Skin and clean an eel, cut it into two-inch pieces, sprinkle with salt, and let stand for an hour. Soak in cold water for ten minutes, drain, and dry. Put into a buttered saucepan, seasoning with grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cover with sliced lemon, chopped shallot, minced parsley, and a few pepper-corns. Cover the pan and bake in the oven until the fish is brown. Take out the eel and put into a deep dish. Add to the sauce one cupful of stock, bring to the boil, and thicken with a tablespoonful each of butter and flour cooked together. Boil until thick, take from the fire, add the yolks of three eggs beaten smooth with a little stock, bring to the boil, add a little lemon-juice, strain over the fish, and serve.

BROILED EELS—I

Skin, clean and cut up a large eel. Dip into beaten egg, then into crumbs seasoned with grated lemon rind, nutmeg, minced parsley, sweet herbs, pepper, and salt. Broil skin side down on a buttered gridiron, turning when done. Serve with Anchovy or Tartar Sauce.

BROILED EELS—II

Clean and cut the eels into three-inch lengths. Let stand for half an hour in a marinade of oil and lemon-juice, seasoned with pepper and salt. Drain, broil, and garnish with fried parsley.

BROILED EELS WITH SOUR SAUCE

Clean the eels and cut into five-inch lengths. Boil for ten minutes in one cupful of vinegar and enough cold water to cover, seasoning with salt, pepper-corns, carrot, onion, and parsley. Cool in the water, dip in crumbs, then in eggs beaten with a tablespoonful of olive-oil for each egg, then in bread-crumbs. Broil as usual. Serve with a sauce made of two tablespoonfuls of chopped shallots, fried in two tablespoonfuls of butter, added to a wineglassful each of white wine and vinegar. Add two cupfuls of stock and thicken with browned flour cooked in butter. Boil for five minutes, add one tablespoonful each of chopped mushrooms, parsley, pickles, and capers, and two tablespoonfuls of butter. Garnish with lemons and parsley.

FRIED EELS—I

Prepare and cut up the fish according to directions previously given and soak for several hours in vinegar with salt, pepper, and grated lemon-peel. Drain, dip into batter, and fry in deep fat. Serve with any preferred sauce.

FRIED EELS—II

Prepare according to directions previously given and cut into two-inch pieces. Dredge with flour and sautÉ in hot lard, or dip into egg and bread-crumbs and fry in deep fat. They may also be dipped into corn-meal before frying.

FRIED EELS—III

Prepare the eels according to directions given for Stewed Eels À la Americaine, sprinkling with shallot and parsley also. Let stand for several hours, dip into egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat. Serve with any preferred sauce.

FRIED EELS—IV

Clean the eels, cut into two-inch pieces, and parboil for eight minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, dip into corn-meal, and sautÉ in salt pork fat.

EELS FRIED IN BATTER

Cut a large cleaned eel into joints, and soak for several hours in cold water, to which salt, pepper, and vinegar have been added. Drain dip in batter, and fry in hot fat. Drain on brown paper and serve with Tomato Sauce.

EELS À LA LYONNAISE

Clean two large eels, cut into four-inch lengths and remove the bones. Cook in equal parts of white wine and water to cover, adding salt, pepper, a sliced onion, a clove of garlic, and a bunch of parsley. Drain the fish and strain the liquid. Thicken with two tablespoonfuls of flour rubbed smooth with two tablespoonfuls of butter. Boil for fifteen minutes and skim. Add two tablespoonfuls of butter and the juice of a lemon. Bring to the boil, pour over the fish, and serve with a garnish of small onions fried in butter and sugar.

EELS À LA VILLEROY

Clean two large eels and cut into lengths. Cover with salted and acidulated water, add a bunch of parsley, a sliced onion, and a pinch of powdered sweet herbs. Boil slowly for ten minutes, cool, and drain. Melt one tablespoonful of butter and cook in it two tablespoonfuls of flour. Add two cupfuls of white stock and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Take from the fire and season to taste. Add the yolks of four eggs well beaten and cool. Dip the pieces of eel in this sauce, and set on ice. Roll in cracker crumbs, dip in beaten egg, then in bread-crumbs, and fry brown in deep fat.

EELS À LA TARTAR

Cut up the eel and cook in court bouillon with wine. Drain, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat. Serve with a stiff Mayonnaise mixed with chopped parsley, olives, pickles, and capers.

EELS À L'INDIENNE

Chop fine an onion, half a carrot, and a stalk of celery. Fry in butter, dredge with flour, and cook thoroughly. Add enough stock to make the required quantity of sauce, and cook until thick, stirring constantly, Season with mace, thyme, a bay-leaf, minced parsley, and curry powder. Strain through a sieve and pour over eels stewed in wine and seasoned with vegetables according to directions previously given. Serve with a border of boiled rice sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese.

EELS À LA NORMANDY

Fry in butter a pound and a half of prepared eels. Add a wineglassful of white wine or cider, a tablespoonful of mushroom catsup, and salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg to season. Simmer for ten minutes, add one cupful of white stock, half a dozen mushrooms, a dozen oysters, and half a dozen shrimps. When cooked take from the fire, add the yolks of two eggs well beaten, and serve at once.

STUFFED EELS À L'ITALIENNE

Skin the eel but keep the head on. Remove the back-bone and stuff with seasoned crumbs, mixed with minced parsley and mushrooms. Skewer in the form of a circle; put into a saucepan with two ounces of butter, a small bunch of parsley, a chopped onion, two cupfuls of white wine, and salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg to season. Bake for an hour, basting as required. Drain, take out the parsley, and add to the sauce two cupfuls of brown stock, and one cupful of chopped mushrooms. Boil for five minutes and thicken with browned flour cooked in butter. Season with minced parsley and lemon-juice, pour the sauce around the eel, and serve.

EELS À LA LONDON

Fry four chopped onions in butter, dredge with flour, and cook thoroughly. Add two cupfuls of stock, half a cupful of Port wine, two bay-leaves, and salt and pepper to season. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Add one large cleaned eel, cut into two-inch lengths, cover, and cook for fifteen minutes. Serve on toast.

EELS À LA REINE

Prepare and cut up the eels. Fry in butter with half a can of mushrooms, and dredge with flour. Add one cupful of stock and half a cupful of white wine. Bring to the boil, season with salt, pepper, and a chopped onion, and cook until the eel is tender. Skim, take from the fire, and add the juice of half a lemon, beaten smooth with the yolks of two eggs.

EELS À LA POULETTE

Stew the eels in white wine with carrot, onion, parsley, bay-leaf, thyme, pepper-corns, and salt to season. Drain and serve with Poulette Sauce.

FRICASSÉE OF EEL

Prepare the eel according to directions previously given, cook in equal parts of white wine and water, seasoning with mace, pepper, nutmeg, cloves, sweet herbs, allspice, and salt. Boil until the eels are tender, then skim out. Add a little anchovy paste to the sauce, with a tablespoonful of butter, bring to the boil, take from the fire, add the yolks of two eggs well beaten, pour over the fish, and serve.

FRICASSÉED EELS

Skin, clean, and cut up. Cover with cold water, add salt, and minced parsley to season, cover, and cook slowly for an hour. Thicken with a tablespoonful each of butter and flour blended together and made smooth with cold water. Season highly with pepper, and serve.

STEWED EELS WITH CUCUMBERS

Clean and skin two eels, cut into pieces and soak in cold water for an hour. Drain, cover with wine and water, seasoning with salt, pepper, onion, and parsley, and simmer for fifteen minutes. Take out the fish and add three sliced and parboiled cucumbers. Strain the sauce, thicken with flour cooked in butter, and boil for ten minutes. Skim, add the yolks of four eggs well beaten and take from the fire. Season with red pepper and lemon-juice, strain over the fish, and serve.

STEWED EELS—I

Put into a saucepan three fourths of a cupful of butter and fry in it four small chopped onions. Add a tablespoonful of flour, cook through, and add two cupfuls of boiling water or stock. Cook until thick, stirring constantly, then put in one large cleaned eel cut into inch pieces; cover and cook for fifteen minutes.

STEWED EELS—II

Wash and skin a pint of eels, cut them in pieces three inches long, pepper and salt them, and put them into a stewpan. Pour in one pint of good soup stock, adding one large onion, shredded, three cloves, a teaspoonful of grated lemon-peel, and a wineglassful of Port wine. Stew slowly for half an hour, and pour into a hot dish. Strain the liquor and add a wineglassful of cream thickened with flour, and boil up once. Pour over the eels and serve.

STEWED EELS—III

Clean, skin, and joint the eels. Cover with boiling water, add a tablespoonful of vinegar, and cook for ten minutes. Drain, cook together one tablespoonful of butter and two of flour. Add two cupfuls of the water in which the eels were cooked. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Season with salt, pepper, and grated onion, then add the eels and reheat. Simmer for twenty minutes, add a tablespoonful of minced parsley, and serve.

STEWED EELS—IV

Prepare according to directions given above, using veal or fish stock, instead of water, and adding a bay-leaf to the seasoning.

STEWED EELS À L'ANGLAISE

Cook prepared eels in half a bottle of Port wine, seasoned with carrot, onion, parsley, bay-leaf, thyme, salt, pepper-corns, cloves, mace, and chopped mushrooms. Cover with buttered paper, simmer for half an hour and drain. Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter and cook in it two tablespoonfuls of flour. Add a chopped shallot and enough of the eel liquor to make the required quantity of sauce. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Add half a cupful of stock, and two wineglassfuls of Port wine. Bring to the boil, strain, add a few chopped mushrooms, a tablespoonful of butter, and minced parsley, lemon-juice, and anchovy paste to season. Pour the sauce over the eels, and serve.

STEWED EELS À L'AMERICAINE

Use three pounds of cleaned and skinned eel with all the fat removed. Cut in two-inch pieces, season with pepper and salt and chopped onion, and put in a double-boiler with half a cupful of butter. Sprinkle with parsley, cover tightly, and cook for about an hour and a half. Serve in a deep dish.

STEWED EELS À LA POULETTE

Cut cleaned eels into two-inch pieces and cook until tender in stock. Thicken with butter and flour cooked together, add half a dozen chopped mushrooms, and salt, pepper, grated onion, and minced parsley to season. Boil for twenty minutes, add the juice of a lemon, and serve.

STEWED EELS À LA CANOTIERE

Fry a chopped onion in butter, add a pound of rice and cook brown. Add four cupfuls of fish stock, seasoning with red and white pepper, caver, and cook for twenty minutes. Take from the fire, add half a cupful each of butter and Tomato Sauce. Prepare the eels according to directions given for Eels À la Lyonnaise, adding a tablespoonful of anchovy essence to the sauce. Serve with a border of the rice.

STEWED EELS À LA GENEVOISE

Prepare two eels, cut into four-inch lengths. Put into a saucepan with a sliced carrot, an onion, a bunch of parsley, two cloves of garlic, and salt and pepper-corns to season. Put in enough cider to cover the fish, and simmer for fifteen minutes. Take up the fish, strain the sauce, and thicken it with two tablespoonfuls of butter. Add two tablespoonfuls of butter to the sauce, reheat, pour over the eels, and garnish with small onions fried brown in butter and sugar.

MATELOTE OF EELS—I

Prepare and cut up the fish according to directions previously given. Put into a saucepan with one cupful each of stock and Claret, a bruised clove of garlic, a whole pepper, a sliced onion, a bay-leaf, and a pinch each of thyme, cloves, parsley, and salt. Take out the fish, strain the sauce, add to it a tablespoonful each of butter and flour cooked together, and pour over the fish.

MATELOTE OF EELS—II

Cut a pound and a half of prepared eels into two-inch pieces and fry for two minutes in butter. Add a wineglassful of Claret, and three tablespoonfuls each of stock and mushroom liquor. Season with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg, and a pinch of powdered sweet herbs. Add six small onions and six button mushrooms. Cook for half an hour and thicken with a tablespoonful each of butter and flour cooked together.

MATELOTE OF EELS—III

Prepare two eels and cut them into two-inch lengths. Cover with cold salted water and bring to the boil. Add an onion, a dozen cloves, and two tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Boil for fifteen minutes, drain, dry, roll in flour and fry brown in butter. Add two cupfuls of boiling water, and salt, pepper, and fine herbs to season. Add a cupful of button onions peeled and fried brown in butter and sugar. Cover and simmer for one hour. If the sauce should evaporate, add more boiling water. When done, add half a cupful of wine and serve.

MATELOTE OF EELS À LA PARISIENNE

Clean and cut the eels into four-inch pieces. Cover with white wine and season with sliced carrot and chopped mushrooms. Add also the liquor from three dozen parboiled oysters. Simmer until the eels are done and drain. Add to the liquor half a cupful of white stock, and thicken with flour cooked in butter. Add two wineglassfuls of white wine and boil until thick, stirring constantly. Take from the fire, and add the yolks of four eggs beaten smooth with the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoonful of butter, and a grating of nutmeg. Add the parboiled oysters, and a handful of button mushrooms. Reheat, pour over the fish, and serve.

MATELOTE OF EELS À LA GENOISE

Prepare the eels and cut into four-inch lengths. Cover with Claret or Burgundy and add sliced carrot, onion, minced parsley, chopped mushrooms, thyme, a bay-leaf, mace, cloves, and pepper-corns to season. Simmer until done and drain. Add to the liquor half a cupful of beef stock and thicken it with browned flour. Strain through a fine sieve, add a tablespoonful of butter, a little anchovy paste, a teaspoonful of minced parsley, a grating of nutmeg; and a little lemon-juice. Bring to the boil, pour over the fish, and serve.

MATELOTE OF EELS À LA BORDELAISE

Cut the eels into three-inch lengths, and cover with a bottle of Claret. Season with carrot, onion, parsley, chopped mushrooms, thyme, bay-leaf, mace, cloves, and peppercorns. Simmer for half an hour and drain. Thicken the liquor with browned flour rubbed smooth with butter, add two wineglassfuls of Claret, and bring to the boil. Skim, add a teaspoonful of capers, a pounded clove of garlic, a little butter, grated nutmeg, and anchovy paste to season. Reheat, pour over the fish, and serve.

BOILED EELS

Cut into short pieces a pound and a half of eels which have been skinned and cleaned. Put into a saucepan, cover with cold water, add a tablespoonful of salt, six whole peppers, one red onion, and a cupful of vinegar. Simmer for half an hour; drain and serve on a platter with melted butter, lemon-juice, and minced parsley.

PICKLED EELS

Clean and cut three pounds of eels into six-inch lengths. Cover with salt, let stand for three hours, then rinse thoroughly. Boil together for fifteen minutes one cupful of vinegar, one cupful of water, a sliced onion, two bay-leaves, three allspice, and a slice of lemon. Put in half of the eels and simmer until tender, take out, and cook the remaining half. Let the vinegar cool before pouring over the eels.

GREEN EELS

Boil together an onion, a bunch of parsley, a pinch of celery seed, and a teaspoonful of mixed spices in a little water. Add two cleaned and cut eels with water to cover and simmer until done. Strain the sauce, thicken with butter and flour cooked together, and pour over the eels. Serve with boiled potatoes and cucumber salad.

BAKED EELS

Skin and parboil, cut into two-inch pieces, and put into a baking-pan. Dredge with flour, season with salt and pepper and add half a cupful of water. Bake for twenty minutes and take out. Thicken the gravy with a tablespoonful of flour rubbed smooth with a little of the liquid. Add a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, and enough boiling water to make the sauce of the proper consistency. Bring to the boil and pour around the eels.

BAKED EELS WITH TARTAR SAUCE

Clean and skin two large eels. Wrap in a wet cloth and simmer for fifteen minutes in court bouillon. Cook in the liquor. Take out, wipe dry, and cover with seasoned crumbs. Spread with two eggs beaten with one tablespoonful of olive-oil and sprinkle with crumbs. Put into a baking-pan with two tablespoonfuls of butter, and bake for half an hour, basting twice. Serve with Tartar Sauce.

ENGLISH EEL PIE

Skin, clean, and cut up two large eels. Cook with one tablespoonful of butter, half a cupful of chopped mushrooms, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a minced onion, a bay-leaf, salt, pepper, the rind of a lemon, a wineglassful of Sherry and a cupful of beef stock. Cook until the eels are tender, strain the sauce, and thicken with butter and flour. Line a baking-dish with pastry, put the eels in it, and pour the sauce over, with sliced hard-boiled eggs on top. Cover with pastry, brush with yolk of egg, and bake for an hour in a moderate oven. Serve either hot or cold.

COLLARED EELS

Clean, split, and bone one large eel, and season with salt and pepper. Chop together three hard-boiled eggs, a beet, a tablespoonful of capers, two pickles, one onion, and three anchovies. Add salt and pepper, cover the eel with the mixture, tie in a cloth, and cook with a bay-leaf for half an hour in equal parts of vinegar and water. Drain, untie, and put into a mould with aspic jelly, or with beef stock to which sufficient dissolved gelatine has been added. Serve cold with Mayonnaise.

EELS EN BROCHETTE

Boil the eel in a court bouillon and cut into two-inch pieces. Dip into egg and crumbs and string on steel skewers, alternating with squares of bacon. Bake in the oven and serve on toast.

CREAMED EELS

Clean and cut up the eels, and stew according to directions previously given. Pour over a Cream Sauce, seasoned with salt, paprika, onion juice, and minced parsley.