Skerpikjøt – My first bite of the Faroe Islands

Hello Faroe Islands! I had been warned about the weather on the islands these days, but it turned out not to be that bad at all. 5°C and sunshine! After Faroese standards, that’s almost summer! I am spending the first night in Tórshavn with Poul’s brother and Joan before taking the helicopter to Svínoy tomorrow. Poul’s mom lives on Svínoy, and Poul has been out there for a week. He has 4 weeks of vacation and most of the time, he will be in the Faroe Islands.

Skerpikjøt is one of the Faroese delicacies that I really love. Most people eat it with rye bread, but I often skip the bread and eat the meat with nothing else than a pinch of salt. It is very tasty, so I had to stop myself from finishing the entire leg all at once. Skerpikjøt is hard to digest, so if you eat too much, your stomach will start complaining.

As you can see in the video below, skerpikjøt is kept in a piece of cloth and never in a plastic bag. Skerpikjøt needs to breathe or you risk the growth of C. botulinum, which is a dangerous type of bacteria. C. botulinum produces a toxin that can cause botulism with paralysis of the muscles, including the respiratory muscles. This toxin is also the main ingredient in Botox, which is used to relax the facial muscles and smooth out wrinkles:)