Crazy kids
"I have done crazy things in my life, but never two crazy things within one day."
- My housemate, Jonathan
By the time night fell on Saturday, my two housemates and I felt pretty darn adventurous. Never before had we challenged ourselves to TWO ridiculous feats in one 24-hour period. As if swimming through ice-cold rapids wasn't enough, we had to do one more crazy thing. What is this absurd adventure, you ask? We ate...the head of a sheep.
BOOM.
Now, before you get grossed out, please note that Smalahove (sheep head) is a traditional dish in western Norway, and there are even festivals centered around its consumption. We ordered ours from a fancy restaurant at the local hotel in Voss. I have to honestly admit that it was a little weird to see the face of an animal on my plate, but I was in for the adventure.
Smalahove is very fatty and doesn't have that much proper meat. You mostly eat the skin and the underlying layers of fat. We all agreed that the taste was actually quite pleasant, but some of the textures were hard to contend with. A forkful could be much improved by adding potatoes and creamed turnips, which we had been given as side dishes. I eventually started just pulling out the good muscles and leaving the rest behind, though I did try some of everything.
When it came time for the tongue, the eyes, and the ear, my housemates and I counted to 3 and took simultaneous bites. I have to admit the tongue wasn't that bad; it's mostly muscle, so it had a pleasant texture and tasted just like everything else. The ear was excessively fatty, which I had a hard time with, and I don't really like the crunch of cartilage either. The eye was alright at first, but once the lens popped, my mouth was filled with a squishy gel. Our waitress said the eye reminded her of calamari, but trust me, it was way worse than calamari.
I certainly didn't eat everything, but I did get down to the bone. I'm not sure if I'd ever choose to eat Smalahove again, but I'm proud to say I've tried it once. It was really neat to try a traditional Norwegian dish, especially one that forced me out of my comfort zone.
- My housemate, Jonathan
By the time night fell on Saturday, my two housemates and I felt pretty darn adventurous. Never before had we challenged ourselves to TWO ridiculous feats in one 24-hour period. As if swimming through ice-cold rapids wasn't enough, we had to do one more crazy thing. What is this absurd adventure, you ask? We ate...the head of a sheep.
BOOM.
 |
| Smalahove |
Smalahove is very fatty and doesn't have that much proper meat. You mostly eat the skin and the underlying layers of fat. We all agreed that the taste was actually quite pleasant, but some of the textures were hard to contend with. A forkful could be much improved by adding potatoes and creamed turnips, which we had been given as side dishes. I eventually started just pulling out the good muscles and leaving the rest behind, though I did try some of everything.
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| I'm about to eat the eye! |
I certainly didn't eat everything, but I did get down to the bone. I'm not sure if I'd ever choose to eat Smalahove again, but I'm proud to say I've tried it once. It was really neat to try a traditional Norwegian dish, especially one that forced me out of my comfort zone.
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