If you were hoping for some tragic shark attack story, then be prepared for a much funnier tale.
One of the roommates brought home a piece of shark recently. It's a very traditional Icelandic dish which many of the locals proudly claim to never have tried, but we figured "what the hell"?
I'm not sure, but I think what we had was called "Hákarl", which is also called rotten or cured shark because they used to take raw shark meat, dig a hole in the gravel, and allow the shark to rot in it for several months before eating. They did this because it can be dangerous to eat raw shark, especially if not cut properly. I have no idea if the process has recently evolved, but I doubt it.
This is what it looks like in the store. Not scary at all, right?
The most common way to serve is to cut into cubes, stick onto toothpicks, and serve as appetizers at dinner parties. Many locals like to eat it, but still only in small doses.In my opinion, the smell is worse than the taste. It wreaks of ammonia, or as someone else described it, stale urine. It reminded me of being back in Chemistry class when someone had knocked over a beaker of some mysterious substance.
It tastes so "great" that it's usually not eaten alone, but rather chased with an Icelandic hard alcohol named Brennivin (translates into "Black Death"), which is the national alcohol made from potato mash.
I had tried the Brennivin once before and thought it tasted like something charcoal filtered which should only be consumed by college freshmen. And this is supposed to be the "good" part...But here's me with my piece of rotten shark!
It tasted bland and chewy for about 15 seconds, then all of a sudden a surge of ammonia flavor burst out. This is me almost getting sick.
And this is after the shot of Brennivin.
I also chased it with some beer, and this was my impression of the after taste of the three together.
I personally think it's close to being a toss up which one tastes worse, but I say the edge goes to the shark.Suspecting this would be funny, we decided to film the experience. Enjoy my pain!
