conger steaks

[salmon]

my mate had a conger today and it was wanted by a family member. he needs to kno how you go about gutting these??

[Devon_fisher]

basically whack its head of and find its excretion hole(lol) insert knife slice thru belly towards the head and hey presto rip the guts out(well not rip but u no what i mean).
tastes well nice as tandoori as well or just fried with butter

[scottonjayne]

dont be put off by the smell when you gut it!!! they STINK

[dazza d]

do they need skinning? and has anybody tried them battered?

[octopus]

some will say to skin them, but i dont. just stick em in a pan with butter and garlic.

dont cut the steaks too thick tho, couple or three inches is about right, do 2 or three steak per serving if nead be, but keep em fairly thin as they cook a bit more evenly that way

[steve w]

Use the head and tail to make a fish stock freeze in small portions. Conger stock is very gelatinous so if you add it to other fish sauces/stocks it adds richness and smoothness so you don't have to use so much buuter or cream or flour.

[hairy beast]

cut into steaks about 2" thick, put on a baking tray in oven (unskinned) with a bit of oil, butter, garlic, and herbs, put it in the oven and bake, gas mark 5 for 20 mins.

[donkeydawe]

cut into steaks about 2" thick, put on a baking tray in oven (unskinned) with a bit of oil, butter, garlic, and herbs, put it in the oven and bake, gas mark 5 for 20 mins.

what is gas mark 5 in degrees c ??? lol

[hairy beast]

dont know donkey, I just point the arrow on the dial to 5, he haw he haw

[richierobins]

Gas 5 is about 185 C

[thorn]

only joking about the dolphins

[sallysludgebucket]

I whacked steaks in the George Forman basted in garlic butter ! What could be simpler ?

[David Gould]

I whacked steaks in the George Forman basted in garlic butter ! What could be simpler ?

Sal ,
How did you know Georges Formans mum and dad are not married ?? :D :sneaky2:

[David Gould]

So my eel munchers,

What is the minimum size that matters , with respect to how big does a conger have to be for the kitchen treatment ????

All the congers I saw on the weekend trip out of Barry were to me , table sized when compared to the freshwater ones I eat.

[Spitfire66]

A good trick with Conger is to soak the steaks overnight in milk (gets rid of the muddy taste you sometimes get)

[Goosey]

Conger: MAFF Minimum Size: Shore: 91cm (36ins) Boat:120cm (48ins)

[Robski]

they make excellent eating... curry ( awsome), kebabs, battered fish bites, fish pie, soup, grilled on barbie in lime garlic and chillie marinade, marinade in sweet rice wine, sugar dark soy and grilled ( sluurrp). smoked and make a great stock for other dishes... make a terrine with a heavily reduced stock with white wine bay leaf onions garlic salt pepper, large eel section- skin on. then layer flaked pieces of any fish prawns etc in dish strain reduction and pour into terrine- take hours to set enough to turn out and slice but is lush. same can be done with pike.

[Bonjour]

If it's a decent size conger, say 18lb or more, the muscles on the top of the head are excellent meat. A lot of folk throw the head away but it makes great soup.

My two favourite ways of cooking conger are:

A) When gutting the fish, don't cut up the middle of the belly. Take the head off and pull the guts out from the front end as best you can. Cut the tail off at the anal vent and throw it away or use it for stock. Cut the whole belly flap off at the "crease" each side. You will have a lovely, fairly thin, bone free piece of meat. Soften some onions and one or two thinly sliced fennel bulbs in butter without allowing them to brown. Add a large can of dry cider. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, chuck in some uncooked mussels and cook for a few minutes till they open then remove them from the pan and shell them and put aside for later. Put your conger belly in the pot and cook for 20-25mins. Just before serving add the mussels back in to warm through. Serve with either mash with plenty of chopped chives or Jacket spud with a big dob of parsley butter.

B) Cut the rest of the "middle" of the fish and the head muscles up into manageable pieces and microwave till the flesh is just set. Then pick out the bones (there are lots) and cut the meat into small pieces, batter and fry till the batter is set and they float but don't brown them unless you want to eat them straight away. Otherwise, once set they can be frozen and when needed put in the oven to heat through and brown, straight from the freezer. They are similar to scampi in texture and flavour.

[TonyD]

Never considered cooking one, all the ones Ive caught were too small anyway, hate catching them to be honest, prefer doggies to eels, but if I do catch a big one, one day then I might try out your suggestions Robski and bonjour.

[geffaz]

tried conger once! flesh was ok, but just gave me a mouth full of little bones!
i wouldnt bother mate! unles anyone knows how to fillet them,(conger not silver eel)

[Jamie Donnelly]

i wouldnt have thought a big fish like conger would have small bones!! i would think it was like a silver (just one hard backbone)

Jamie

[geffaz]

nope mate! lots of tiny bones! its vile, like munching a bag of
pins

[Robski]

the main problem being the tail end which normally is used for stock is just riddled wit bone. when you cut steaks from it first thing to do is run your finger accross the flesh to feel for the pin bones, they have many bones that run laterally done the body, i pluck these with kitchen pliers.. job done, all that is left is the large main spinal bone. Just as easy to poach or steam a larger section an flake the meat from the bone to add to pie or another dish.

[David Gould]

Can some of you take a picture or two next time you steak up a decent conger .and put it on the thread please.

I would like to see if you can "Korky " the flesh off a steamed or microwaved steak or two.
( leave a skeleton of bones intact like Korky the cat in the comics of old )

I have eaten some quality 3 foot freshwater eels , curried in steaks and they Korky'ed well

[Robski]

Can some of you take a picture or two next time you steak up a decent conger .and put it on the thread please.

I would like to see if you can "Korky " the flesh off a steamed or microwaved steak or two.
( leave a skeleton of bones intact like Korky the cat in the comics of old )

I have eaten some quality 3 foot freshwater eels , curried in steaks and they Korky'ed well

no worries David will give it a bash... am out on the conger this week end i hope.

[cabbytx1]

dont know what planet you lot are on but i have tried conger a few times and each time its like a piece of rubber,i wont be trying it again,think i will just stick to the usual stuff ie plaice,bass,flounder,whiting or even the humble dogger
:yucky:

[kernowlobster]

I like to bake conger in cider this helps to keep it tender

[steveclem]

There must be something of use here (http://chestofbooks.com/food/recipes/How-To-Cook-Fish/Forty-Five-Ways-To-Cook-Eels.html). Mixed emotions over these eels,some say yay, some say nay but if and when I get a small(ish) one I'm going to give the 'scampi' treatment a bash.

[dr4g0n72]

I find the best way to do conger is as below:

step 1 .... Take 2/3 conger steaks aprox 2" thick and 70mm across
step 2 .... Place steaks into a tall sided pan of salted boiling water
step 3 .... Add 1 IRON nail (IMPORTANT-not stainless)
step 4 .... Boil for 35 mins
...............eat nail as the conger is terrible!!!

:roll1:

[Brauntonian]

I find the best way to do conger is as below:

step 1 .... Take 2/3 conger steaks aprox 2" thick and 70mm across
step 2 .... Place steaks into a tall sided pan of salted boiling water
step 3 .... Add 1 IRON nail (IMPORTANT-not stainless)
step 4 .... Boil for 35 mins
...............eat nail as the conger is terrible!!!

:roll1:

Thank christ you've only posted 3 times in 8 months.:roll1::roll1::roll1:

I hope your other 2 posts were better than that old joke!

[dr4g0n72]

Thank christ you've only posted 3 times in 8 months.:roll1::roll1::roll1:

I hope your other 2 posts were better than that old joke!

Oh they get worse ....much worse :marinheir

I did once tell one about catching a fish... what a laugh that was !!! :roll1:

[Brauntonian]

I did once tell one about catching a fish... what a laugh that was !!!

No way.

Now I know you're taking the p1ss.:roll1::roll1::roll1:

[dr4g0n72]

No way.

Now I know you're taking the p1ss.:roll1::roll1::roll1:

LOL no really i did :fishing1: it was THAT big:clap2: