Whale is meat, meat can be smoked, and whalemeat is nice smoked. The animal is a minke whale, they shoot it with equipment like this under here, a local whaler. I live at the coast and there is an island out here famous for whaling - but the demand is smaller than before, and the hunters only take out 1/3 of their quota.
(http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss3/trond_c/b27a15a8d344c13a58df0688bbfd652b.jpg)
It's not always easy to get whale meat, but I bought 2 kilos when I had the chance, very black, low fat and tender.
(http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss3/trond_c/IMG_5102.jpg)
When I was a child we ate a lot of whale meat, but then it was not so carefully treated as now, it was looked upon as everyday food, often a taste like cod liver oil (we had to drink a spoonful of that oil every morning, very good for your health, I still try to do so in fact, in winter :) ) Now it is rather expensive and is carefully treated before sold.
It is best either raw in thin slices, or carefully on high temperature in the frying pan, and served rare. It's also nice in stews, gives a very good sauce, but gets dry if cooked just a little to much.
After one hour bath in coarse salt I had it in the Bradley at 185 F until an internal temperature of 113, around one hour in there, with alder smoke. So more or less raw.
(http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss3/trond_c/IMG_5121.jpg)
I have a little strait passing our house here, a lot of smaller vessels pass, now before I ate my whale a nice tugboat passed by
(http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss3/trond_c/IMG_5130.jpg)
I cut the meat in thin slices, had on bread with lettuce, a mix of sour cream and mayonnaise, some lime, ground pepper, onion rings and some sort of "caviar" - not Russian caviar but very reasonable priced fish eggs treated to a nice salty taste ;D
Then my whale looked like this, and tasted very nice :)
(http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss3/trond_c/IMG_5134.jpg)
Very interesting and I'm sure a very touchy subject for some! But I myself would try the meat but please man don't let any of my food touch mayonnaise or sour cream! :o ;D
Heck Trond that looks good. I'd give it a try for sure but like TR said, hold the mayo. ;D
I got no problem eating a whale. Great post!!
Very nice and one whale of a view ;D
Well I really don't know how to respond to this. Yes a touchy subject. I suppose I would not have a problem if you were Inuit as they need whale to survive. But seen as you are not I ...............I guess I should just keep my opinion to myself. I am a hunter (although I have not hunted for some 20 odd years) and I have worked on the commercial fishboats, I have harvest oysters from the beaches and muscles from the pilings, I have eaten kelp from the sea and been an avid sport fishermen enjoying the fruits of my efforts. But I see no need to eat Minke whales or any other whales. Be they from Norway or Japan I do believe there should be no whales taken from the oceans. Please don't take this as hostile as I am writting this with very calm abandon, not wanting to offend you cause it is obviously cultural tradition. And I know our country has fished the cod on the east coast to the point of near destruction and that the salmon stocks of the west coast have at times been well below what ever should have been allowed to get to (though the seem to be having record returns lately) and that is the fault of DFO for allowing it to get this bad. Having said all this I know there are other things that are harvested and should not be and if someone posted that they were about to eat there neighbours dogs I would have something to say about that also. I am not the kind to go out hugging trees cause they want to cut some down although if there were eagle nests at risk I just might hug a tree or 2, ...........wait a minute... this is not keeping my opinion to my self is it. OK I will shut up now. Trond Very creative and nice presentation.
That kinda looks like deer meat.
(http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww263/OU812_bucket/sausage/Jan22_0001.jpg)
Well since you are in Norway and the Norwegian whaling has a history stretching at least one thousand years back, heck I'll try it... :D
I respect your upbringing and traditions TrondC and if it is acceptable to eat whale in your country , right on!!! I don't think a mammal should eat a water Mammal, but thats my 2 cents and I like your posts and look forward to more!!!!
Hey Q, got your back on this one. 8)
Looks great Trond C. Last time I was in Oslo I had some whale carpaccio in a restaurant and scored some smoked whale from a truck down by the harbor. Great stuff.
Whale...really...I'm not doing a Cali thing but whale? I just think they are beautiful creatures...I like cows and pigs too...but I eat them...and fish...but whales? I'm not sure I could do it...but...OK...have at it... ??? It looks good... :o
Thanks for nice comments! I know there is different opinions on shooting and eating whale, I respect that, was afraid of aggressive comments but no, that´s a quality forum sign :) The mayo though, no mercy for mayo I see. Ok, some use it to much beside all sorts of food, but used carefully it´s nice, mayo is just egg yolks and oil/olive oil most of times, some vinegar and here, with garlic. Some places they call i Aioli, and here mixed with a bigger amount of sour cream - maybe that word is not quite on the point, we call it "roemme" and it is more or less like Cremefraiche, if my french is as it should :) This mix is very good as cold salads with shrimps, scampi, cold salted herring etc.
Anyhow, I like pictures, and here is one of the pilot boat going out from this island with the whaling boat, I think there is only one left, one fine summer day in 2007.
(http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss3/trond_c/Sommer2007033.jpg)
And when I talk about boats, some weekends ago KNM Hitra went by here. She is now a working museum vessel, was given from USA to Norway in 1943 to use on an important route between here Norway west coast north of city Bergen to Scalloway in islands Shetland out west. Originally a sumbarine chaser built in 1942/43 at Fisher Boats Works in Detroit, it and two sister ships was used in stead of the small and slow fishing wessels used before, to carry agents, weapon etc. More here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HNoMS_Hitra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HNoMS_Hitra)
(http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss3/trond_c/IMG_5079.jpg)
I've eaten whale a few times on my trips to Greenland. Also had seal meat too.
Cool pictures my friend.
Never seen or put foot in the ocean but been to some big lakes.
Meat is meat mans gotta eat. ;D
Love the pictures!! Heck I'll try eating anything once it looks tasty!!
Got me thinking of the show Whale Wars...........LOL!! Watch out they might hack our thread and start following your friends around LOL!! I will try anything once and whale of any kind would be a treat in my out look. Anyone every tried to make whale jerky?!?!
Trond, love the boat pics! It's a passion of mine. Never had an opportunity to taste whale, but really enjoyed your post.
Nice post! I'd definitely try that!
Looks Tasty I would try some. As for the rest of the argument. I am in the "If done responsibly" The food source will continue to sustain healthy population levels, Camp.
First I will say Sorry. Now I am going Greenpeace on your asses. ;D I will start by saying I will not post the pics as this is a family channel and I realize the pics I found were of the Danes, but they corral up whole herds (100s) of them and drive them into the shallows where they get in the water up to their waist and then literally club and scythe the beasts to death in a bloody red bay of horror and death, somewhat reminiscent of what the Japanese do with the dolphins. I understand that, that which you speak of is done more humanely as they only chase the whales down with their ship and then shoot a 150 lb spear head threw their bodies which allows them to bleed out peacefully in their natural habitat. I am not trying to start a war on the forum, just to open the eyes of those who are unaware of that which goes on outside our world. Well I think I will go kill a bald eagle. It should do nicely in the Big easy. Kind of like turkey. Hope I haven't offended anyone, this is not intended. Oh yeah I like the boat pics too. I have lived my life around boats and they are also a passion of mine.
first off Q...I agree with you...but the way cows are killed for steaks is equally as brutalish...BUT...we eat them...I'd try whale...hell I'll try anything...but sea mammals seem to be different to me...don't know why...other than orcas(killer whales)...regular whales just seem off limits to me...I know...this doesn't make sense...and feel free to beat me up on this!!! ???
I'd definitely try it!!!
And the plating is awesome...Seduction Meal.
Great post!
Quote from: Quarlow on June 07, 2011, 08:05:37 PM
I understand that, that which you speak of is done more humanely as they only chase the whales down with their ship and then shoot a 150 lb spear head threw their bodies which allows them to bleed out peacefully in their natural habitat.
Well, bleed out peacefully, I don´t know, but they die as quick and peacefully as a deer shot or any other animal shot. If you look at the first picture - the spear is shot out and into the whale. The red cylinder in front of the spear is a grenade, the two hooks you see hook into the thick layer of blubber under the skin, they are connected to the grenade, ignites it, and the explotion that is measured to the sort of whale gives a shock that kills it. But they are killed as humane as one can kill an animal, I guess whales and other hunted animals had a "happier" last time, as some here said, than farm animals last hours if they are industrially slaughtered.
Anyhow, cow tastes better than whale, that´s probably why we farm more cows than whales ::) But can´t eat only one sort of meat just because it is best. Nice that more than me likes pictures of boats - I´ll tell if this one or it´s like comes by ;D
(http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0120a6251d89970c-600wi)
Next I will smoke mackerel, they have come here now, if I get my small boat out this weekend and get some - if I set out a net over the night there will be a lot of them. I will hot smoke some, and some will be salted/brined in salt for some weeks and than cold smoked.
LQ, I am not trying to beat anyone up, besides from what I hear you could probably take me. :D :D :D I don't duck quick enough from tea bags. ;D
I hear that the explosion makes the kill quicker but somehow that makes it seem even more brutal.
Anyway I have watched whale wars a number of times and though I agree with them protesting the Japanese whale kill I don't agree with some of their practices. I don't think you should put human life in harms way to make your point. Sure go chase them around and disrupt them so they can't kill, even bump ships with them but don't endanger the lives of the crew who get caught up in the thrill of it. But then again I don't like Paul Watson to much after he hire some idiot as a guide and went into the wilderness in the middle of winter to protest the wolf kill program. Go ahead and protest the wolf kill, but they all had to be rescued by Search and Rescue and all came very close to death because they weren't prepared for the conditions.
Well TrondC I am not trying to bust your hump just get my point across, I have enjoyed your posts and hope to continue. If I have offended you in anyway I apologies. I am not trying to alienate you either. I look forward to more of your pics, you live in a place I would love to see someday and seeing your pics just makes me want to see it even more.
Quote from: Quarlow on June 08, 2011, 03:30:54 PM
But then again I don't like Paul Watson to much after he hire some idiot as a guide and went into the wilderness in the middle of winter to protest the wolf kill program. Go ahead and protest the wolf kill, but they all had to be rescued by Search and Rescue and all came very close to death because they weren't prepared for the conditions.
Was that in the late 80's around Fort Nelson?? I had to go out searching for Green Peacers up there protesting the wolf kill back then. Bunch of idiot's were from down south and were out there in January in -35* blizzard conditions LOL. They were close to dead when we found them. Their plan was to 'build igloos and live among the wolfs" LOL. Not 1 piece of artic gear among them. The wolfs would have loved them, I am sure they would have been tasty even frozen LOL.
Yes about the mid 80's or so. I was living in Prince George at the time. If I remember right the guide left them to try and find help and they had to find him in a separate search. What a bunch of goombaa's. You should have left them there. I was working in the bush logging up to my waist in snow in -45. I could have lived very well outside in the bush with the right gear and with all the money they had behind them they couldn't have kept one preson warm let alone the rest of the group. I have had no respect for Watson ever since.
I was logging out of Fort Nelson at the time. We were volintold we had to go looking for those clowns LOL. The funny thing is they were way North of Fort Nelson, in on the muskeg, no wolfs around there LOL.
Shows how smart the guide was. :(
If I recall, it wasn't even a local guide. It was another tree hugger from Washington State if I remeber right who had a BC guideing cert, but had never been in the north.
So he was a mail order guide then. Yuk yuk.
Q...Goombas? Really? I am from goomba New Jersey via Florida and Cali...not my fault kept getting transferred...cracks me up when I see that moniker!!! ;D ;D ;D
LOL that is funny, Roflmao :D :D :D
those fish eggs are called masago (smelt) or tobiko (flying fish),popular with the sushi crowd.just an fyi.