Hákarl

Photo: flickr user moohaha

About

Hákarl is a food from Iceland. It is a Greenland or basking shark which has been cured with a particular fermentation process and hung to dry for 4-5 months. Hákarl has a very particular ammonia-rich smell and fishy taste, similar to Jewish deli whitefish or very strong cheese. It is an acquired taste and many Icelanders never eat it. It is, quite literally, rotten shark meat.

Information

Other names: Putrefied Shark

Translations: Morski pas, Хакарл

Physical Description

A thick brown crust around the outside and a white meaty fish inside.

Colors: Brown, White

Tasting Notes

Flavors: Fishy

Mouthfeel: Meaty

Wine complements: Yvorne

Beverage complements: Brennivín schnapps

Substitutes: Jewish deli whitefish

Selecting and Buying

Seasonality: january, february, march, april, may, june, july, august, september, opctober, november, december

Buying: Very hard to find outside of Iceland, and even there, only traditionally made during the mid-winter festival known as Thorrablot, although some places may have some to sell for tourists.

Procuring: From fished sharks near Greenland and Iceland.

Preparation and Use

Wash and gut your shark.

Bury the shark in gravel. You unearth it six to eight weeks later.

Allow the shark to cure in the open air for another two months. This is meant to purge the shark's urine from its blood and skin.

Cut off the thick brown crust which has grown around the shark. The remaining slab of flesh should smell somewhat like ammonia.

Eat the white flesh inside, along with a drink of Brennivín, an aquavit-like schnapps flavored with caraway.

Conserving and Storing

Is cured outside. After first eating, may be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Social/Political

Only made in Iceland.

History: Although Vikings with cast-iron stomachs are now a thing of the past, this unique meal still makes an appearance in Iceland today - even if its only once a year, during the mid-winter festival known as Thorrablot.