FILLETING HOME-SMOKED EEL
Danish version
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Procedure without liability for filleting home-smoked eel:
This is how the eels are prepared before they are ready to eat. The freshly caught white eels from the sea are slaughtered and slimed. Intestines and the blood cord in the hind body are taken out. The blood in the gills is removed as best as possible. Rinse the eels thoroughly in cold water afterwards. Freeze to minus 22 °C for 1 day or minus 18 ° C for 2 days to remove parasites (marine roundworms, icterus and tapeworms), if there are any. Then thaw in cold 100% saturated salt water at max 5 °C. It also takes 1 to 2 days. Saturated salt water is 357 g of salt per 1 liter of water at 25 °C.
After the eels are salted, they must be rinsed in cold water so that the skin does not turn white after they are smoked. However, it has no effect on the taste, only on the appearance. The eels are now hung in the 100 °C hot smoking oven, which has not yet started with smoke development. The belly begins to open when the eel "Cooks", or rather "Tenders". Depending on the size and number of eels and the smoker used (heat in the oven), it can take from 20 to 40 minutes. The heat is dampened by "suffocating" the flames with sawdust. The smoke development will thus become strong, and it must now be maintained for the next 3 to 4 hours at a temperature of 70 °C. When the meat in the eel has reached a core temperature of 67 °C, the eel is fully tenderized and smoked. Time and temperature mentioned here are for live eel between 800g and 1000g and in my smoker. I measure the largest eel with a meat thermometer, which I insert into the mouth and down the backbone. Works every time. Here I show how to peel your smoked eel so that it looks good on a piece of food. First cut off the head and remember the knife must be very sharp. You must cut and not press the eel over. 
A large eel of 63 cm and 500 g after smoke The large eel that was filleted was 63 cm and weighed 500 g after smoking. There were 4 good pieces of eel and the cat's tail. This way you always get nice pieces of eel, but remember to use a very sharp knife and the eel is best cut at refrigerator temperature. 
The eels have now lost their heads Then measure the eel and cut off as many pieces of 6 cm to 8 cm in length. The last bite of the tail is given to the cat, because there is eel grease in here. A trick to avoid eel grease is to cut approx. 2 cm from the tip of the tail before the eel is smoked. 
There were 4 good pieces and the tail piece for the cat Place a piece of eel on the cutting board and insert the knife into the upper side of the backbone, as shown in the picture above and cut down to the end of the piece of eel. The upper half is now freed from the backbone and all that remains is to cut off the skin. 
The eel pieces must now be freed from the backbone The lower half must now be freed from the backbone, insert the knife into the underside of the backbone, as shown in the picture above and cut down to the end of the eel piece. Now the backbone has been removed from the eel and all that remains is to cut off the skin. 
The eel pieces must now be freed from the skin Place the half piece of eel with the skin side down and insert the sharp knife between the skin and the eel meat, follow the skin and cut the meat free. If necessary, trim the pieces of eel for skin and legs that "bring". Now the beautiful pieces of eel are ready for a piece of smoked eel. The eel food is decorated with scrambled eggs and chives, seasoned with white pepper. Remember to taste the eel before salting, if necessary. 
The eel above is packed in tube foil and weighed 1.2 kg before smoking and is 95 cm long. If the eel is not to be eaten straight away, it should be frozen whole in a vacuum bag and the bag should only be "slightly" vacuumed so that it does not crush the eel. I have heard from an "old" cook that you should not do this with eel, because then the meat on the outside of the eel can take on a black color. It's a cosmetic thing that shouldn't affect the taste. I will of course try this myself before I start with this vacuum seal. So far, I have never had my smoked eels discolored. 
PE-LD - Approved polyethylene tube film for food This is a trademark for plastic recycling and the number indicates whether the plastic is suitable for food. The purchased plastic has the above-mentioned trademark, which is suitable for food. PE-LD stands for polyethylene low density. When the eel is smoked and you see a dark stripe on the eel, this is due to condensation that has dripped onto the eel during smoking. It happens if there is low pressure and the weather is humid when smoking. It has no effect on the taste, and the skin must be cut off. If you want to freeze the eel and you only have a cupboard freezer, you must cut the eel in half - leave the head on - vacuum seal the 2 eel halves. It is about getting as few cutting surfaces (openings) on the eel as possible. If you have a chest freezer, you simply vacuum the whole eel and put it in the freezer, then the eel does not emit/receive any flavors to/from the surroundings. But don't leave the eels for too long, they will lose some of their flavor. I have tasted eels after 8 weeks and they were still good. The shelf life of a smoked eel is max. 6 months in the freezer at minus 18 °C and 1 week in the refrigerator at 5 °C. My eels have NO preservatives added except for salt and what comes from the smoke. Read here about preserving food. I use vacuum bags for packaging the smoked eels and a suitable welding device, Andersson VMS 2.0, which can be seen here. Bon appetite Jorgen Walter Back to the page where you came from. |