Eel Soup Recipe, German Fish Soup with all inclusive

Name: Eel Soup
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: smoked eel 1 pc; Soup vegetables 200 g; Potatoes 2 pc; onion 1 pc; dried plums without stone 60 g; butter 2 tbs; dry white wine 50 ml; Vegetable broth 200 ml; Salt 1 pinch; Pepper 3 pinches; chili flakes 1 pinch; finely chopped fresh dill 2-4 pinches; onion rings 6-8 pc

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Hamburger eel soup — Eel soup Recipe Image © Thomas Sixt

Author:
Thomas Sixt is a chef, food photographer, cookbook author and blogger.
Here he shares recipes, answers cooking questions and helps with cooking.

Welcome to my new Eel Soup Recipe.

This is a hearty fish soup wonderfully suitable for cool weather – North German “shitweather” 🙂

In Hamburg the eel soup is called like this because “aal” or “all” is in it.

Most people know “all inclusive” – that’s how it is meant. It is originally a leftover soup that contains “alles” (= everything, High German) = “all” (Low German).

The inclusion of the fish eel came later, it was not included at first.

Promised, our eel soup is with real eel and also the baked fruit, which belongs to it after Hamburg kind. So, now we can start cooking, and I wish you good luck!

Table of Contents

1. Shopping List for Eel Soup
2. Recipe Eel Soup
3. Nutritional Information
4. Special Features of Hamburg Eel Soup
5. Smoked Eel Soup versus Green Eel
6. More Delicious Soups Recipes

1. Shopping List for Eel Soup

For the preparation of our eel soup I recommend the following ingredients:

Smoked eel
Potatoes
Onions
Soup vegetables (carrots, leek, celery)
Baked fruit (dried fruit such as plums, apples, apricots)
Vegetable broth
Optional dry white wine
Fresh or dried dill
Pepper, salt and chili

Unpack the eel and place on a large board.Smoked eel as a whole must first be filleted. You will find the instructions in the article Filleting of Eel

2. Recipe Eel Soup

Eel Soup

Cooked, photographed and written down by chef Thomas Sixt.

Servings 2

Calories 601

Total Time 60 Min.

Preparation Time 40 Min.

Cook Time 20 Min.

Simple guide for preparing eel soup with vegetables.

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Ingredients

Eel Soup
1	pc	smoked eel (See note on filleting in the article!)
200	g	Soup vegetables (carrots, leek, celery)
2	pc	Potatoes
1	pc	onion
60	g	dried plums without stone (mixed dried fruit with apples and apricots)
2	tbs	butter
50	ml	dry white wine (optional!)
200	ml	Vegetable broth
1	pinch	Salt
3	pinches	Pepper
1	pinch	chili flakes
Decoration
2-4	pinches	finely chopped fresh dill (or dried dill)
6-8	pc	onion rings

Instruction

Eel prepare

Cut off the head of the smoked eel — Cut off the head from the smoked eel.

Prepare eel

File the smoked eel, see the step-by-step instructions with photos linked in the article above.

Portion the eel fillets — Then cut the eel fillets into suitable portions.

Portion eel

Place the portioned eel pieces in a cool place for later serving.

Prepare vegetables

Wash, peel and chop the soup vegetables.

Sweat about 1/4 of the amount with some butter in a pot for 8 minutes until colourless.

Deglaze with the white wine and fill up with cold stock.

Prepare the smoked eel stock — Simmer the skin and bones of the smoked eel with the soup vegetables and broth.

Boil eel

Add the skin and bones of the smoked eel and let it simmer for about 15 minutes below boiling point at about 90-95°C.

Try the stock several times and pass through the soup if the smoked taste is too strong for you.

Make Soup

Vegetables as a soup — Diced root vegetables in the pot when preparing the soup and soup approach.

Prepare soup

Peel the onion and cut into strips or cubes.

Place the remaining soup vegetables ready.

Wash and peel the potatoes and cut them into 0.5 cm cubes.

Sauté the vegetables in a little butter.

Pass smoked fish stock — Picture the cooked skin and bones from the smoked eel and cooked vegetables on the sieve when passing through.

Strain ingredients

Pass the finished smoked eel stock through a fine sieve to the fresh vegetables and bring to the boil.

Cook the vegetables until firm to the bite and add the prunes shortly before serving.

Season the soup with salt, pepper and chilli.

Arrange Soup

Serve

Preheat the soup plates in the microwave or oven.

Put the finished soup into the plates. Place the eel pieces in the soup.

Decorate with onion rings and finely chopped fresh dill and serve quickly.

Bon appetite!

3. Nutritional Information

4. Special Features of Hamburg Eel Soup

The Hamburg eel soup is slightly different because it contains:

ham bones,
dried fruit,
flour dumplings and
soup vegetables

The eel is added as a garnish. This is the traditional sweet and sour Hamburg eel soup.

I personally find potatoes healthier and tastier and prefer my soup to be based on a vegetable broth.

That is why I have made my soup a little lighter and fresher.

Soup vegetables for the green soupSoup vegetables for our fish soup.

5. Smoked Eel Soup versus Green Eel

You are probably asking yourself: Why smoked eel and not “green” eel?

For those who are not familiar with the term “green” eel or “green” herring:

These are the fish that are prepared in the dish as fresh fish as opposed to smoked fish or pickled fish.

“Green fish” is fresh fish – Smoked eel is our deal!
Tip from Chef Thomas Sixt

To get back to your question: Smoked eel is simply very hearty and rustic in taste. The smoky taste harmonises perfectly with the sweet dried fruit and the vegetables in the soup. What can I say: Simply a great kick on the tongue.

My post Filleting of Eel shows you step by step how to perfectly prepare the smoked eel for your soup.

The Filleting of Eel is shown by me as professional chef in my cooking wiki.