Above all, it must be stressed: the eel populations, once abundant, are now considered critically endangered and must be protected and captured for consumption with the utmost moderation.
Mysterious long-distance travelers, eels, Anguilla anguilla, are born in the Sargasso Sea, off Florida. Carried by the Gulf Stream, the larvae reach European shores between the beginning of winter and the end of spring, after a journey of seven to nine months.
Approaching the coasts and estuaries, the larvae metamorphose into glass eels, also called pibales (in the South-West), then into elvers, to colonize the watersheds and become yellow eels.
After a phase of growth in the river of three to eighteen years, the eel undergoes a final phase of transformation by becoming a silver eel, sexually mature, which can then undertake its long migration in the opposite direction across the ocean in order to to reproduce, then die on the other side of the Atlantic. At each stage of its life (elver, river eel, sea eel, etc.), it is prey for fishermen, destined for specific markets.
Asian style
“The eel is to fish what the pig is to quadrupeds”, stated the British writer Norman Douglas. Slimy, serpentine, greasy, it can be sickening or delicious depending on how it’s prepared. The Japanese particularly appreciate it in a sweet-salty and grilled marinade, usually with vinegared rice.
Western style
Smoked and pressed, it finds its place in gourmet starters. At the Bozar Restaurant in Brussels, Karen Torosyan slides it into a cereal-crusted pigeon and foie gras, for a result full of umami, rich and roasted. While in Marseille Alexandre Mazzia (AM restaurant) marries it with chocolate, for a “black bite” which oscillates between bitterness and sweetness.