Kyse ei ole siis pannulla paistetuista silakoista vaan vanhalla hyvällä reseptillä valmistetusta Holkerista eli jäähaista. Pilkottua kalaa siis kypsytetään muutama kuukausi jonka jälkeen se kuivataan. Voimakas aromista tavaraa!
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First, catch a shark. Cartilaginous saltwater fish (sharks, rays, skates) have an unusually high proportion of urea and TMAO (a nitrogen containing molecule) in their tissues. It is so high, the uric acid can cause uremic toxicity. So, sharks must be bled and iced immediately after caught to remove the uric acid. Eating the raw meat of the Greenland shark has caused reactions in humans ranging from vomiting blood, to death. The meat's toxic effect on sled dogs is slightly different, causing them to appear drunk; Greenlanders call this "shark drunk." We will not bleed and ice our Greenland shark, however. Putrefication is in our future!
Take your shark carcass and remove its internal organs. Discard the head and cartilage. Take the chunks of shark meat and wash off the blood and other shark-slurry. Now, press the pieces together and either wrap them up in a bundle and bury them in a shallow hole (~2m deep) in the beach's gravel or, alternately, place them in a slated box. This is actually a classic French technique (similar to baking in caissettes en papier) called préparation dans la boîte horrible. Leave the shark to suffer the elements for a month and a half (in summer) or nearly 3 months (in winter). During this time, bacteria break down the urea into ammonia, which runs into the ground or out of the slated box. The fluid draining from the shark's flesh smells strongly of ammonia and urine. When its "done," the shark meat is hung to dry for 2-4 months. After this, it is eaten without further preparation.
Apparently, the cured and putrefied meat has a very strong smell, like Stilton or Rocquefort. It often still has a strong ammonia smell to it. An anecdote I found online on eating hákarl notes that something with a pH 3-4 will neutralize ammonia, and surmises that Brennivín, aka "Black Death" (a type of caraway-flavored potato vodka, and the favored accompaniment to hákarl), is probably in this range. Anything with a higher pH will probably cause your shark to retain its pee-like overtones.
