Plokkfiskur from Iceland Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

What is plokkfiskur made of? ›

As with every “traditional” dish, families have their own way of making plokkfiskur. The most basic version is potato, sauteéd onions, haddock, bechamel, and pepper.

Cod and haddock are, without a doubt, the most common fish you will find on people's dinner tables. Ling, plaice, salmon, and redfish are also reasonably popular. Special treat fish are halibut, wolffish, and monkfish.

Hákarl (Fermented Shark)

Iceland's national dish is Hákarl, a fermented shark dish. The sharks are usually Greenland sharks, and their meat is poisonous unless it's been fermented. The whole fermentation process takes between 5 and 6 months and involves the shark meat hanging and curing.

The cooking process

Put the fish in a pot with a pinch of salt and cold water so the water's surface is just over the fish; heat until it boils, and then turn off the heat. Let the fish stay in the water for 10 minutes before you fish the fish out. Pardon the pun. Peel the onion and cut it into tiny pieces.

Icelandic Cod is easily the most important fish in Icelandic waters. This fish is a real treat, with a fresh colour, mild but distinct flavour, and moderately firm flesh with large white flakes. Icelandic Cod is caught throughout the year, with the most being caught during March and October.

While halibut are more common in the warmer waters south of Iceland, they are also caught along the north coast, even within the fjords. There are few large halibut left these days and all fishing for the species is banned.

The main components of a typical Icelandic breakfast include eggs, bacon, sausages, and skyr. Skyr is a traditional Icelandic yogurt that is high in protein and low in fat. It is often served with brown sugar, berries, or cream. Another popular dish is oatmeal or hafragrautur, which is made with rolled oats and milk.

Hákarl or kæstur hákarl (Icelandic for “fermented shark”) is a national dish from Iceland. It consists of a Greenland or basking shark which is rotten, has been cured with a fermentation process, and is hung to dry in an open air shed.

Brennivín is Iceland's traditional distilled spirit and is a type of flavoured spirit that is popular among the Scandinavian countries, called aquavit or akvavit. Brennivín is made from fermented grain or potato mash; however, it is flavoured with caraway or dill.

A great Icelandic lunch choice is the "hangikjot" sandwich. The smoked lamb is thinly sliced and used as lunch meat served on sandwiches or traditional "flatkaka" bread.

What is the most consumed meat in Iceland? ›

Iceland. The most consumed meat in Iceland is chicken, reflecting the worldwide love for poultry and its increasing affordability and versatility. However, lamb is perhaps the most traditional and beloved meat in Iceland, as the country has a long tradition of sheep farming.

It has a strong ammonia-rich smell and fishy taste, making hákarl an acquired taste. Fermented shark is readily available in Icelandic stores and may be eaten year-round, but is most often served as part of a Þorramatur, a selection of traditional Icelandic food served at the midwinter festival þorrablót.

What sets Icelandic hot dogs apart is that they are made mostly from Icelandic lamb, along with pork and beef. And, this isn't just any lamb, pork or beef. This is organic, free range, grass fed, hormone free - pick your positive metaphor - Icelandic lamb, pork and beef.

Gellur is often mistaken to be fish tongues, but actually, they're a fleshy, white, slimy, triangular muscle behind and under the tongue.

Alternatively it refers to cooked fish which has been physically broken down by pounding, grinding, pressing, mincing, blending, and/or sieving, until it reaches the consistency of paste.