How to Eat Like a Viking: Rotten Shark and Other Icelandic Cuisine

Iceland is notorious for its absurd foods, one of which is internationally known as hákarl. You may have heard of this, but to recap, here’s the recipe:

1. Bury a shark in your backyard. 
2. Wait a few months (4 or 5, depending on your preference)
3. Dig up and serve with a side of driftwood. 

If you can’t summon the idea of digesting rotten shark meat, don’t worry. There’s no way to really comprehend the horror of it until you’ve ingested the stuff yourself. Miss Elsa picked some up last week for us to try, and I innocently looked forward to it. 

Hákarl looked edible enough. Unassuming. Packaged in a clear, vacuum-sealed bag. Even the smell wasn’t alarming when Miss Elsa handed me a chunk on a toothpick. 

But going down my throat was a different story. The only way I can think to describe it is chewing and swallowing chunks of ammonia. It was like snacking on bleach cakes. The chemical taste totally coated my throat and about burned my eyes out of their sockets. 

Of course, I had to try another piece just to make sure I got the taste right. Nope. Still absolutely inhumane food. Only a true Viking could call the stuff a “good snack,” which is exactly what Miss Elsa and Nonni did as they sat across the table from us. 

Aside from the inedible shark meat, Iceland has some absolutely delicious food. We’ve dined on lamb and flounder in about a hundred different settings, each more delicious than the last. Lamb barbecue, lamb ribs, lamb schnitzel, lamb soup, lamb casserole – Bubba (Forrest Gump) would be enthralled. The plethora of ways Miss Elsa can cook a lamb chop is flooring, really. But at first, I found myself hesitating to eat it. 

Lambs have a very unique scent till they are a few months old. Their meat tastes very similar to that smell. My first week here, each bite flooded my mind with images of the lambs I’d been bottle-feeding all week. It was certainly something I had to accustom myself to. Now, I hardly question a plate of lamb ribs. You wouldn’t either, if you were so blessed to experience such rich home cooking. 

The lamb really is delicious, but it’s not all we eat. One evening, a neighbor and his daughter knocked on our door to deliver two large plastic bags of fresh flounder. He had caught it in the fjord, and the freezing winds had preserved it all the way to the Skulàsons’ doorstep. The next few days we had amazing fish soups and casseroles. 

Almost everything here includes dairy. My first night in Þingeyri we ate Skyr (a type of “cheese” in a yogurt state), brown sugar, and mjólk (milk) in bowls like soup. Toast accompanies almost every meal, but never alone. Every piece must be thickly buttered (like cream cheese on a bagel), then topped with no less than three slices of cheese. Every cracker is adorned the same way. If you’re feeling extra zealous, you might top it all off with Queen’s Jam, made from the mountain berries.

While they may have some weird dishes, not all Icelandic recipes require native ingredients. Miss Elsa taught me that the best way to eat a sweet potato is with butter and garlic salt. (She is SO right. I’m never eating another sweet potato without it.) She also bakes killer desserts, and I’ve included two of her recipes below for you to try at home.

“Nommí” casserole:

• 1 loaf of bread, torn in pieces 
• 1 container of Smurostur (substitute 1 can Campbell’s mushroom soup)
• 1 can of asparagus (keep the juice)
• 1 can of mushrooms (keep the juice)
• Smoked ham (sliced or cubed)
• 2 cups grated cheese
• 1 can of cream (1.5 cups)
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise 

Preheat oven to 350°F. On the stove at medium heat, mix the Campbells soup with the mayonnaise, cream and the juice from the asparagus and mushroom cans. In a casserole dish, spread the torn bread evenly. Over this, spread the asparagus, mushrooms and ham. Then pour the soup mixture over the casserole dish evenly. If the casserole is too dry, sprinkle cream over it. Add grated cheese and bake in the oven till golden brown. Voila! You are a true Icelander.

Blueberry Crumble

• I packet chocolate coated graham crackers (or any chocolate coated dry cookies of any sort)
• 500 grams Skyr or thick yogurt (any flavor, Elsa typically uses vanilla or creams brûlée)
• 500 grams cream 
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 jar of jam, any type
• Fresh berries or fruit

Crumble all the crackers into a casserole dish. Whip the cream. Then carefully mix the skyr (or yogurt) and vanilla into the whipped cream. Pour evenly over the crackers. Warm the jam just so to a fluid state, but do NOT OVERHEAT! (if you use lemon curd, do not heat!) spread the jam evenly over the whipped cream and skyr mixture. Add fresh berries or fruit of your choice, and store in the fridge for at least three hours. Miss Elsa says it’s better to eat the next day. 

This recipe is highly flexible and can be made with caramel, chocolate, or candy of any flavor!