Thread: Smoking eel

Whats the process before smoking a eel.
before prep
Catch it,kill it, couple cuts in its tail to bleed it,
hang it for how long??and best way to de slim it

Boy wants to try a eel out of the river

We used to skin quite a few of the eels we got.
To deslime, the easiest way was eel in an open-weave sack (old style potato, sugar or onion sack), chuck in a handful of laundry powder.

Originally Posted by Cigar

We used to skin quite a few of the eels we got.
To deslime, the easiest way was eel in an open-weave sack (old style potato, sugar or onion sack), chuck in a handful of laundry powder.

I think you mean soda crystals as used in olden days laundry to soften the water

Boiling water and a old sack or news paper

Originally Posted by m101a1

I think you mean soda crystals as used in olden days laundry to soften the water

Nope, I mean laundry detergent like Persil.

Originally Posted by Cigar

Nope, I mean laundry detergent like Persil.

we used to use soda crystals just a small handful in a sack of eels live and leave 1/2 hour then hose slime off then kill split /gut and hang salted to dry over night before smoking . never heard of detergent might taint them and abit bubbly .

Open them up full length by cutting along either side of the spine, rub salt in to the flesh, hang to dry for 12 hours, and smoke using dead pohutukawa leaves (best smoking medium)...failing that, use smouldering dead pohutukawa wood. This is the old Maori method (apart from the use of salt)- I use salt when smoking fresh water fish only, NEVER on sea fish)- delicious!

Originally Posted by m101a1

we used to use soda crystals just a small handful in a sack of eels live and leave 1/2 hour then hose slime off then kill split /gut and hang salted to dry over night before smoking . never heard of detergent might taint them and abit bubbly .

Would the soda crystals be painful for the eels ? I suspect it would.
Personally I have used boiling water over dead eels like Gapped axe above.

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

Would the soda crystals be painful for the eels ? I suspect it would.
Personally I have used boiling water over dead eels like Gapped axe above.

Ya probly right but the last time I did it was over 30yrs ago with a maori mate who showed me the trick . Now I have a soft spot for eels and prefer to just feed them .

It's a bit freaky when you put headless gutted eels in a bucket of water and they start swimming around and jump out of the bucket!