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This is Kiviak, a traditional winter foodstuff consumed by Greenlandic Inuits. It may look like a seal’s carcass stuffed with whole, fermented birds because, well, it is. Trust me, this is one dish you’ll want to eat outside.
Kiviak is relatively simply to make. First, collect approximately 400 Auks. Then, stuff them— beaks, feathers, feet, and all—into the hollowed out body cavity of a seal, Tauntaun-style. Next, press out as much air as possible from the carcass and seal it with seal grease to prevent spoilage. Finally cover the meat sack with a large rock pile for approximately 3-18 months. During this time, the Auks ferment within the seal until they can be eaten—raw. Thanks to a layer of fat within the seal sack, the Auks soften while they ferment allowing every part of the bird—save feathers—to be consumed.
Food shortages are common during the long, dark winter months in Greenland. During this time, hunting becomes a very risky proposition due to unsafe ice conditions and the general lack of light. This dish, as repugnant as it may seem to those unaccustomed to it, actually provides an essential food source when fresher fare is unavailable. [Oddity Central via Neatorama]
Image credit to Inga Sørensen
Wow. I pride myself on eating pretty much anything that walks, crawls, flies or swims, but how on earth do people not die from eating this?
Being in a cold, low-oxygen environment keeps spoilage at bay. I’m not saying that it’s going to taste nice, but it’s not likely to be dangerous.
It’s funny that people get queasy at things like this, but don’t think anything about eating milk that’s been left on a shelf for several months.
If you’re EATING milk, it’s probably pretty far gone.
Also, if you were referring to cheese, that isn’t what cheese is. Cheese is significantly more complicated than just off milk.
Really?! I thought it was all just semi-skimmed milk that was left at different temperatures!
Ahh, Greenland. The land of fancy coloured houses on stilts that are filled with china ornaments, carpeted floors and widescreen TVs.
Also, guns for sale stocked alongside the tinned beans at the supermarket.
Well, that’s my experience of having visited Greenland the once, anyway.
Reminds me of Swedish Surstr̦mming Рtake fish, let ferment, seal in a tin, let it continue to ferment (to the point where the tin starts to bulge under the pressure).
A friends wife in Stockholm used to force him to eat it in the garden and leave any remains on the compost – where even the cats wouldn’t go near it!
Never dared to try it myself – I did try Gamla Ost though (Old Cheese). Picture the crust of an old Stilton – but the whole thing like that. That was allowed in the house but had to be kept under wraps in the freezer.
Cheesey.