Eel in Red Wine

Preheat oven to 350F.

Soak the eel in red wine for 2 hours. Roll the eel into a spiral and secure with bamboo skewers.

In a very hot pan, brown both sides of the eel in butter. Add the vegetables: leek, celery root, carrots, onions, garlic and herbs and cook gently for a few minutes.

Add red wine and bring to boil. Cover pot and cook in 350F oven for 20 minutes.

Remove the pork skin and cut the lard in 1/2 in. slices. Brown in a pan and set pieces aside. Keep the pork fat in the pan and add the chanterelle mushrooms, cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

While cooking, the mushrooms will release liquid. Strain the liquid into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve. Reserve liquid.

Return the mushrooms to the saucepan, add the minced shallot, and brown for a few seconds in butter. Set aside.

In another pan, put the whole shallots and brown for a few minutes in butter. Add maple syrup, then deglaze with red wine. Cover the pot with aluminium foil and cook for 15 minutes in a 350°F oven.

Set the eel aside and strain the broth from the eel pan through a fine mesh sieve. Return the eel and the strained sauce back to the saucepan.

Add the concentrated meat stock (glace de viande) and the mushroom liquid. Bring to boil and let the sauce reduce by half or until it becomes syrupy. Baste the eel constantly while the sauce thickens.

Serve with the mushrooms, the caramelised shallots, the slices of lard and a few pieces of toasted bread.