Eel: An Appreciation

I can think of few animals besides the eel whose level of grotesquery is so nearly matched by the degree of its deliciousness. Oh, that serpentine body and ghoulish grin—and oh that tasty flesh.

I first encountered eel as I imagine a lot of Americans do—filleted and broiled, shellacked with sweet sauce, as unagi at a sushi restaurant. It’s beginner’s sushi, the cooked option when you haven’t quite yet made it to raw fish eating.

My next eel experience was, shall we say, keeping it more real. From a fishmonger’s cart called Tubby Isaac’s in London’s East End, I tried that notorious cockney delicacy, jellied eels—much to the horror of my British husband.

It came in a little styrofoam cup, hunks of eel suspended in gelatin, doused in vinegar. The creatures in this case were hacked into segments, revealing all their tubular, radial horror. And the truly disgusting secret of jellied eels is that the fish produce the jelly themselves, excreting it as a sort of mucus as they’re boiled.

But the gnarliness of the jellied eels’ appearance brought home the truth more powerfully than those denatured broiled unagi ever had: eel meat tastes good. Really good. It’s meaty rather than fishy, yet surprisingly delicate.

So I was delighted recently to find smoked eel for sale at the Grand Army Plaza greenmarket. It’s made by Blue Moon Fish, a Suffolk County fishery that has been selling its catches at the greenmarkets for 23 years. At $14.95 a pound, the smoked eel is a lot more expensive than Blue Moon’s smoked bluefish, but I couldn’t resist, and took home two blackened, coiled lengths of it.

The smoked eel makes a great breakfast treat with a side of poached eggs. I was also reminded of the wonderful smoked mackerel pate that my mother-in-law used to make for breakfast on Christmas morning. You can substitute smoked eel (or any of the fishmonger’s other meatier smoked fishes, like bluefish or monkfish) for the mackerel. For a light summer lunch, spread it on crusty bread and pair with a fresh green salad. For canapés, spread a little on slices of melba toast and top with a thin slice of radish.

Patsy Coleman’s Smoked Mackerel Pate

Ingredients

5 ounces butter

1 teaspoon horseradish sauce, or more to taste

8 ounces smoked mackerel or other flaky smoked fish

Juice of 1 lemon

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Cream the butter with the horseradish sauce until very soft, in a food processor if possible.

Skin and flake mackerel and blend into the butter mixture.

Add salt and pepper, cayenne, and lemon juice.

Chill until ready to eat.

Serve with lemon slices and warm toast.