Lamproie a la Bordelaise

[BWF]

I once tasted this amazing dish in Bordeaux several years ago. Apparently it is a specialty of Bordeaux and is a seasonal dish only available in spring. The lamproies (or lamprey eels in English) are a prehistoric blood-sucking eel that attaches itself to other larger fish and sucks their blood! Despite it's gruesome reputation (and quite horrific appearance), the French make an amazing dish from this fish!

Apparently. it is the only fish that the French ex-sanguinate (or bleed) alive! Yes, the chef hangs the live eels and cuts their tails to allow the blood to flow into a bowl. The blood is mixed with cognac to make a rich sauce. Meanwhile they blanch the eels in boiling water to make removing the skin easier. Then they remove the entrails and cut up the fish into large chunks. I believe the chefs then cook the chunks in their own blood with cognac, white wine, leeks and bouquet garni.

The flesh is incredibly tender and tastes somewhat like sardines. Lampreys have no bones, only a cartilaginous spinal cord so you can eat the whole fish.

 

[Shadow]

I once tasted this amazing dish in Bordeaux several years ago.

In La Tupina by any chance?

 

[BWF]

Exactly! La Tupina does it very well indeed! The fishmongers also sometimes sell home-cooked ones in the markets in Cenon, Lormont and Leybourne when the fish is in season.

You've obviously been to Bordeaux!

 

[Shadow]

I was there 10 years ago, it was monstrously hot. We were sitting at the streetside tables and a monstrous storm rumbled through. We all then had to be accommodated inside. It was full but they managed to seat us and start our meal again! One of my colleagues had this dish and raved about it. They do great chips too!!!

 

[BWF]

I was there 10 years ago, it was monstrously hot. We were sitting at the streetside tables and a monstrous storm rumbled through. We all then had to be accommodated inside. It was full but they managed to seat us and start our meal again! One of my colleagues had this dish and raved about it. They do great chips too!!!

It's one of my favorite restaurants in Bordeaux. I guess it must have been summer. Yes, they do great chips. I've never really been to a bad Bordeaux restaurant. The food their is just simply amazing! There must be hundreds of restaurants and cafes in the Bordeaux city centre alone. I really cannot wait to get back.