Have a friend who is doing a project and cooking the national dish of every country (currently has done 73 countries). I’ve been invited to the Iceland dinner that includes hakarl. He is looking for Icelandic or Nordic liquor or beer to pair with the dinner. Any thoughts? Thanks.
Probably whatever makes one forget or perhaps properly numbs/chocks the tastebuds most. Brännvin?
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Have a bottle of Brännvin ordered already. Cocktail suggestions? Anything more adventurous than Brännvin?
Carbonic pinotage (fauxjolais) is reputed to pair with Finnish cuisine.
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When we visited a few years ago I had a killer manhattan/old fashioned type drink made with Icelandic birch liquor. Recipe from their website shows ingredients as rye whiskey, birch schnapps and honey. I replicated it back home with some mini bottles of the birch liquor that I picked up at the airport and it turned out really well. Looks like you can buy the birch liquor in the US.
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Depending on where you are, Einstock would be your best chance for beer, reasonable quality and a decent breadth of styles. I know a few of the breweries on this list ( 10 Local Breweries in Iceland - Taste a Local Beer - Go Look Explore )have had importation at one point or another, might be able to find one that still exists close to you. Darker beers ship better, shelf better, will have a more distinct malt character so would look for them if possible.
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The classic pairing for lutefisk is aquavit. I imagine it’s good with hakarl too.
To understand the relationship between aquavit and lutefisk, here’s an experiment you can do at home. In addition to aquavit, you will need a slice of lemon a cracker, a dishtowel, ketchup, a piece of lettuce, some caviar and a Kit-kat.
- Take a shot of aquavit.
- Take two. (They’re small.)
- Put a bit of caviar on a bit of lettuce.
- Put the lettuce on a cracker.
- Squeeze some lemon juice on the caviar.
- Pour some ketchup on the Kit-Kat bar.
- Tie the dishtowel around your eyes.
If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not yet had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk. Return to step one.
from: Classic lutefisk story
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Lutefisk. For those who prefer their fish cooked in Drano.
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Lutefisk/Lutfisk is child’s games in comparison. Think bigger, surströmming is probably closer though might be next level aromatics (tase better?).
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In embryology, we all have gill slits that develop into different organ systems. One of the organ systems sharks, (with their 5-7 gill slits) never develop are kidneys, which remove urea from the blood. So compared to Lutefisk, it is more like Drano mixed with ammonia.
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Don’t think cocktails will do it, moonshine from a reliable source.
I should add that I never tried it though I am quite sure it most likely isn’t something that goes down easily. An acquired taste.
There are a lot of delicious dishes from Iceland for a more culinary experience with pairings, but looking forward to hear about the experience!
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Not a pairing video, but possibly a reflection of the lack of choices. I had forgotten that beer wasn’t even legal until 1989!
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Interesting. (But what an obnoxious presenter!) I think of Iceland as a place to ride great horses and see gorgeous landscapes, not a culinary destination.
Well yes, but sophomoric was a basis for the show. It did occasionally have neat tidbits though and quite funny that he hits three of the four pairing recs here. Beer, Moonshine and Black Death.
What’s the target audience, fourteen-year-old boys?
I couldn’t even watch the whole episode, it was so tasteless.
College kids most certainly. Sorry to expose you (my attempt at bringing some humor to the unfortunate pairing situation) but surprised your aren’t at least familiar. It was a kind of a thing at the time. They can’t all be Bourdain 
who walked around with Pappy 23 in his pocket
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Best not show her the one from Dubrovnik then……
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Nope, never heard of this guy. There are a lot better regular YT channels out there if I want to watch food-related videos.
Josh,
Is your friend documenting this somewhere?
Would be fun to visualize some of this ambitious endeavor. It must be a decade goal?
Just his Insta now–which I’m not sure is open to the public? Think eventually he plans to make a cookbook of it.