How do you spell lutkefish? Ludkafisk? The mid-western dish

[Rowdyboy]

that is stereotypically connected to Lutherans and Scandinavians? I think its white and creamy but I'm really not sure.

Also, if you know what I'm talking about, how hard is it to make and how does it taste?

Thanks

[HEyHEY]

1. JVS - Where are you?

[HEyHEY]

2. Also, I always see JVS spell it "Lutefisk"

[JVS]

21. I sometimes use "lutfisk"

There is a slight difference

Norwegian Lutefisk is served drenched in butter

Swedish Lutfisk is served with a salty cream gravy that is white of course

[Bertha Venation]

3. tho't it was Lutefisk. The piece of cod which passeth all understanding.

;)

Edit: as to your other questions, I don't know. So sorry. I just heard of it because of a button my sister gave me long, long ago. (I collected buttons -- my nickname was "fish" -- I'm a former fundy. My sister is a card.)

[oneighty]

12. Quoting from

a Google story concerning Lutefisk: "Tastiest fish dish since pussy."

So go google it yer own self!

Hee hee hee.

180

[Bertha Venation]

15. in reply, i will be about as obscene anyone will ever see Bertha get:

Never mind.

But comparing the taste of lutefisk to the other?! For shame!

[oneighty]

16. It is a quote!

Certainly not an opinion.

Hee hee hee

180

[Bertha Venation]

17. Smart man. Good answer.

;)

[oneighty]

4. Rotten Shark?

Yukky

180

[nosmokes]

5. i-n-e-d-i-b-l-e n/t

[Zomby Woof]

6. Lutefisk

Having lived in Seattle for 15 years, which has a great Scandinavian community... I know the spelling, but may I never know the lye-infested flavor....

[flamingyouth]

7. It's not midwestern - it's Scandinavian

And it's vile.

[Rowdyboy]

8. Now that I know the spelling of the word, I found this

http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~atman/ic/lutefisk.html

It sounds about as appetizing as haggis.

[flamingyouth]

9. It may be worse

There is no lye in haggis, horrid as that is.

[madrchsod]

10. thank god my grandmother

never fixed this shit. in fact our family can`t stand fish..i think my people came from the farm country in sweden...

[Philosophy]

11. If you eat some you get this as your prize

[HawkerHurricane]

13. My wife makes good lutkefish.

Yes, that's right, my wife from Venezuala makes a authentic Norweigan dish.

But her mom is from Michigan (Frankfort), and her grandparents (that side) are from Norway.

Skeol!

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

14. Lutefisk:

The piece of cod that passes all understanding. ;-)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

18. It's "lutefisk," and although I'm half Norwegian, I was spared it

because it was the bane of my father's childhood, and he refused to have it in the house.

Minnesota Scandinavians have this masochistic attraction to lutefisk, and when my childhood church held a lutefisk supper every December, people would literally come from miles around.

I attended just one of those suppers, and that was more than enough. My mother's uncle, whose wife was Swedish, had the most apt description of lutefisk that I ever heard, "It tastes like warm snot."

Ironically, my understanding is that modern Scandinavians do not eat lutefisk and think of it in the same terms that Americans would view hard tack and salt pork: as something eaten by poor people in the past but almost unknown today.

[Rowdyboy]

19. "Warm snot"....LMAO...My partner and I both LOVED this description

Your great uncle had a way with words...

Sounds similar to "chitlins"...Sorry, I don't eat hog intestines, even if cleaned and deep fried.

Now "mountain oysters" are a different story. I've had them twice and loved them both times....What can I say...?

[JVS]

20. If you are Norwegian it is Lutefisk. If you are Swedish it is Lutfisk

Most people spell it the Norwegian way, including me. But grandma was Swedish so I should say lutfisk.

[JVS]

22. Lutfisk is good if properly prepared. Sadly, very few have the nerves

The hard part about making this dish is that you have to be able to function well while knowing that if you make a mistake you could kill or at least greatly nauseate your family. This is not a situation in which all cooks are comfortable.

The main problem is the lye. The fish starts off dried and in the process of drying some of the fish fat has become rancid. In order to break down this rancid fat we must soak the fish in lye. Here is where the problems begin. Many people are uncomfortable with soaking something that they are going to eat in poison, so they either don't do it thoroughly or they over-dilute the lye. If you do this you will not break down the rancid fish fats and your lutfisk/lutefisk will smell like rancid fish.

Another problem is crockery. If you allow the lye to come in contact with metal along the way, the metal will disolve and you'll probably taste it. Use either a stone crock, or good enamelware.

Now the issue of the rinse. One must be sure to rinse the lutefisk well and continue the rinse process until the fish has returned to its proper white color. If one does not rinse it well enough it could taste soapy.

[BiggJawn]

25. It must never get rinsed properly.

"Fish Soap" is how I've heard it described.

I'll eat damn near anything ( I LOVE mountain oysters and pussy!) (not together, though)
But Lutefisk?
Naw, I don't think so. Same for gefilte fish.

[underseasurveyor]

26. What's that?

The gefilte fish :shrug:

[BiggJawn]

27. Some nasty-looking shit on the shelf at the store....

With the Matzoh and Borscht and the Mogen David wine...

I think it's pickled fish filets.

[underseasurveyor]

23. Lutefisk seems to be very popular

around this neck of the wo- I mean prairie during the holiday season.
I love fish as a rule but I'll have to draw the line where lutefisk is concerned x(

[Rowdyboy]

24. I'm crazy for seafood but....

lutefisk doesn't sound very tempting...