Swedish Lutefisk

Bergy's Note:

This is a traditional Swedish dish (also served in Norway but the Danes have more sense). It is a dish that you acquire a taste for (like Haggis). When you do acquire a taste you love it so I'm told. I have not cooked this recipe but it comes from a traditional source. This is not a joke this is an authentic recipe!

• Total Time: 480 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 240 hrs
• Cook Time: 240 hrs 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 piece dried lutefisk, sawed into 6 inch lengths
• 2 tablespoons lye

Directions:

1. Soak the fish in clear water for 3 days.
2. Add 2 tbsp lye into a gallon of water.
3. Soak for 3 days in this solution.
4. Then soak for 4 days in clear water, changing the water every day.
5. To cook the lute fish--------.
6. Tie the fish loosely in a square of cheese cloth.
7. Drop in a large enamel pot of boiling water.
8. Cook 10 minutes or until well done.
9. Remove cheese cloth put on a platter and debone.
10. Serve with a white sauce or a mustard sauce.

Reviews

[KookieMomster]

But EWWWWWWWWWWw! I thought that my grandmother was the ONLY person on Earth that got offended by people making fun of this stuff. She loves it. I abstain on the basis that body is a temple and eating anything prepaired in lye would defile it. That includes grits too.

[Richard Schwehr]

I was raised with having Lute Fish every Christmas. My Grandmother is Swedish so thatis how I was introduced to the fish. As a young child my Grandpa would trick us into eating the fish by mashing it into our mashed potatoes! Then I decided I would just eat it on my own. I like it with white sause and with boild Swedish potatoes covered in real butter. Most Christmass I get two or three feeds of Lute Fish, ist great!

[JOHN TYLER]

This is a very traditional recipe. My grandfather came from sweden and we had it often. He is gone now but we still keep the tradition alive at holiday time. The trick is not to cook the fish too long or it will be soft and it's the texture that " makes it or breaks it." a funny story tells about a woman who had skunks under her house and she was told to put lutefisk in the basement and they would leave. It worked but then she couldn't get rid of the norwegians! The lye was obviously a preservative; these days you can buy it frozen. If dried lute fisk is used, do not use sterling silverware or the lye will darken it.