Skip to main content
Main

Fried Eels

Fried eels are seasoned, coated in egg and cracker crumbs, then deep‑fried until golden.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Olive and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,297 recipes. Both carry isoamyl acetate, which smells banana, fruity. The science ↓

Fried Eels

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Prepare the eels as for stewing.

  2. Soak the eels in olive oil and vinegar for 30 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper.

Coat and fry

  1. Roll the eels in beaten egg, then coat with cracker crumbs.

  2. Fry the eels in deep cottolene until golden brown.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,297 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).

  2. Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together30,263 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Olive + eggtop 31% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,340 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Vinegar + eggtop 33% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together12,922 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Vinegar and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,922 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eels
The main protein, which is cooked through and becomes tender after soaking and frying.
Egg
Beaten egg acts as a binder so the cracker crumbs adhere to the eels.
Cracker crumbs
Form a crisp coating that browns during frying.
Olive oil
Adds moisture and richness to the eels during the soak.
Vinegar
Its acidity during the soak adds a tangy flavour to the eels.

The step that matters

Frying in deep oil until golden brown. Oil that is too cool lets the coating absorb grease and turn soggy before it sets, while oil that is too hot browns the crumbs before the eels are cooked through. Holding the oil at a steady frying temperature gives an even golden crust.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Tomato SoupTomato Soup526 recipesBrown BreadBrown Bread461 recipesMutton BrothMutton Broth292 recipesYorkshire PuddingYorkshire Pudding264 recipes