The accomplisht cook: or, The art & mystery of cookery

large great eel, and scowr it with a handful of salt, then split it down the back, take out the back bone and the guts, wipe out the blood clean, and season the eel with pepper, nutmeg, salt, and some sweet herbs minced and strowed upon it, roul it up, and bind it up close with packthred like a collar of brawn, boil it in water, salt, vinegar, and two or three blades of mace, boil it half an hour; and being boil'd, put to it a slic't lemon, and keep it in the same liquor; when you serve it, serve it in a collar or cut it out in round slices, lay six or seven in a dish, and garnish it in the dish with parsley and barberries, or serve with it vinegar in saucers. _To souce Eels otherways cut in pieces, or whole._ Take two or three great eels, scowr them in salt, draw them and wash them clean, cut them in equal pieces three inches long, and scotch them cross on both sides, put them in a dish with wine-vinegar, and salt; then have a kettle over the fire with fair water and a bundle of sweet herbs 2 or three great onions, and some large mace; when the kettle boils put in the eels, wine, vinegar, and salt; being finely boil'd and tender, drain them from the liquor and when they are cold take some of the broth and a pint of white wine, boil it up with some saffron beaten to powder, or it will not colour the wine; then take out the spices of the liquor where it was boiled and put it in the last broth made for it, leave out the onions and herbs of the first broth, and keep it in the last. _To make a Hash of Eels._ Take a good large eel or two, flay, draw, and wash them, bone and mince them, then season them with cloves and mace, mix with them some good large oysters, a whole onion, salt, a little white-wine, and an anchove, stew them