Traditional Norwegian Christmas Recipes

The Christmas dinner has long and strong traditions in Norway. Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve. Christmas dinner is a central element in a traditional Norwegian Christmas celebration. Dinner is served at 5 pm which is by most considered the official start of Christmas. For the next 13 days the holidays are celebrated with friends and family.

There are three different meals that are typically served for Christmas dinner. In the western parts of Norway most people eat 'Pinnekjøtt'. In the Northern and eastern parts of Norway 'Ribbe' is found on almost every table. In the south fish is more popular. There are different kinds of fish recipes use at Christmas. This article will focus on Lutefisk.

Probably the best known Nordic food in North America is Lutefisk. This peculiar dish is common in parts of America and Canada with large Scandinavian communities. In North America lutefisk is eaten all year round. In Norway lutefisk is a typical Christmas food. Lutefisk is not a very common Christmas Eve dinner but it is a very popular meal during the Christmas Holidays.

Making lutefisk from scratch is a very time consuming process. Lutefisk is made from dried white fish almost always cod. Starting with two pounds of dried cod will yield 10 pounds of finished lutefisk.

The first step is to soak the fish in cold water. Put the dried fish in a pan of cold water for 5 to 6 days. Change out the water daily.

Next the fish is soaked in a lye solution. This step gives the lutefisk the characteristic consistency. Finished lutefisk is almost jellylike in texture. This texture is a result of the lye eating away about half of the protein in the fish. To create the lye mix 4 table spoons of lye into 3 gallons of cold water. Lye is very corrosive so be careful to not get any of the lye or the lye solution on your skin. It is common to use protective rubber gloves during this step. The fish is soaked in the lye for 2 days. Again, change the solution daily.

After having soaked in the lye the fish will be toxic and highly caustic. For the fish to be edible it needs a second round of soaking in cold water. Leave the fish in a pan filled with water for another 6 days. It is essential that the water be changed every day in this step to make sure the lye is completely washed out of the fish.

If the two week preparation time is a little too much you can buy ready to cook lutefisk in many stores. Lutefisk can even be ordered online if you live in an area where it is not available locally.

Cooking the lutefisk is very quick. Traditionally lutefisk is steam cooked in a sealed pan for 10 - 20 minutes. It's important to be very careful when cooking lutefisk to keep the fish from breaking into pieces. Recently many people have started oven baking lutefisk. To warm the fish in a stove wrap the pieces in aluminum foil and bake it at 435 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes.

Lutefisk is traditionally served with many different side dishes. Most common is fried bacon pieces, green pea stew, potatoes and mashed rutabaga. Many also enjoy a piece of "gammalost" (old cheese). Lutefisk is served with beer and Aquavit. Aquavit is a anise flavored hard liquor that is served with Christmas dinner all over Norway.

If the consistency and powerful smell of lutefisk is a little too exotic for your tastes, Pinnekjøtt is an excellent and very traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner. Pinnekjøtt translates to 'stick meat' in reference to the wooden sticks used in the preparation of the dish.

Pinnekjøtt is made from dried mutton ribs. Separate the ribs and soak them in cold water over night. Put a grate or better fresh cut birch twigs in the bottom of a pan and cover them in water. Put the mutton ribs in the pan and steam it at medium heat until the meat comes loose from the bone.

Pinnekjøtt is served with mashed rutabaga and potatoes and naturally beer and aquavit.

Pinnekjøtt is fast and easy to prepare and very tasty, but if you want to eat the most typical Norwegian Christmas dinner there's no way around ribbe. Ribbe is made from pork ribs and is the undisputed Norwegian Christmas meal. Every Christmas Eve about 60% of all Norwegians sit down at thetable to the traditional ribbe meal.

For this recipe you will need a 5 pounds of pork ribs with rind. Cut the bones with scissors and cut squares into the rind with a sharp knife. Rub the ribs with salt and pepper. The ribs bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Put the ribs in a baking pan with the rind facing down into the pan. Pour about 2 pints of boiling water into the pan around the ribs. After 30 - 45 minutes, turn the ribs over. With a ladle pour some of the water from the pan over the rinds. Repeat this intermittently for the reminder of the baking time. For the last 15 minutes, let the ribs bake with the stove door open. This will encourage the rind to turn crisp. The crispness of the rind is a common way to judge the quality of the ribs. The crisper the better.

Ribbe is served with a selection of traditional sides. Potatoes, sauerkraut and baked apples with prunes are very typical. Many people also eat their ribbe with cranberry jelly and even spicy minced pork sausages (medisterpoelse). As always the meal is accompanied by beer and aquavit.

Any of these three recipes will guarantee an authentic Norwegian Christmas dinner. Ribbe is the meal that most people will associated with Christmas. Pinnekjoett is steadily becoming more popular. Lutefisk is the food most commonly recognized as typical Norwegian food in North America. No matter what version of the traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner you choose remember that the meal is always served at 5 pm on Christmas Eve. If you have Norwegian relatives or are entertaining Norwegians guests for Christmas, any of these recipes are bound to impress.