Smoked eel
Smoked eel (especially in northern Germany also spick eel ) is one way of preparing eel .
With a fat content of 28%, the fish , which is ideal for smoking, is hot-smoked whole , with the head remaining on the body.
Smoked eel as a regional specialty
In northern Germany , smoked eel is a centuries-old specialty. The “Smoortaal” from the Zwischenahner Meer in Ammerland (part of the Oldenburger Geest in northwestern Lower Saxony ) has allegedly been a regional specialty for at least 900 years. Around 1108, Count Egilmar I is said to have regularly sent 90 bundles of eels to an abbot in Iburg Abbey . Presumably, the eels were preserved due to the comparatively long distance traveled by smoke and thus laid the foundation for today's smoked eel.
The "Steinhuder Rauchaal" from the Steinhuder Meer is known . In the Netherlands , smoked eel is a traditional specialty. The city of Harderwijk on the IJsselmeer is sometimes called the “eel capital”.
Problems
The eel population in German waters has been falling continuously for years. Numerous eel smokers on the Steinhuder Meer therefore process imported eel from Norway , Sweden and other countries. The population of the Steinhuder Meer, which is still fished, is also being maintained by using glass eels every year , as the passage of the Meerbach , the only outflow of the Steinhuder Meer, has become more difficult for the young eels that only hatch in the Sargasso Sea due to environmental changes, so only A few young eels still reach the water in order to ensure the natural conservation of the population.
In Harderwijk, the Netherlands, the number of eel fishermen has fallen from 172 to three for similar reasons. While 5000 tons of eel were caught in Harderwijk in 1980, today it is 250 tons. There is also the problem that it has not yet been possible to successfully breed eels.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Smoked eel on Lebensmittellexikon.de , August 1, 2012.
- ↑ a b Fisch-raeuchern.de: Der Aal ( Memento of the original from July 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , August 1, 2012.
- ↑ Kulturportal Nordwest: Ammerland specialties - From eels in hand and schnapps from a spoon , August 1, 2012
- ↑ a b c Steinhude-Am-Meer.de: Steinhuder Rauchaal , August 1, 2012.
- ↑ a b c Visiting the eel capital , August 1, 2012.
