FOOD NEWS
What Is Hákarl, And Is It Safe To Eat?
By Alli Neal
Often served in cubes or small chunks with a pale, creamy yellow interior and darker rind, Hákarl is an Icelandic delicacy that may look a bit like parmesan or smoked gouda, but tastes nothing like them. Although it was once described as the "single worst, most disgusting and terrible tasting thing" by Anthony Bourdain, it is celebrated as a heritage food in Iceland.
Hákarl is fermented shark meat, prepared by fermenting the poisonous meat of Greenland sharks for three to six weeks in closed containers — or, more traditionally, in the pits dug into the sand near the ocean. After the meat has fermented, it is hung to dry age for three to six months more to neutralize the toxins.
The meat from the shark's body is generally softer, whiter, and has a cheese-like texture, whereas the belly meat is redder and chewier. It’s a somewhat gelatinous meat with a stench of ammonia on the nose and features a taste of strong blue cheese with a finish of urine, which is why even well-made hákarl might be hard to stomach, and bad hákarl can cause serious side effects.
Shark meat is imbued with high levels of urea and trimethylamine oxide, due to sharks not having a urinary tract. Eating uncured shark meat can cause several health hazards, including death, but most Icelandic hákarl is now made under the watchful eye of the Bjarnarhöfn Shark Museum.