A dish of rib of mutton, either salted or smoked and dried, then steamed over twigs and usually served with boiled potatoes and swedes.
Gary Maloy, an American living in Norway, has written in to say that it is much better steamed over juniper than birch. He collects juniper on the mountain sides in May. He remarks that this is the time of year when it is easiest to peel off the bark from the twigs and branches (pinner). They are then rinsed and laid out to dry for a couple of hours and then put into a plastic bag and then into the freezer to keep them fresh. A thatch of juniper (or birch) branches is made in a large pot with water reaching just under the top of the branches so that the meat itself, when it sits on the thatch, does not lie in the water. The meat will have been soaked for around 12 hours the day before, depending on the thickness of the meat, but the salting will still add flavour, so no more is required in the water. Gary's family eat the meat with mashed swedes, sometimes mixing them with mashed carrots, and cooked cabbage, rather like sauerkraut. Some serve it additionally with prunes.
It was wonderful to read the e-mail from Gary in which he described this lengthy, painstaking and carefully planned process towards a special meal of the year. That meat must be imbued with the freshness of the May walk on the hillsides, the hard work of stripping the bark, rinsing the twigs and the scent and oils of the juniper, the long and delighted anticipation. Gary also says that they gather enough twigs and buy enough meat each year to provide them with this meal at Christmas and Easter.
