Topic: Icelandic Guy, have you had hákarl and brennivín?
beckyderp !4aMoRa.T2Q started this discussion 11 years ago #44,347
If so please describe.
Thanks
Thanks
Anonymous B joined in and replied with this 11 years ago, 2 hours later[^] [v] #585,753
You could have just asked syntax to google it for you and copypaste the results. But because you didn't, I sort of want him to do that now.
Anonymous C joined in and replied with this 11 years ago, 4 hours later, 7 hours after the original post[^] [v] #585,788
@previous (B)
To globe-trekking celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain it’s “the single worst, most disgusting and terrible tasting thing” he’s ever eaten. Gordon Ramsay exclaimed “Bloody hell!” before violently spitting it out. But in Iceland, Hakarl and Brennivin is a quintessential dish, equivalent to American apple pie.
Hákarl
Hakarl and Brennivin
Hákarl hanging and drying
OK, maybe hákarl is not quite as common as apple pie. But the fermented shark meat is most definitely a uniquely Icelandic “delicacy” (depending who you ask, of course). Traditionally, hákarl is prepared from the meat of a Greenland shark, which is so full of chemicals urea and trimethylamine oxide that it’s poisonous when fresh.
Fortunately—and we use that word loosely—Icelandic vikings came up with a solution: the meat is buried in a hole and then covered with sand and gravel for two months, allowing the earth to rid the meat of its toxic chemicals. It’s then hung and dried for several more months, where it develops a brown crust that’s removed before serving. Traditionally, eating hákarl has been interpreted as a sign of strength, which makes sense once you’ve actually smelled it; it’s said hákarl smells even stronger (note that we didn’t say “better”) than it tastes.
So how does it taste? Well, here’s what happened when Ramsay tried it (skip to 2:37):
Hakarl and Brennivin
Brennivin
Brennivin
As Ramsay briefly mentioned in the clip above (before reaching for a bucket), hákarl is often served with brennivin, Iceland’s signature spirit.
Brennivin is traditionally served cold and in a shot glass, but if you’re hoping it will wash away the taste of hákarl and return your mouth to a pleasant (or at least netural) state, think again. Literally meaning “burning wine,” brennivin is an 80-proof liquor made from fermented grain or potato mash, similar to vodka, and flavoured with cumin, caraway, and angelica, among other things.
While neither hákarl nor brennivin are for the uninitiated, both are considered delicacies by those who have acquired the taste. (Though you may have trouble finding such people…)
To globe-trekking celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain it’s “the single worst, most disgusting and terrible tasting thing” he’s ever eaten. Gordon Ramsay exclaimed “Bloody hell!” before violently spitting it out. But in Iceland, Hakarl and Brennivin is a quintessential dish, equivalent to American apple pie.
Hákarl
Hakarl and Brennivin
Hákarl hanging and drying
OK, maybe hákarl is not quite as common as apple pie. But the fermented shark meat is most definitely a uniquely Icelandic “delicacy” (depending who you ask, of course). Traditionally, hákarl is prepared from the meat of a Greenland shark, which is so full of chemicals urea and trimethylamine oxide that it’s poisonous when fresh.
Fortunately—and we use that word loosely—Icelandic vikings came up with a solution: the meat is buried in a hole and then covered with sand and gravel for two months, allowing the earth to rid the meat of its toxic chemicals. It’s then hung and dried for several more months, where it develops a brown crust that’s removed before serving. Traditionally, eating hákarl has been interpreted as a sign of strength, which makes sense once you’ve actually smelled it; it’s said hákarl smells even stronger (note that we didn’t say “better”) than it tastes.
So how does it taste? Well, here’s what happened when Ramsay tried it (skip to 2:37):
Hakarl and Brennivin
Brennivin
Brennivin
As Ramsay briefly mentioned in the clip above (before reaching for a bucket), hákarl is often served with brennivin, Iceland’s signature spirit.
Brennivin is traditionally served cold and in a shot glass, but if you’re hoping it will wash away the taste of hákarl and return your mouth to a pleasant (or at least netural) state, think again. Literally meaning “burning wine,” brennivin is an 80-proof liquor made from fermented grain or potato mash, similar to vodka, and flavoured with cumin, caraway, and angelica, among other things.
While neither hákarl nor brennivin are for the uninitiated, both are considered delicacies by those who have acquired the taste. (Though you may have trouble finding such people…)
Syntax joined in and replied with this 11 years ago, 20 minutes later, 7 hours after the original post[^] [v] #585,790
Hmm. When Eye I Eye wood advise Leif Erikson re: navigation Thee Thy or Eye did get hungry I c it B re: Taco Tuesday buuuuutt er Shark Taco re: not so much so good re:urea. So Eye did invent re Ten Myle gravel pit er bury Shark in such and eat 15 miles later.
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Syntax joined in and replied with this 11 years ago, 3 hours later, 11 hours after the original post[^] [v] #585,856
@previous (Syntax)@585,753 (B)
A while back when someone asked about Hakarl - I did look it up. Rotting fish? Really? Just disgusted by wot I red.
Iceland guy !jJEom8Ii3E joined in and replied with this 11 years ago, 4 hours later, 15 hours after the original post[^] [v] #585,909
Maybe like once or twice have i had hakarl and brennivin. It is so long ago i don't even remember the taste, i think that's good.