BOILED EELS.
249. INGREDIENTS.—4 small eels, sufficient water to cover them; a large bunch of parsley.
Mode.—Choose small eels for boiling; put them in a stewpan with the parsley, and just sufficient water to cover them; simmer till tender. Take them out, pour a little parsley and butter over them, and serve some in a tureen.
Time.—1/2 hour. Average cost, 6d. per lb.
Seasonable from June to March.
Sufficient for 4 persons.
[Illustration: THE EEL.]
THE EEL TRIBE.—The Apodal, or bony-gilled and ventral-finned fish, of which the eel forms the first Linnaean tribe, in their general aspect and manners, approach, in some instances, very nearly to serpents. They have a smooth head and slippery skin, are in general naked, or covered with such small, soft, and distant scales, as are scarcely visible. Their bodies are long and slender, and they are supposed to subsist entirely on animal substances. There are about nine species of them, mostly found in the seas. One of them frequents our fresh waters, and three of the others occasionally pay a visit to our shores.
STEWED EELS.