Lutefisk

Arborealus · Post by **Arborealus** » April 23, 2004, 2:42 pm

feeds 10 people
time needed: about 2 weeks

Ingredients:
1 kg dried fish
100 g caustic soda
30 liters of water

Saw the fish in suitably sized pieces or leave it whole. Put in water. Leave in water in a cool place for 5-6 days if cut in pieces, 8 days if the fish is whole. Change the water every day.

For the luting use a plastic or stainless steel or enamelled tub (the enamel must be unchipped). Wooden vessels, china or stoneware may also be used.

Place the fish in the tub with the skin side up. Dissolve caustic soda in the water, pour over the fish until covered complete by lut water. Leave the fish in a cold place for 3-4 days.

When the fish is completely luted, it will be well swollen and you should be able to put a finger through it. Rinse the fish and leave in cold water 4-6 days. Change water every day.

If the fish stays in water for too long after the luting, it may be soft and difficult to boil. Test boil a piece, if you are uncertain.

Do not make lutefisk in the warm season.

Pherr the Dorf · Post by **Pherr the Dorf** » April 23, 2004, 2:45 pm

Don't make lutefisk in a cold season

Don't make Lutefisk in any season in between

Arborealus · Post by **Arborealus** » April 23, 2004, 2:56 pm

Sorry posted in wrong forum...but we don't have a Culinary Mistakes Forum...:/

Pherr the Dorf · Post by **Pherr the Dorf** » April 23, 2004, 3:15 pm

I had to make fun of it, I love salt cod but lutefisk makes me gag

Arborealus · Post by **Arborealus** » April 23, 2004, 3:53 pm

Yeah we really need a things one should never eat thread...

Pidan
Lutefisk
etc

Drolgin Steingrinder · Post by **Drolgin Steingrinder** » April 23, 2004, 4:55 pm

surströmning

one of the swedes can fill you in, the very thought makes me want to gag.

Arborealus · Post by **Arborealus** » April 23, 2004, 5:08 pm

Surströmning

You need stromming. The fish should not be of sill-type. That is,
not too fat. You also need coarse grained salt. A 60 liter plastic
barrel was recommended. It should have a lid equipped with a priming
cock, a sort of ventilator or regulator to prevent the barrel to
explode when the fermentation process begin. About 35 to 40 kg
stromming is suitable for the 60 l barrel.

The brine concentration. They use a salt measurer, a salinometer
of some sort, having a scale expressed in degrees. An approximate
way to get the right brine concentration was to make holes in the
bottom of a bucket, fill it with the coarse grained salt, and sieve
the water through the salt...which should give a "saturated" brine
of 23 "degrees".

Gut the fish and take away the heads too.

Day 1.

Fill the 60 l barrel to one third, about 20 l, with the 23 degree
brine. Put in the fish, add salt on the top. Let it rest for a
few hours. Then stir every third hour for the rest of the day.

Day 2.

The brine should be much less salty, about 11 degrees, because much
of the dissolved salt should be in the fish by now. Keep 5 l of
the brine, the call it the blood brine. Sieve the fish and throw
away the remaining brine. Make a new brine, 20 liter, 12 degrees.
Fill the plastic barrel with one third brine, 20 l, these 20 l
should include the 5 l blood brine, and add the fish. Put on the
lid. Keep it 17 to 18 deg C. You must use the ventilator the
prevent it from exploding. It will be ready in mid August. It
will stink.

Lalanae · Post by **Lalanae** » April 24, 2004, 1:01 am

my horse in EQ was named Lutefisk

he smelled funny