Have you ever had the pleasure of tasting Pinnekjøtt? It is the traditional second night of Jul (Christmas) dish. It is lamb which has been salted and dried, rehydrated overnight (changing the water 2 or 3 times), steamed over birch sticks (the pinne part) and then put under the broiler. It is served with a sort of mashed turnip dish and, once again, you drink Aquavit and beer. Somehow, it becomes the essential of lamb, very gamey and very intensely flavored. I adore it. It is a bit heavy and sometimes a little greasy but I confess I ate way too much of it and am eagerly awaiting leftovers later in the week. Pinnekjøtt can also be prepared by smoking it instead of salting it but I prefer the salted one. The flavor is subtler, somehow. Well, back to the pool!
By the way, it is rather nice to compose Norwegian posts with a key board that has the following letters built in as options: Å; Ø; and, Æ.
Posted by Random Penseur at December 26, 2004 01:12 PM