Thread: Smoked deer heart....

Originally Posted by Rushy

I thought it was the Ammonia.

You caused me to wonder, @Rushy and so:

"So, inevitably, the question must be asked--why not eat fresh shark meat? The reason for this is actually simple--fresh shark meat, from the sharks of that region, is poisonous. In Iceland the sharks that are predominant are Greenland sharks, which do not have urinary tracts and, therefore, must secrete their urine from their skin. As a result, high amounts of uric acid become so concentrated in the shark that eating even some of it can potentially cause people to vomit blood. By allowing the shark to fully decay and be cured the acid is removed from the flesh, thus making it easier to digest.

So, ironically, by allowing meat to go bad, it actually becomes "good". How the Icelanders stumbled upon this discovery brings many possible scenarios come to mind--a stranded traveler desperate for food stumbling on old meat, an inventive fisherman discovering ways to make Greenland shark edible by trial and error, and so on and so forth. Whatever the case, no one may ever know. But one thing's for sure, for all you adventurous foodies out there, this would be your Everest!


Tim