click for larger image
Some folks don’t like fish. That’s just silly. Perhaps they
don’t like the bones or the scales.
In which case, they should eat eels instead.
It’s really easy to cook an eel. First, you must live near a
fishmonger who can procure you a fresh one, because they are oily and spoil
quickly. By “fresh,” I mean “live.” You’re going to have to kill it before you
eat it, because it will thrash about quite a bit if you try to eat it
otherwise.
Grab the eel’s head with a cloth and hold it tightly. With
your other hand, plunge a sharp knife into its brains. Don’t worry if the eel
continues to twitch for several minutes after this — that’s normal. Anyone
would twitch after someone has jammed a blade into their head. You can’t blame
it. Just make sure that before you plan to kill the eel, you don’t have
something on the stove or anything you need your hands for.
Once you’re sure the eel is dead, you’ll need to pull the
knife out and cut all around its head. Then take some pliers and pull back a
flap of the tough skin. Once there’s enough to grab, hold the eel’s head in
your cloth and peel the skin off its body like a stocking. It’ll be mighty
slippery. After this, decapitate the head. Ta-da! Your eel is now ready for
clopping up and making a delicious dinner with.
For example, you could serve this yummy-looking egg and eel
stew, which is served cold.
Fish, TIME LIFE
Books, 1979
