe them quite dry, put two ounces of butter into a stewpan with a little minced parsley, thyme, sage, pepper, and salt, and a very little chopped shallot; set the stewpan over the fire; when the butter is melted, stir the ingredients together, and take it off the fire, mix the yolks of two eggs with them, and dip the eel in, a piece at a time, and then roll them in bread crumbs, making as much stick to them as you can; then rub a gridiron with a bit of suet, set it high over a very clear fire, and broil your eels of a fine crisp brown: dish them with crisp parsley, and send up plain butter in a boat, and anchovy and butter.

Observations

We like them better with the skin off; it is very apt to offend delicate stomachs.