Icelandic shark attack

Fish hanging out to dry in Iceland. I cannot begin to describe how smelly it was. Photo by Robert Corkery.

When I opened the pantry, the stench was overpowering. My first thought: something has died in here. And then as I started tentatively looking around I thought, something has gone really bad. But what, I wondered as this is a pantry with canned goods and liquor, for the most part. Not stuff that should smell like this. And then I saw it: the fermented shark. Of course.

Robert had come home from Lund on Monday with some of the Icelandic specialty thanks to his friend Uffe. Hákarl is a shark that has been fermented and then hung to dry for four to five months. When Robert and I were in Iceland a few years ago, we saw dried fish hanging on lines all over the countryside, looking like tobacco in a Kentucky barn and smelling like death. I did try a small taste of the  Hákarl just to say that I had done it, but that was enough. It is some sort of strange cousin to the Swedish stinky, fermented fish surströmming (see my post on Swedish fish) and is also served with a strong shot of aquavit so as to better dull your sense of taste, no doubt.

Now I have this smelly shark – it has the odor combination of ammonia and fish – in my pantry and darned if I know what to do with it. Serving suggestions anyone?

Tagged as: An American living in Stockholm, fermented shark from Iceland, Hákarl, Iceland travels, Icelandic cuisine, Swedish surströmming