Hanoverian specialties

Steinhuder Rauchaal

Freshly smoked eel from Lake Steinhude is a regional delicacy that has traveled an astonishingly long distance—nearly halfway around the world. Eels apparently prefer cool, fresh water, because after hatching in the subtropical waters between Florida and the Bermuda Islands, the young eels are drawn thousands of kilometers across the Atlantic and up the Weser River, straight to Lake Steinhude. In the largest lake in northwestern Germany, just west of Hanover, these fully grown, snake-like fish are traditionally caught each spring and fall using handmade traps, prepared in local smokehouses according to time-honored family recipes, and served fresh from the smoke for a delightful picnic by the lake.

Smoky tender and eaten hot

The fishermen of Steinhude smoke their eels just as they did in their grandfathers’ day—over an open beechwood fire in what is known as the “Altona oven.” It is this traditional smoking method—carried out in an oven that is often nearly 100 years old, built of brick, and sealed with iron doors—that gives the slender fish its golden-brown color and incomparably refined flavor, making Steinhude smoked eel a regional specialty and a delicacy highly sought after worldwide. But there’s a catch: Steinhuder eels spawn only in the Sargasso Sea in the Gulf of Mexico, and the long journey back for the young eels has become increasingly difficult due to river straightening and weirs. That’s why young glass eels are additionally released into the Steinhuder Meer every year. Before the eels—freshly caught in fish traps and weighing at least one pound—are finally steamed for up to four hours at temperatures ranging from 60 to 80 degrees Celsius, they are gutted, washed, and seasoned. Of course, every fisherman has a family recipe—carefully guarded for generations—and his own smoking method. Anyone who wants to experience this ancient fishing craft up close with all their senses should definitely plan to take a tour of a smokehouse during their next trip to the Steinhuder Meer.

Fine finger food

The farm stands of the long-established eel smokehouses on Lake Steinhude (which, in addition to eel and other edible fish fresh from the smokehouse, also offer eel in numerous preparations) as well as the many fish stands and rustic restaurants along the waterfront and in the surrounding area are sure to whet your appetite for eel. Incidentally, eel is traditionally eaten with your fingers—on a slice of brown bread, accompanied by a draft Pilsner, and followed by a shot of schnapps.