As soon as we booked our flight to Iceland, we started putting together our must do list…
- Witness northern lights
- Soak in a geothermal bath
And….visit The Bjarnarhofn Shark Museum to sample the infamous fermented shark of Iceland.
YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF FERMENTED SHARK?
We were so stinking excited at the idea of the visit to Bjarnarhofn. Gunnar and I had learned of this special shark place in watching travel documentaries together through the years.
Once we booked our trip, we told everyone that would listen how we planned to eat fermented shark in Iceland.
And of course, not one of our friends or family had ever heard of such a thing. Nor could they understand why we even wanted to try it. Especially after we told them that the meat is toxic when it’s fresh, that’s why it’s fermented before it can be consumed.
To these objections, I replied, “Because you just have to eat fermented shark when you go to Iceland”.
Doesn’t everyone know that? Yeah, obviously not. Heck we wouldn’t have either if we didn’t happen to see it on TV previously. But it certainly stuck in our mind since. It didn’t even seem that many people enjoyed it, yet we were excited and determined we were going to do it. And although you can find this special “rotten” shark meat at many locations throughout the country, we just had to sample that Iceland specialty at the Shark museum in Bjarnarhofn!
So on day two of our trip, we headed from Borgarnes in the morning towards the Snaefellsnes peninsula. First stop…Bjarnarhöfn to finally find out exactly what this fermented shark of Iceland tasted like.
As we turned off the main road toward our destination, we passed a van load of tourists at the roadside, admiring the landscapes of the Berserkjahraun lava field. Seems we had arrived in perfect timing. They had obviously just left the attraction and we arrived to find we had the place to ourselves!
WECOME TO THE BJARNARHOFN SHARK MUSEUM
Upon arrival, we met a kind gentleman that collected our admission fee. It was approximately $10 USD/adult (children 12 & under are free). We were delighted that the price included sampling of the fermented shark we were excited to taste in Iceland. He then invited us to guide ourselves around the exhibits within the building for a short time. It was jam packed full of many interesting artifacts and specimen. From local history, fishing gear, taxidermy displays and more.
Quite an interesting place…
After a few minutes the gentleman rejoined us and played a short video showing how the shark meat is processed; from catch to consumption. He added commentary and offered props from a table to provide further insight where helpful. These included jaw bones with teeth, Greenland shark skin and more. It was really quite interesting.
SO WHAT WAS THIS SHARK MEAT LIKE?
When the movie was complete, it was finally time to sample what we had come for…The fermented shark of Iceland. It was placed on a table together with small cubes of bread. Traditionally, one would take a shot of “Black Death” (Brennivin), a schnapps of shorts, with the meat. But for my minor, and me as our only driver, bread seemed like a better option for a chaser.
The little bite sized pieces looked similar to cubes of cheese.
Gunnar excitedly and bravely stepped up to the table first. He took a bite, chewed, swallowed, analyzed…and then went in for another! The kid liked it. Ok, so that made me hopeful that it wasn’t going to be totally awful as some people had reported.
At first it didn’t really seem to have much of a taste…but then it builds and hits you. The best I can describe is a strange sort of “fishy” taste, with an aftertaste reminiscent of smelling ammonia. Like the appearance, the texture reminded me of cheese as well, but a little more giggly.
Yeah, can you tell….it’s kind of hard to describe. You just need to try it for yourselves.
After our taste buds were tested, we continued our exploration within the museum. As we did, the man was very helpful and eager in answering all our questions. He provided us interesting and valuable information not only about sharks, but about Icelandic culture and traditions as well.
THIS IS BJARNARHOFN
Once we wrapped up our conversations with this local resident, it was time to explorations the Icelandic farm of Bjarnarhöfn that he calls home.
This included seeing the open air structure where the shark meat hangs to dry.
Just imagine…that’s what we ate!
And this adorable church which has a congregation of only 5 people who own and maintain it. The whole place was so incredibly charming. Then after capturing some photos and memories, we hit the road to explore more of the Snaefellsnes peninsula.
