Smoked Eel in The Netherlands 2024
Once a staple food, gerookte paling now became a delicacy and a must try
Best time: March–May, September–November
Since we live in a world of scarcity, the once typical snack has now become a sought-after delicacy. This general truth concerns smoked eel as much as many other foods of similar fate. Nowadays you can mostly find this rinsed, gutted and laid in brine for several hours before getting dried and smoked fish only on a small cracker in an expensive place. If you go for a farmed eel, which is so much more sustainable, you may find the whole fish during spring, or eel filler which is mostly offered in the autumn. A very tasty unique and healthy snack for the upper class that you should of course try yourself!
Authors: Svitlana Mysak