# Ask the guy who just ate some hakarl **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 16, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966 "2011-03-16T21:18:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/1 "2011-03-16T21:18:17Z")
I just ate two chunks of hakarl and survived. Ask away if you’re interested in this mundane feat. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/2 "2011-03-16T21:26:28Z")
Is the name onomatopoeic? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/3 "2011-03-16T21:28:31Z")
Does it really taste as if it was marinated in ammonia? Or worse? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/4 "2011-03-16T21:29:42Z")
Ammonia-ey? Have trouble getting it down? Were you drinking? ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/5 "2011-03-16T21:30:06Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > I just ate two chunks of hakarl and survived. Ask away if you’re interested in this mundane feat. Why did you eat it? What does it taste like (details, we need details!)? Would you eat it again? What beverage(s) would you recommend to go with hakarl? ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/6 "2011-03-16T21:58:05Z")
**Colophon** , yes, I was prepared to hakarl a.k.a. hurl. **CalMeacham,** no, I didn’t taste any ammonia. It was FAR worse. **Pravnik** , yes, I had some trouble getting it down, and no, I wasn’t drinking. **Cwthree** : I ate it because I want to be able to say I have eaten hakarl and I wanted to know if it really is the worst food in the world. Also, I wanted to prove to myself and all the witnesses I’m a badass. Hakarl tastes like rotten shark (huh). There’s nothing I can compare it to, foods-wise. It has a powerful stench that someone who has sniffed a bloated carcass in the summer heat will know. The smell is so bad and penetrative that it passes through tied-up plastic bags and makes normal people flee in disgust (no hyperbole here). Putting the stuff in your mouth takes some mental wrestling, as your brain is telling you you will die if you do it. The texture of hakarl resembles a raw snail, but it’s a bit gritty. The aftertaste is really horrendous, like someone just shat in your mouth after a week-long bender. Scavengers have it rough. I will never, ever eat hakarl again, unless someone pays me handsomely to do it. It truly is the worst thing I have ever put in my mouth. I did have slight stomach pains a couple of hours after eating it and felt the need to brush and floss thoroughly, throw the brush and the floss away, and eat some ice cream. I still felt a bit violated. But hey, now I can say I’ve eaten hakarl! I don’t know what beverages would go with hakarl, but I guess a big shot of moonshine is on order here. To me, eating the stuff with alcohol would’ve been cheating. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/7 "2011-03-16T22:04:16Z")
Your story reminds me of the time that I ordered and ate stinky tofu at a Shanghaiese restaurant. It wasn’t my tastebuds that were in revolt, it didn’t really taste bad at all, but my brain was horrified and just couldn’t take it. ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/8 "2011-03-16T22:07:11Z")
How does it compare to surströmming? Also, where can I purchase this, as I’ve always wanted to try some… ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/9 "2011-03-16T22:11:14Z")
TravisFromOR, Haven’t had any surströmming, so can’t tell. Also, no idea how one gets hakarl short of a trip to Iceland. A friend of mine bought some there and brought it here. I’d guess someone in Iceland sells it online. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/10 "2011-03-17T00:45:33Z")
How much did this crime against nature cost you? ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/11 "2011-03-17T00:58:42Z")
Waiting for **Shark Sandwich** to weigh in on this thread from the other side. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/12 "2011-03-17T02:03:52Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > I ate it because I want to be able to say I have eaten hakarl and I wanted to know if it really is the worst food in the world. Also, I wanted to prove to myself and all the witnesses I’m a badass. This only explains why you ate the _first_ chunk. > [@](#): > > I don’t know what beverages would go with hakarl, but I guess a big shot of moonshine is on order here. To me, eating the stuff with alcohol would’ve been cheating. I think the recommended beverage pairing for hakarl is Sterno. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/13 "2011-03-17T02:24:43Z")
What’s next? Balut? Huitlacoche? Casu marzu? ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/14 "2011-03-17T02:54:09Z")
Only if his name is Steve. ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/15 "2011-03-17T03:02:59Z")
> [@ataraxy22](#): > > Waiting for **Shark Sandwich** to weigh in on this thread from the other side. Sorry, no experience with hakarl. I’ve had lutefisk in Minnesota, but I draw the line at eating fish that’s been described as having a strong taste of urine, and the consistency of cheese. I saw the episode where Zimmern ate it, and by his description alone I think I threw up in my mouth a little. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/16 "2011-03-17T03:05:05Z")
> [@Shark\_Sandwich](#): > > Sorry, no experience with hakarl. I’ve had lutefisk in Minnesota, but I draw the line at eating fish that’s been described as having a strong taste of urine, and the consistency of cheese. I saw the episode where Zimmern ate it, and by his description alone I think I threw up in my mouth a little. Judging by this post, I’m guessing if you had hakarl between two slices of bread ‘shark’ isn’t the s-word you’d be going for when you described the sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/17 "2011-03-17T03:08:01Z")
Did you just say you had a ‘Hot Carl’? ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/18 "2011-03-17T03:08:43Z")
Never heard of hakarl til your post. Not surprising, as I’m not Icelandic. And reading the rest of the traditional dishes in the [Eorramatur](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Eorramatur) (sp?) doesn’t exactly appeal either. Go you, for eating it. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/19 "2011-03-17T03:15:18Z")
For god’s sake, _ **why** _? ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966/20 "2011-03-17T03:18:33Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > For god’s sake, _ **why** _? Every time I run across a reference to it, I spend about two weeks actively searching for it on the internet. Then I get bored and move on to other things. If I ever go to Iceland, I’m trying it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-ate-some-hakarl/574966.md?page=2)