SO HERE WE GO. ENJOY THIS READING ABOUT ONE OF THE CRAZY NORWEGIAN TRADITIONS!
Smalahove is a traditional dish of Western Norway. It is made of sheep’s head. Yes, it is the head, intact, cooked and placed on your platter.
Its appearance is what makes it really gross but we tend to forget that the sheep or lamb meat that we eat comes from whole animal which once had a head and was very much alive. So, Smalahove kind of makes sense considering the fact that the head has some meat and other parts to offer which are pretty tasty (if you ask people who have eaten it).
This dish also goes by the names skjelte or smalehovud.
This dish is actually a main course and is usually prepared and eaten right before Christmas.
The literal meaning of the term Smalahove is sheep head.
The head of the slaughtered sheep is first taken and split into two pieces.
Once split, the brain is then removed and the pieces are soaked in water for two days.
Once the soaking process is completed, the pieces are preserved by properly salting them and are then dried and smoked so that the fleece is removed from the head.
Nothing else is removed. This means that the tongue and the eyes stay as part of the dish.
During special occasions, the preserved pieces are then steamed or boiled for nearly 3 hours. This ensures that the meet present on the entire head is properly loosened.
Once boiling or steaming is completed, it is ready to be served. Only one piece of a single skull is served with mashed potatoes and rutabaga. Traditionally Norwegians served the Smalahove with Akvavit (a flavored spirit).
- It is not really necessary that the brain be removed. Sometimes the brain is retained and is cooked right inside the skull. In case the brain is retained, the skull is not split into two and the whole head is cooked at once. Once the cooking is done, the skull is the split into two.
When cooked with the brain inside the skull, people simply use a spoon to scoop out the brain and eat it.
In case the brain is removed prior to cooking, it may be fried and served along with the dish.
As far as the tongue and the eyeballs are concerned, they are considered delicacies.
As far as eating technique is concerned, the eyeballs and the ears are first to go down the esophagus because they are fattiest of all parts and are best eaten while still hot or warm.
Once the fatty parts are down, people then start working working on the meat from the head’s front to the back.
Preparing Smalahove from adult goat or sheep has been forbidden EU directive since 1998. The reason for this ban was the possible transmission of a disease known as Scrapie. It is a degenerative prion disease found only in adult goats and sheep. Studies however reveal that Scrapie cannot be transmitted to humans.
Today Smalahove is prepared only from lamb head and many people find is pretty repulsive and gross. However, it is still a prized delicacy for tourists and others who seek thrill in culinary delights.
- Though the dish originated in Western Norway, it is pretty popular in northern European countries and also the Mediterranean. Originally the dish was eaten only by the poor class of people but today, everyone who finds it appealing eats it irrespective of class and financial status
Edited 18.02.2018
Some guys wanted a reciep.
Please see the link for reciepe
https://steemit.com/cooking/@scandinaviaguide/reciep-for-smalahove-norwegian-dish
Happy to answer questions about Norway and if it is anything you want me to write about.
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Are there any health risks to eating sheep brains? Are other parts of sheep eaten routinely in Norway? In the US, the only time we eat sheep is when they are lambs, for the most part. No one seems to eat "mutton," meat from full grown sheep. I don't even know what it tastes like, but I always assumed it would be too tough. How is the head meat, is it tender?
I have not eaten it. I never been offered it yet. But it should be healthy.
Er have a lot og other seasons hver lamb is very populær to eat. I can write about it.
Thanks for the comment.
I'd be excited to try this dish, but I'm in the United States, where properly cooked sheep's heads aren't commonly available. Could you point me towards a recipe? I live in an area where I'm sure, if I tried hard enough, I could get my hands on a sheep's head.
I can find one.
But i wouldent eat by anyone who hasent made it before.
But it almost å reciepe on the articles. But sure i can find one for you
This seems to be a recipe that was mutilated by Google Translate or a related service. I'm guessing I ought to go to my local halal butcher (there's got to be one of those around me) and ask for a split sheep's head. Roast the thing in a proper roasting pan, and have at it.
And think about how cool it would be to take a plane trip to Norway.
Ohh sorry. Can trie to find a decent English one...
Awesome post !
Thanks a lot
anthropologically speaking this is really cool! very interesting!
Thanks.
More stuff from Norway will come.
After the last big screen movies shot in Norway and the upcoming mission impossible shot partly in Norway they have seen and 25% raise in American tourists going to Norway.
So i hope i can pursade someone into taking the step to go here.
It is a beautiful country with a lot of wild naturen and old history from the viking time.
Thanls