Jellied eels
Photo: JanesDaddy (Ensglish User) · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

Jellied eels emerged in the 18th-century East End when the Thames teemed with eels and the city's poor needed cheap protein; nets were set as far inland as London Bridge. By the 1850s, pie-and-mash shops paired stewed eels (in liquor sauce) with jellied eels (cold, set), and the dish became inseparable from cockney identity. M. Manze on Tower Bridge Road (1902) is the oldest surviving pie-and-mash and jellied-eel shop in continuous trade. Modern Thames eels are protected; today's eels are imported from the Netherlands, but the dish itself remains a London icon.

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Common allergens: Fish

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 5 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1kg fresh eel, gutted, skinned and cut into 4cm chunks (your fishmonger does this; eels are tough to skin at home)
  • 1L cold water
  • 200ml white wine vinegar
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp allspice berries
  • 1 medium onion, halved
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • To serve: white pepper, malt vinegar, chilli vinegar (the East End condiment trio)

Method

  1. Rinse the eel chunks well in cold water to remove any blood.
  2. Pour 1L water and the white wine vinegar into a heavy saucepan. Add bay leaves, peppercorns, allspice, onion halves studded with cloves, and salt.
  3. Bring to a simmer. Add the eel chunks; they should be just covered (top up with hot water if needed).
  4. Simmer very gently for 20 minutes, skimming the grey foam off the top. The eel firms and the stock becomes faintly cloudy.
  5. Lift the eel chunks out with a slotted spoon and pack them into a wide shallow dish or 4 small ramekins.
  6. Strain the cooking stock through a sieve onto the eel; the bones and skin have released enough collagen that the stock will set as it cools.
  7. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. The stock sets into a clear quivering jelly around the eel pieces.
  8. Serve cold, scooped straight from the dish, with white pepper sprinkled over and malt or chilli vinegar on the side.

Tip from the editors. The set jelly depends on the eel skin and bones; if your fishmonger filleted the eel, keep the trimmings, simmer with the chunks, then strain before chilling.

Where to eat jellied eels

Jellied eels in London

Featured by TableJourney as a signature dish of London. See where to eat Jellied eels in London or the London signature dishes guide.

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