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Eel in Beer

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1.25 kg eel
• vinegar (for the blood) (a little)
• 2 pcs onions, sliced
• 1 pcs bay leaf
• 4 pcs peppercorns
• 3 pcs allspice berries
• salt (plenty)
• sweet dark beer (as needed)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2.5 tbsp syrup
• vinegar (as needed)
• blood from the eel (a little)
• brown flour (a little)

Instructions

1. When butchering the eel, collect the blood in a cup rinsed with a little vinegar and whisk immediately to prevent coagulation.
2. Skin, gut, and wash the eel, then cut into serving pieces and place in an iron pot.
3. Add the sliced onions, bay leaf, peppercorns, allspice, and plenty of salt, then pour in enough sweet dark beer to just cover.
4. Once the fish has cooked a little, pour off enough beer to leave only the amount needed for the sauce.
5. Add butter, syrup, and the necessary vinegar, stir in the collected blood, and quickly cook the eel over a gentle flame until done, occasionally shaking the pot to prevent sticking.
6. Finally, thicken with brown flour until creamy, but not too thick.
7. Arrange the fish on a shallow platter, spoon some sauce over it, and serve the rest in a sauce boat.

Modernized from a treasured 19th-century German cookbook.