"It tastes like a cross between licorice and the most powerful of tasting cheeses"
Over in Greenland you may find the locals eating something a little strange around Christmas time. They all it 'Kiviak', which is little more than fermented bird. To the outsider it might seem a little strange and of an acquired taste. This delicacy is considered one of the stranger Christmas meals around but it provides an essential food source when nutritional resources are scarce in the colder months.
Best Start Preparing Early
Do you ever get a little weirded out that supermarkets start displaying signs saying 'get ready for Christmas now!' four months prior to the big day?
They have the turkeys, chickens, pork all marked with Christmas stickers yet the season has yet to turn. It can be strange and a little surreal but preparing for a Christmas feed that early is the norm for some of the traditional locals in Greenland.
For them food preparations for the big day start early as one of their traditional winter meals takes at least three months to prepare. They call it Kiviak which is essentially a meal consisting of fermented bird.
The Process and Taste Experience
Although the process takes a looong time the preparation is pretty easy:
Round up a couple of hundred Auks, a bird similar to a penguin, kill them then stuff them into the skin of a seal. Just stuff them in there feathers and all.
Stitch up the seal skin then smother the seam in seal fat. You definitely do not want to allow flies to gain access to your meal especially as it is going to be sitting around for a while.
Next dig a shallow bowl in the ground, place the bird stuffed seal skin in it then cover in rocks. Set your cooking timer for at least three months and wait... though the longer you leave it the better. 18 months is ideal
When it comes time to eat just slice open that bag of fermented meat goodness, it has probably inflated somewhat with the gas caused by the decomposing meat breaking down so be careful!
Then just dive in, eat it raw. The easiest way to go about this is to first twist the wings off your kiviak, don't worry, it will be easy work and almost fall off. Kind of brush the feathers off the skins, once again easy done. And chow down, bones and all!
But please do eat outside as the smell will permeate everything you know and will not disappear for months!
It has been described as tasting like a cross between licorice and strong tasting cheese. The texture... well we will not go down that route.
It might sound a little extreme but it has been an Inuit tradition for centuries. During the dark and harsh winter months food is far harder to come by so Kiviak is a tradition for these trying times.
