I will totally get some Lutefisk IRL.

I have spent AGES converting stuff to lutefisk using that box, and as a result developed an unhealthy fixation to it
It is a completely unknown dish here, though, but luckily, I've a friend up in Scandinavia who's coming to visit next week, and I asked him to bring me some lutefisk

 

Please do post back here once you do. It's absolutely horrible, mind you.

For anyone who doesn't know, it's basically dried whitefish (mostly ling here in Finland, Norwegians almost exclusively use cod), which is first soaked in water for about a week, then soaked in watered down lye (sodium hydroxide) for two days. This soaking in an alkaline liquid makes the fish caustic (with a pH value in the low 'teens), and inedible, which is why it's then soaked for another week in water, to make it somewhat pH neutral and edible.

To prepare the "treat", it should be cooked. As Lutefisk already has a ton of water in it, no additional liquid is needed. The fish is to be placed in a pan, and the pan should be sealed as tightly as possible. The temperature must be very low, and the fish should be steam cooked for no more than half an hour.

Again, it's probably one of the most nauseating dishes I've ever come across, and I wish you well in your endeavor to give this 400-year-old culinary tradition a go.

 

Encouraging words for our brave friend. Good luck, mrmotinjo.

 

The only thing I remember about Lutefisk preparation was that if you screw up just a little in one step, you get soap instead of food. I don't eat anything that's a few degrees away from soap.

 

As someone who has family in Minnesota (LOTS of Scandinavians, mostly Norwegian) I have ate lutefisk once... I wish you the best of luck.

 

Forget pictures, YouTube this adventure plx.

 

This guy never came back. Has lutefisk claimed another victim?

 

@Desi rofl!

Lutefisk is some nasty sounding stuff. I'm one of those "damn hippies" who doesn't eat fish etc. Even if I did, I don't think I could stomach it. "Fermented, jellied fish" just has too many negative sounding adjectives for my liking... Though saying that, Dungeons of Dredmor has instilled in me a certain level of reverence for the stuff. Some of the Youtube reactions to eating it are hilarious too.

(No cultural disrespect to Norway btw - You guys had vikings... And our national dish is sheep guts boiled in stomach lining, so I'm hardly one to pass comment on dodgy delicacies) >.>

 

I'd much rather just eat sushi. I can handle raw fish just fine but this Lutefisk'ing process sounds absolutely YUCK!

 

English people are so finicky in what they eat. Come to East Asia and we'll serve you every single internal organ you can think of. And every single animal you can think of, probably.

Having said that, I probably won't eat lutefisk. It sounds too much like soap for its (and mine) own good.

 

@Embolus And covered with every spice you can think of too, right? From what Asian food I've eaten there's a LOT of fantastic spices in most dishes.

Lutefisk. Even the word looks weird when you consider it's a food. I'd probably not try it ever.

 

I don't know about spices. Seems to me the only staple "spice", in the sense that its purpose is to add flavour rather than it being an actual spice; is soy sauce. I think we certainly do put more emphasis on spices rather than herbs, which it seems Western cuisine focuses more on.

If you're talking about Indian cuisine however, then sure: they love their spices. Especially curry. The Indian people I know eat everything with curry. When in doubt, add more curry.

Anyways... back to lutefisk. Is the OP still alive?

 

Wouldn't it be tastier and more hygienic to just snort some soap flakes and pick your nose for a while?
Sounds less repugnant as well, tbh.

mrmotinjo, plz let us know you're okay.

 

I happened to be camping in Sweden last week, and I had the foolish idea that I of course had to try the Swedish fermented rotten fish speciality: Surströmming.
Even if I havn't tried Lutefisk yet, I can at least promise you that it can't be worse.

I read an article about a study which proclaimed sürstrømming to be the most foul smelling foodstuff in the world, and I don't doubt it.
I'm just glad I had a bottle of snaps to down it with.

 

@Crunchy Oh God, I can't stop laughing at that image.

 

Lutefisk is from Norway.

What the hell is it?
Ahhh, Lutefisk. After the larvae-ridden cheese, it's a blessed relief to sample a clean, down-to-earth Scandinavian recipe.
A little too clean.
http://cdn-i.dmdentertainment.com/cracked/wong/lutefisk1.jpg
Lutefisk is a traditional Norwegian dish featuring cod that has been steeped for many days in a solution of lye, until its flesh is caustic enough to dissolve silver cutlery.
Wait, it gets worse ...
For those of you who don't know, lye (potassium hydroxide/sodium hydroxide) is a powerful industrial chemical used for cleaning drains, killing plants, de-budding cow horns, powering batteries and manufacturing biodiesel. Contact with lye can cause chemical burns, permanent scarring, blindness or total deliciousness, depending on whether you pour it onto a herring or your own face. Or, so the lutefisk industry would have us believe.
Danger of this turning up in America:
IT'S ALREADY HERE! Shit!
It' true, lutefisk is more popular in the United States than in Norway. What the hell are they doing with it? They're not eating it are they? Is it because it' a cheap alternative to colonic irrigation? Seriously, how do you advertise this stuff?

The Great Lutefisk Experiment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N5Ehu7Aa5Q

Lutefisk was features on Cracked.com as one of the most terrifying foods in the world along with Balut, Pacha, Baby Mice Wine, Casu Marzu and Escamoles.
Google them, if you dare.

Hf

 

Well.. it's not too surprising that it's in the US. There was a rather sizable Scandinavian emigration to the north-central US long ago and they still keep some Nordic traditions in the area. Besides sounding kinda like Canadians, eh?

 

Don't forget to yell out SKOL! every few moments while preparing this feast!

 

Do Canadians stick "eh" after every sentence or what?