How do you make hákarl?

The traditional method begins with gutting and beheading a shark and placing it in a shallow hole dug in gravelly sand, with the cleaned cavity resting on a small mound of sand. The shark is then covered with sand and gravel, and stones are placed on top of the sand in order to press the fluids out of the body.

Is hákarl nutritious?

Iceland is the World’s Healthiest Country, — but Their National Dish Might Make You Throw Up. Kæstur hákarl, which translates to “treated shark,” is considered the national dish of Iceland. The shark’s flesh is naturally poisonous when consumed fresh due to the high amounts of urea and trimethylamine oxide it contains.

How do you eat hákarl?

When ready, Hákarl is served without its characteristic outer crust, diced into small pieces. They are eaten just as they are by habitual consumers or served in a glass topped up with Brennivín, the Icelandic aquavit. In this way, the smell is mitigated and the approach to this food is a bit more gentle.

Does hákarl taste good?

Some say Hákarl tastes better than it smells—but that’s certainly up for debate. Zimmern called the taste “sweet, nutty only faintly fishy.” The late Anthony Bourdain, however, wasn’t quite as kind; he said that it was “the single worst, most disgusting, and terrible tasting thing” he had ever eaten.

Is fermented shark healthy?

The craziest fact about the Icelandic Fermented Shark is that the Greenlands shark which is the prime meat used to produce it is actually poisonous while fresh! This is due to a high content of urea and trimethylamine oxide in the shark’s system caused by its utter lack of a urinary system.

Why is Greenland shark meat poisonous?

The flesh of the Greenland shark is toxic because of the presence of high concentrations of trimethylamine oxide (TMAO). If the meat is eaten without pretreatment, the ingested TMAO is metabolized into trimethylamine, which can produce effects similar to extreme drunkenness.

Why is Iceland shark toxic?

How do shark pee?

Sharks actually pee through their skin! The skin absorbs the pee and then it is excreted through the skin.

What is hákarl and how to eat it?

When ready, Hákarl is served without its characteristic outer crust, diced into small pieces. They are eaten just as they are by habitual consumers or served in a glass topped up with Brennivín, the Icelandic aquavit. In this way, the smell is mitigated and the approach to this food is a bit more gentle.

What is hákarl (Shark shark)?

Hákarl or kæstur hákarl (Icelandic for “fermented shark”) is a national dish from Iceland. It consists of a Greenland or basking shark which is rotten, has been cured with a fermentation process, and is hung to dry in an open air shed. National Geographic covers the shark decomposition and preparation in the following video. How is Hákarl Prepared?

How is hákarl made?

For once, it would not seem to be so, because this is exactly the method habitually used to prepare Hákarl: the shark is hung up vertically, leaving the sun and wind to dry it. This is obviously a simplification because in actual fact, the process – which has been refined down through the centuries – is much more complex and lengthy.

What does hakarl taste and smell like?

Those who have slightly more experience with hakarl describe the experience as an unpleasant one at best, as the smell is something similar to ammonia, and the flavor is not much better. But, after all, what does one expect when consuming rotting, dried, fermented shark flesh?