Clean and cut three pounds of eels into six-inch lengths. Cover with salt, let stand for three hours, then rinse thoroughly. Boil together for fifteen minutes one cupful of vinegar, one cupful of water, a sliced onion, two bay-leaves, three allspice, and a slice of lemon. Put in half of the eels and simmer until tender, take out, and cook the remaining half. Let the vinegar cool before pouring over the eels.
GREEN EELS
Boil together an onion, a bunch of parsley, a pinch of celery seed, and a teaspoonful of mixed spices in a little water. Add two cleaned and cut eels with water to cover and simmer until done. Strain the sauce, thicken with butter and flour cooked together, and pour over the eels. Serve with boiled potatoes and cucumber salad.
BAKED EELS
Skin and parboil, cut into two-inch pieces, and put into a baking-pan. Dredge with flour, season with salt and pepper and add half a cupful of water. Bake for twenty minutes and take out. Thicken the gravy with a tablespoonful of flour rubbed smooth with a little of the liquid. Add a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, and enough boiling water to make the sauce of the proper consistency. Bring to the boil and pour around the eels.
BAKED EELS WITH TARTAR SAUCE
Clean and skin two large eels. Wrap in a wet cloth and simmer for fifteen minutes in court bouillon. Cook in the liquor. Take out, wipe dry, and cover with seasoned crumbs. Spread with two eggs beaten with one tablespoonful of olive-oil and sprinkle with crumbs. Put into a baking-pan with two tablespoonfuls of butter, and bake for half an hour, basting twice. Serve with Tartar Sauce.
ENGLISH EEL PIE
Skin, clean, and cut up two large eels. Cook with one tablespoonful of butter, half a cupful of chopped mushrooms, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a minced onion, a bay-leaf, salt, pepper, the rind of a lemon, a wineglassful of Sherry and a cupful of beef stock. Cook until the eels are tender, strain the sauce, and thicken with butter and flour. Line a baking-dish with pastry, put the eels in it, and pour the sauce over, with sliced hard-boiled eggs on top. Cover with pastry, brush with yolk of egg, and bake for an hour in a moderate oven. Serve either hot or cold.