Shooting Times & Country – 07 August 2019

A. SYDENHAM SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 47

Eelwasoncea stapleinEnglandbutisnowhardtofind.Deliciousand

sustainable, the fish is the star of this cooked salad, says Rose Prince

Ven ison

W

ildfoodstendtofitwell

togetherona plate

simplybecausethey

belongtogetherinthe

gloriousBritishlandscape.Fungiand

seaweed,wildherbsandcobnutsall

gowellwithfurredandfeatheredgame

butit occurstomealsothattheharvest

fromourstreamshasa place,too.Think

crayfish,browntrout—andeel,oncethe

fareofEastEndpie-and-mash shops but

nowquiterare.

TheinspirationforthisAugustrecipe

came to me from a local producer,

Bridport-basedChesilSmokery,runby

keenShotandgame-businesscharacter

MarkFirth.SinceI movedtoDorset,Mark

hasbecomea greatfriendandlunch

companion.Hiskippersandsmoked

salmonareamongthebestproduced

intheUKbuthispassionaterelationship

withgameaddsanessentialelement.

Marktakesa keeninterestinthe

environmentand,giventhattheEuropean

eelisclassifiedasendangered,hewanted

touseeelfroma sustainablesource.He

foundit witha memberoftheSustainable

EelGroupbasedneartheriverSevern.

TheinitiativeofRichardCook,a traditional

‘elverer’,offersananswerwitheelsthat

arecaughtasyoungelvers.Halfhisharvest

issenttotheNetherlandswhereit goes

ontobefarmedforsmoking,whilethe

remainderisrearedlocallyintanksfor

two years to give them a higher chance

ofsurvival,thenreleasedintothestreams

thatfeedtheriversSevernandWye.The

youngeelscanthencompletetheirnatural

migratorylifecycle.FormoreabouttheEel

Campaign,visitsevernandwye.co.uk.

Maturefarmedeels,hotsmokedover

woodchips,arethegreatestsmokedfish

ofall.Youcaneatthemstraightfromthe

smokehouse,asit were,butyoucanalso

frythefilletsasyou would a fat slice of

backbacon.

Thiswarm,main-coursesaladisbased

ontheLyonnaisehabitofcombiningcured

meatswithpotatoes,mustarddressing

andpiquantitemssuchascapersand

babygherkins.AsI eatit,I liketothinkof

thefallowdeerinthesouth-westwatching

interestedlywhiletheyoungeelsslither

acrossthefieldsbetweenstreams.

Tobuysmokedeelonline visit

chesilsmokery.co.uk.

CUREDVENISONANDSMOKED

EEL SALAD LYONNAISE

THEMETHOD

Serves 4

24 NEWPOTATOES

8 SLICESPANCETTA, SNIPPED

INTOPIECES

OLIVEOILANDBUTTER

FORFRYING

300GSMOKEDEELFILLET,CUT

INTOLARGEBITE-SIZEPIECES

2 BANANASHALLOTS,SLICED

12 CORNICHONS,ORSMALL

GHERKINS,SLICED

1 TBSPCAPERS,SOAKEDIN COLD

WATERTHENDRAINED

160GSLICEDVENISONBRESAOLA

(DELIFARMCHARCUTERIE.CO.UK)

2 TBSPCHOPPED FLAT LEAF

PARSLE Y

1 TBSP CHOPPED TARRAGON

FORTHEDRESSING

1 TBSPDIJONMUSTARD

1 TBSPWATER

¼T S PS A LT

1 TBSPCIDERVINEGAR

4 TBSPSUNFLOWEROIL

1 TBSPEXTRAVIRGINOLIVEOIL

FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER

Ingredients

1

Boilthepotatoesuntiltenderthen

drain,cutinhalfandsetasidein

a warmplaceona serving platter or

shallowdish.

2

Placea fryingpanovera medium

heat,addthepancettaandfry

untilcrisp.Scatterthisoverthewarm

potatoes.Adda nutofbutterandsome

oliveoiltothepan,thenfrytheeel

filletsuntiltheybrowna little— donot

overcookthem.Add to the potatoes

andpancetta.

3

Next,sautéthebananashallots—

you may need more cooking fat.

4

Sprinklethecookedsliced

onionsoverthesaladwiththe

cornichons,capers,slices of venison

bresaola and herbs.

5

Tomakethedressing,putallthe

ingredientsina bowlandwhisk

untilyouhavea smoothemulsion—

thewaterhelpsthisprocess.Taste

andadjusttheseasoning,adding

moremustard if you wish.

6

Pourthedressingoverthevenison

bresaolaandeelsaladandmixit

alltogethergentlyandlightly.Serve

warm with good bread on the side.

Game Cooker y

“Maturefarmedeels,hotsmokedoverwood

chips, are the greatest smoked fish of all”