Eel in jelly for a lunch

Shopping List for 4 adults

1 nice, large silver eel of 800 grams live weight Cooking stock: 1 l water 1 dl wine vinegar 2 dl dry white wine 1 large carrot 1 parsley root 1 leek 4 cm fresh ginger 1 onion 2 cloves of garlic 8 bay leaves 1 stalk thyme 1 red chili pepper 14 whole peppercorns 10 all spice 1 stalk of lovage or Maggiurt 1 tbsp. salt (20 g) 12 leaves gelatin Decoration 1 bunch of dill 1 sliced organic lemon

I am an angler in Scandinavia Home Recipe No. 140 A lunch plate with 1 pc. eel in jelly on two halves of rye bread

Procedure without liability: Start by preparing the eel for cooking. Cut the abdomen from the gat to the head and take out the guts, clean with a stiff brush down through the backbone for kidney blood. Lay the eel on its back and cut off the head - not completely, it should hang on to the eel skin on the neck. You grab the head and pull it backwards down towards the tail to pull off the skin. Help with a thumb to loosen the skin the first part around the head. If you can't do it yourself, ask your fisherman to do it. After this, the eel must be polished for the stiff fins on the back and belly with scissors, also check if there is more blood in the belly. The eel is cut into suitable lengths - from 6 cm to 8 cm will be optimal for an 800 gram eel. Cooking stock: Prepare the cooking stock - boil water, wine and vinegar with the cleaned vegetables, spices and salt. The large vegetables are cut into slices. Let it simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on. The cleaned eel pieces are then placed in the pot and simmered for 10 to 15 minutes at low heat (95 °C) with the lid on. The time depends on the thickness of the eel, the eel I used weighed 490 grams in cleaned weight and took 20 minutes. Let the eel pieces rest for a few minutes in the cooking stock. The eel pieces are removed from the cooking stock and left to drain and cool. The cooking stock is first strained through a strainer for the large pieces of vegetables and then through a boiled cloth for the "floating particles". I have previously used the same strainer lined with 3 pieces of coffee filter and got a good result. If you are a geek, make the soup with 2 egg whites and the crushed eggshells. Clarification of soup with egg whites: Measure out your cooking stock, it must be 1 litre, if necessary top up with water and white wine. Beat two egg whites - absolutely no yolk - crush the 2 egg shells and add them to the egg whites, which are whipped together easily without the mass becoming white and stiff. Add the egg mixture to the cooking stock and whisk thoroughly while it slowly boils. When the egg mass rises to the surface, remove the pan from the heat, where it stands for fifteen minutes. Pour the cooking stock through a boiled cloth, as described above. The cooking stock (soup) can be frozen and used later. Note: use a 3 liter pot, otherwise it will boil over. You can skip preparing the cooking stock with egg whites and egg shells, but perhaps the jelly will not be transparent. Eel and jelly are prepared: When the eel pieces are finger warm, split them lengthwise with a very sharp knife and carefully remove the bone. Now is the time to see if the eel is cooked to perfection. If the leg comes off without any problems, the eel is cooked perfectly. 12 leaves gelatin soak in cold water for 10 minutes. Read on the package how many you need per liter of cooking stock. 12 pcs. per liter of soup makes a perfect jelly in my opinion. Place the split eel pieces in a nice dish with high sides, so that there is room for 1 liter of cooking stock. The perfectly clarified cooking stock is brought to a boil and the pan is removed from the heat. Add the soaked gelatin one at a time while stirring vigorously to avoid lumps. Add a little garnish, 4 nice bay leaves, 2 lemon slices and 4 to 6 stalks of dill to the warm jelly. The jelly is now poured over the eel pieces and the garnish is distributed neatly in the dish. Place the dish in the cold until the jelly has set. Preferably in the fridge overnight. When the jelly has set, it can be filmed. Cover with film. Serving: Serve with a good piece of rye bread and cold butter. Garnish: Fresh dill and lemon slices when serving. Drinking: A cold lager is suitable for the dish, naturally followed by a Linie Akvavit. Did I forget to say per eel. Tip: If you are making this dish for the wife and yourself, arrange it on two plates, which are then decorated. The rest of the eel in jelly is immediately put back in the fridge, and it can keep there for 3 to 4 days at a temperature below 5 °C.