I had an opportunity to taste hákarl last night. It was, without a doubt, the most intense food I have yet eaten. We started off with some dried cod which tastes great but smells like a fish market. The cod was child's play compared to what came next.
The hákarl smelled like it should, being putrified shark meat. Little pungent ammonia-smelling yellow cubes, perfect for stabbing with toothpicks. The taste was like nothing I've had before. Not fishy really, almost solvent-like. Truly indescribable. The after taste was even stronger. I ate about three cubes total.
Surprisingly, no chunder struck. The beverage of choice was brennivin, an Icelandic schnapps that greatly helped to cleanse the palate after experiencing such a powerful taste.
