Hákarl

I was listening to the local radio station on Friday while driving my daughter to school. They were talking about a type of food that the Vikings invented called Hákarl (pronounced Hey Carl?). I guess that there are people in Iceland who still eat this. As a proud eater, I always thought I would never find anything that I wouldn't try at least once... but I don't think I would ever want to eat this...

Basically, they take a dead shark and bury it in gravel for two or three months... until it "Putrifies." GAG! Then they dig it up and let it dry in a shack for a couple of months. Now here's the kicker... I found a couple of sites where they talk about urinating on the shark carcass before covering with gravel. There's something about how the urine reacts with the acids in meat. They say Hákarl has a strong odor of ammonia and is difficult to eat for newbies. It sounds pretty nasty if you ask me. I thought I'd look it up online and found a website that had some photos and a recipe (minus the pee). Click on the picture to read it.

Good Advice: Think twice before eating that "Shark Jerky" that your Icelandic friend, Jóhann, offers you. Sick!