SC - Lamb and Goat recipe

[Decker, Terry D.]

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> From: Par Leijonhufvud <pkl at absaroka.obgyn.ks.se>
> 
> On Fri, 26 Dec 1997, Philip & Susan Troy wrote:
> 
> > The "cod soaked in caustic soda" is presumably a reference to lutefisk:
> 
> The fish is ling, actually, but that is a small difference.

Yep. The problem is that ling is one of those fish which have different
names depending on which market they are being sold in, or which side of
the Atlantic you're on. While I have caught fish called "ling" in waters
off Long Island, which seem, based on structure, coloration, and
behavior, to be a close relative of the much larger cod, I have never
seen anything called ling in the markets, either wholesale or retail.
They appear magically to be transformed into any of several different
kinds of hake. Same fish, different name. However, most of the bacalao
or salt cod that you see in markets is also made from the same hake, so
I suspect that while much of the torski or stockfisk used to make
lutefisk is really ling or hake, it may be more like the old tradition
to use actual cod. Of course, with cod growing much more scarce than it
used to be... .
> 
> A fairly good description of  surstr"omming (umlauts on the o). Yes, the
> cans tend to rather roundish at times.

I hear the aroma is something of a challenge, when you first open the
can, but that it dissipates and ends up smelling fairly good. Ever open
up a less-than-strictly-fresh, factory-sealed packet of ground veal? Now
there's a stench to make Poseidon's armpit seem floral by comparison.
> 
> > As for fried sheep's head, I can only say that I suspect it would depend
> > on the presentation. I'm not a big one for food that looks back at me,
> 
> Wimp. ;-)

Mind you, I didn't say I wouldn't eat such food, I just don't care for
it to be looking at me. It took me quite a while to get used to the
sight of my lady wife dismantling the head of the sea bass with
chopsticks, so as to get at the best parts of the fish, in the most
matter-of-fact, workman-like manner. I would come home from work, and
report to her that we were serving a special of sauteed cod cheeks and
tongues in brown fish jus, on a bed of mascarpone-flavored polenta,
topped with crunchy fried leeks. She would ask why we didn't just cook
the cod heads whole, and I had to explain to her that it wasn't
practically or economically feasible to do so. She then said, "Well,
_that's_ pretty stupid!" I asked why, and she pointed out that then you
don't get soup with it! <sigh> 
 
> What I once ate a dinner in Oslo (together with a lot of other
> traditional stuff, like whale) was smoked jowl of mutton. It looked like
> someone had pealed the one side of the sheeps head, and smoked it. Stil
> recognicable eyeholes, lips, etc. Fairly nic, but rather on the fat side
> for eating more than a little of.

The seemingly huge amount of fat sometimes found in the Northern
European diet stems from a time before central heating. Apparently there
are statistics available for when houses in places like lowland
Scotland, Scandinavia and Germany, suggesting that a rise in heart
attacks was in more or less direct proportion to the increase in houses
being built with some kind of central heating. In any case, the skin and
cartilaginous or gelatinous portions of a cooked head seem to be
_extremely_ filling, if my limited experience is something to judge
from. Mostly pig heads, though. Yes, visible eyeholes and lips. I doubt
eating just a little of it would be too problematical, though: this was
presumably served at a kalas (sp?) with quite a few other dishes? 
 
> Then there is the Gotland "Lammskalle", which is some form of prepared
> sheeps head. Since I have never seen this dish, nor eaten it, I have no
> idea how it is prepared. Supposedly you can buy something on the same
> order canned on Iceland.

MMMMM, good holiday food! ***CANNED*** sheep's head! Yum! 
> 
> /UlfR

Adamantius
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