Wondering what to do with eel? This guide covers how to pick it, cook it, store it, and swap it, plus 6 recipes to put it to work.

What is eel?

Eel is a long, snake-shaped fish with rich, fatty flesh that turns silky and tender when cooked. The two kinds you meet in the kitchen are freshwater eel, called unagi in Japanese cooking, and saltwater conger or sea eel, called anago.

Both have been eaten for centuries, from the canals of Japan to the rivers of Europe and the American South.

The flavor is deep and almost meaty, closer to a fatty fish like mackerel than to a flaky white fillet. That fat is the point: it bastes the flesh from the inside, which is why eel rarely dries out the way leaner fish do.

One safety note is worth knowing up front. Raw eel blood contains a protein toxin that is harmful if eaten raw, which is why eel is always served cooked, never as sashimi. Normal cooking heat destroys it completely, so a properly grilled or baked eel is safe.

Cooking With Eel

Eel takes well to high, direct heat that crisps the skin and renders the fat. The most famous treatment is Japanese kabayaki: the eel is split, boned, skewered, and grilled while being brushed with a sweet soy and mirin glaze until lacquered. Served over rice it becomes unagi don.

Outside Japan, eel is usually baked or stewed. Mediterranean cooks lean into its richness with bright, acidic partners, as in Broiled Eel with Ladolemono Sauce, where a lemon and oil dressing cuts the fat.

Greek kitchens braise it with tomato and herbs in dishes like Heli Spetziotiko (Eel Spetzes-Style) and Baked Eel Salonika.

A heavier hand suits it too. Eels in Piquant Sauce and Curried Eel pair the oily flesh with assertive spice, while Baked Eel (Anguilla) takes the simple Italian route of roasting with bay and wine. Britain smokes it into something near smoked trout, or jellies it in a savory aspic.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Eel wants contrast. A sweet soy kabayaki glaze keeps the fat from feeling heavy, and so does a squeeze of lemon or a hit of sharp sansho pepper. Tomato, bay, garlic, and white wine carry it in the Mediterranean style.

The biggest mistake is underestimating how much fat renders out. Crowd a pan and the eel steams in its own oil instead of crisping, so give it room and pour off excess fat as it cooks.

A second trap is the eel itself. The skin is tough and slippery, so skinning and boning a whole one cold is a fight most cooks lose. Buy it already cleaned, or have the fishmonger do it.

Substitutes

There is no exact stand-in, but a few fatty fish get you close. Smoked mackerel matches the richness in cold dishes and spreads. For a grilled, glazed preparation, a thick fillet of mackerel or a meaty piece of black cod brushed with kabayaki sauce gives a similar lacquered result.

In a stew or curry where the eel is one of several flavors, firm chunks of monkfish or catfish hold up well. Both are leaner and will not self-baste the way eel does, so add a little oil to compensate.

For unagi specifically, pre-grilled frozen unagi fillets are sold ready to reheat and are far easier than starting from a live eel.

Buying and Storage

Fresh eel is sold whole and live in some markets, since it spoils quickly once killed, or already cleaned and cut. Look for firm flesh and a clean, briny smell with no ammonia note.

A whole eel keeps only a day or two on ice in the coldest part of the fridge.

By far the most common form for home cooks is frozen pre-grilled unagi, sold vacuum-packed with a packet of glaze. It keeps for months in the freezer and reheats in minutes under a broiler or in a hot oven. Smoked eel, sold chilled, lasts about a week refrigerated once opened.

Eel is fat, and fat goes rancid faster than lean flesh. Use fresh eel the day you buy it when you can, and keep frozen unagi sealed tight so it does not pick up freezer odors.

Quick facts

In Chinese

鳗鱼

British (UK) term

Eel

en français

anguille

en español

anguila

Recipes using eel

There are 6 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 6 recipes