Norwegian Ways with Cod

The Norwegians are the experts of the world in dealing with cod. Here are some, but not all of the things they do.

Fresh Cod, Norwegian Style. The day which I spent with Professor Fægri in Bergen included a demonstration of how fresh cod is prepared and cooked there.

At 08.15 the Professor was in the fish market, examining the cod and saithe which were swimming about in the fishmonger’s tank. Some of the cod had recently spawned and were deemed unsuitable because of their ‘spent’ condition. But there was one fine seaweed-coloured specimen which swam with vigour and was fat round the neck, as a cod should be. He chose this and the fishmonger netted it. It weighed 3.7 kg (8 lb), just about right for 6 people. It was immediately killed and gutted and the tail fin cut off, to facilitate bleeding. The Professor had correctly foreseen that it would have no roe but a large liver. This was kept separately. The Professor then took the fish to the Botanical Museum, where he had work to do, and allowed it to ‘rest’ for a full hour, explaining that this repose was a desirable element in its preparation. At 10.00 he laid it on its back and cut it into steaks about 1½ cm across, not quite completing each cut, so that the fish would be easier to carry. The fish was then left under cold running water, to keep its temperature down and to leach out the remaining blood, until the time came (14.30) to take it home.