North German Smoked Eel
North German smoked eel is a delicacy with a long tradition, especially in the coastal regions of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg. The fatty eel is first brined in a salt-sugar mixture and then smoked at high temperatures, which melts the fat and creates an incomparably spicy aroma. The result is a golden-brown, intensely aromatic fish.
Ingredients(for 1 kg)
Instructions
Preparation
30 min.Slaughter the eel, gut it, and remove the slime layer by rubbing with coarse salt. Rinse thoroughly with cold water. Prepare the brine from water, salt, sugar, and spices, and submerge the eel completely.
Brining
6-8 hoursBrine the eel covered in the refrigerator. Then remove, rinse with cold water, and hang on smoking hooks. Allow to dry for 2 hours in an airy, cool place until the skin is slightly shiny.
Initial Smoking
30 min.Preheat the smoker to 60 °C and allow the eel to warm up for 30 minutes without smoke. Then increase temperature to 90–110 °C and add beech and oak wood chips.
Hot Smoking
1.5-2 hoursSmoke the eel at 90–110 °C until a core temperature of at least 68–72 °C is reached. The skin should be deep golden-brown and slightly crispy. Remove the eel from the smoker and let cool completely.
Pro Tip
Eel must always be processed fresh. The high core temperature of at least 68 °C must be maintained for food safety reasons, as eels contain a toxic protein in their blood that is only denatured by heat.
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