Rotten Shark for Dinner | National Geographic

in the town of Reykjavik siggy a
traditional Icelandic cook is preparing
one of the signature meals of the thorah
block festival as the Vikings once did
feel the poison aroma of the chef this
freshly caught seventeen hundred pound
Greenland shark is naturally full of
urea and other toxins these chemicals
act as antifreeze allowing the shark to
live in waters as cold as minus two
degrees Celsius the toxins are so
concentrated that to eat this meat could
make you seriously ill or possibly even
kill you but fill dabrander be honest
family has a secret chard recipe that
goes back generations and he knows that
the only way to prepare it is to let it
rot as the meat decomposes it oozes
toxic ammonia the chemical found in most
household cleaning products and human
waste I don’t want to say the world this
will probably describe it best in Viking
times shark me was buried out of sight
but Hildebrand prefers to see his
delicacy that way he can keep track of
the decaying process his nose decides
when it is ready to try it’s like
winemaking you know when the meat is at
a perfect rotten state it’s hung to
complete the breakdown process after six
months it’s ready to be served
you did not ha that get under him huh
yeah this is going to be very good it
has two more months it’s going to be a
great great
it’s like ammonia
despite this feast of oddities these
Icelandic partygoers see nothing bizarre
tonight’s main courses
no matter what dish is served city and
the Icelanders agree there is more to
the story than just takes the point is
taking careless tradition having fun
with it no one it is don’t forget it
don’t forget where it goes