Period Eel Pie

[KianGaf]

EEL PIE. 253. INGREDIENTS.—1 lb. of eels, a little chopped parsley, 1 shalot; grated nutmeg; pepper and salt to taste; the juice of 1/2 a lemon, small quantity of forcemeat, 1/4 pint of béchamel (see Sauces); puff paste. Mode.—Skin and wash the eels, cut them into pieces 2 inches long, and line the bottom of the pie-dish with forcemeat. Put in the eels, and sprinkle them with the parsley, shalots, nutmeg, seasoning, and lemon-juice, and cover with puff-paste. Bake for 1 hour, or rather more; make the béchamel hot, and pour it into the pie.

Time.—Rather more than 1 hour.

Seasonable from August to March.

Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management

It appears that Eels were a firm favourite in both Victorian era Britain and America. The Smithsonian magazine included Eels in a article called The Foods Americas Once Loved To Eat.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts...e the most,commodity, lobsters served as bait.

In Britain the tradition still lives on in London in the form of their famous Pie and Mash shops. The Eel pie has been replaced with a ground beef pastry pie that comes with mashed potato and a green sauce called Liquor. Id love to try it one day as the famous shops are dying out due to rising costs and demographic changes in London. As a side dish you can have jellied or stewed eels and then you pour on chilli vinegar.

London's original fast food

Despite London being a global food capital, many will be surprised to learn that eels have been a locally sourced component of its table for hundreds of years.

www.bbc.com

Chilli Vinegar

I first made this to accompany my Pie Mash, but love it so much I now have it on my fish & chips too. Ingredients White vinegar Malt vinegar 3 or 4 Fresh Baby Chilli (Hot) (Woolworths) 20 mixed…

cockneycobber.wordpress.com

 

[donna]

Thanks for adding. Didn't know eel was so popular.

 

[KianGaf]

Thanks for adding. Didn't know eel was so popular.

I tried it recently in a Japanese restaurant in the city. Its still popular over there , the type I tried was called Unagi and was surprisingly good. Id be a bit more reluctant to try the jellied British variety but it would probably be worth a go before the tradition dies out entirely.