Pinnekjøtt potato balls
Pinnekjøttboller are potato-and-pinnekjøtt balls coated in breadcrumbs, deep-fried and served with lemon-parsley sour-cream dip.
Traditional method
Norwegian pinnekjøtt
Pinnekjøtt · Pinnekjøtt fra Norge · Saueribbe
Norwegian Christmas lamb ribs, salted, matured and dried, then soaked and steamed over birch twigs. Smoked and unsmoked versions are both made.
A Christmas dish of salted lamb
Pinnekjøtt is a preserved lamb or sheep rib dish from Norway. The ribs are salted, dried for weeks, soaked to draw out the salt, and then steamed over a bed of birch twigs. Its name is usually read as 'stick meat': the steaming grid of birch sticks, or the rib bones themselves, are the 'pinne' in the name. Norwegian encyclopaedia entries give both readings, and the first is the more common.
The dish is best known as a Christmas meal. In Western Norway, the strongest tradition, a large share of people eat it on Christmas Eve, and it is also served across the North. Supermarkets now sell it before Christmas, smoked or unsmoked, often already cut and soaked. The traditional home method, though, is still a rack of lamb cured and hung in a cold room.
Sources for this section
Why the meat is salted and dried
Salting and drying are the old preservation methods that made the meat last through the winter. Drying is among the oldest methods of preserving meat. The salt draws water out of the meat and leaves it too dry for most spoilage bacteria to grow, while the cool hanging finishes the drying and lets the flavour develop.
Norwegian sources link the wide use of the method to the import of cheap salt in the 1700s. Before that, salting was less common, and dried meat was a more limited food. Sources describe the cure as the stage that makes the meat safe to keep, not as a fermentation.
Sources for this section
Curing, hanging and reading the drying
A household cure rubs salt and a little sugar into the whole rack. The salt is worked into every part, the released juices are poured back over the meat each day, and the rack is kept cool for two to three days. Brushing off the surface salt comes next, and the rack is hung on a hook in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place.
Drying is the stage the sources disagree about. One household recipe hangs the rack for four to six weeks; another suggests six to eight weeks; a third says a few days is enough at home. The rack is judged by sound: a knock produces a hollow note when it is dry enough. The commercial rules are stricter. The Norwegian PGI regulation sets a minimum weight loss of 33 percent and a water activity of 0.9 or lower, and it allows the racks to be smoked after salting with wood smoke, but not with liquid smoke.
Soaking and steaming
Before cooking, the dried rack is cut between the bones. The ribs soak in cold water to take out the salt and to rehydrate the meat. Household accounts give anything from an overnight soak to 30 to 36 hours, changing the water at least once.
The ribs are packed into a large pot on a grid of peeled birch twigs. Water is added only to the height of the twigs, so the meat steams rather than boils. The lid stays on, and the pot is kept gently hot for two to three hours until the meat loosens easily from the bone. Some families boil the ribs instead, or finish them in a hot oven to crisp the surface, and the regional variants differ mainly here.
Sources for this section
Serving and variants
Pinnekjøtt is served with mashed rutabaga and carrot, boiled potatoes and a spoon of the cooking juices. Sausages are often served alongside. Beer and aquavit are the traditional drinks.
Variants are mostly about smoking and cooking. Smoked racks come from Hordaland and Sunnmøre, where fresh racks were often smoked before drying. Unsmoked racks are the common form. Oven-cooked fresh ribs, called steikovnsside in one source, are a modern variant that became possible with freezers.
Sources for this section
History
Norwegian sources document the dish from the 1700s and link cheap imported salt of that period to wider salting. Its link to Christmas Eve is later: meat was banned during Advent before the Reformation.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
Lamb ribs (whole rack, with cutlet)Work the salt and sugar into every part of the rack, then cure it cool for 2 to 3 days, pouring off the released juices a couple of times a day.
1
One rack for about four to five people at about 500 g of meat per person.SaltCoarse salt, worked into the rack for the cure. Brush off the excess before hanging.
250 g
Quantity from one household recipe for one whole rack.SugarRub into the rack with the salt.
10 g
WaterCold water for soaking the dried ribs, changed during soaking in some methods, and a small amount of water for steaming, reaching only the level of the birch twigs.
Amount not stated
Enough to cover the ribs for soaking; just enough to reach the birch grid for steaming.Method
Risks and precautions · Elevated risk
Dry-cured raw meat before cooking
The cure and drying do not by themselves establish that the meat is ready to eat. Norwegian food-safety guidance treats cured and raw meat as a concern for pregnant people.
Hazard sourceMould during hanging
Hanging in a cool place with uncontrolled humidity can let mould grow on the surface. Surface mould should be removed, but the sources do not give a standard for when a rack is unsafe.
Hazard sourceSteam or simmer until the meat is tender and loose from the bone; cook the meat fully before serving.
Control sourcePinnekjøtt is a home-cured meat. Cook it fully before eating, and do not judge its safety by smell, colour or appearance.
Do not use the drying time alone as a safety measure. The sources give different times.
Pregnant people should follow the national food-safety advice on cured meat.
- Cure the rack: rub salt and sugar into every part of the meat and keep it cool for 2 to 3 days (about 2 days for a smaller rack, 3 for a larger one), pouring off the released juices a couple of times a day. Optional: the racks may be smoked with wood smoke after salting, as the Norwegian PGI rules allow; liquid smoke is not allowed.
- Brush off the excess salt. Hang the rack on a hook in a cool, dry, ventilated place. Sources differ on the drying time: one household recipe gives 4 to 6 weeks, another 6 to 8 weeks, and another says a few days is enough at home.
- Judge the drying by feel and sound: the ribs are ready when a knock on the meat produces a hollow sound. Frozen racks can be thawed a day before cooking.
- Soak the dried ribs in cold water to draw out the salt and rehydrate the meat. Overnight soaking is one household method. Other sources give 24 to 36 hours with the water changed at least once.
- Cut the rack between the bones into individual ribs and pack them into a large pot.
- Set a grid of peeled birch twigs on the bottom of the pot, and add just enough water to reach the top of the twigs, so the meat steams rather than boils.
- Cover and bring to a gentle heat. Steam or simmer for about 2 to 3 hours, until the meat loosens easily from the bone.
- Optional finish: skim the surface fat from the cooking liquid, lay the ribs in a deep roasting tin, pour the fat over with a little butter, and brown uncovered in a hot oven (about 225 °C) for 15 to 20 minutes, turning once.
- Serve with mashed rutabaga and carrot, boiled potatoes and the meat juices. Beer and aquavit are the traditional drinks.
Places
Western Norway (Vestlandet)
Traditional preparation · Region evidenceStrongest regional tradition by the cited survey; a regional association, not a single point of origin.
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Sources
North Wild KitchenMethod · Use
Far's Traditional Pinnekjøtt (Lamb Ribs)Cure of one rack with 250 g salt and 10 g sugar for 2 to 3 days.
Hanging for 4 to 6 weeks until a knock sounds hollow.
Overnight soak, then boiling until tender, then an oven finish at 225 °C.
Cited in: Curing, hanging and reading the drying; Soaking and steaming
Store norske leksikonHistory · Geography · Use
PinnekjøttDocumented from the 1700s and probably older.
Regional tradition: strongest in Western Norway.
Explanation of the name from the steaming sticks or the rib bones.
Cited in: A Christmas dish of salted lamb; Why the meat is salted and dried; Serving and variants
WikipediaHistory · Method
PinnekjøttSalted, dried and sometimes smoked lamb ribs.
Steaming over birch twigs.
Served with mashed rutabaga, potatoes and sausages.
Cited in: A Christmas dish of salted lamb; Soaking and steaming; Serving and variants
Lovdata (Norwegian regulation)Process rules · Safety
Forskrift om beskyttelse av Pinnekjøtt fra Norge som geografisk betegnelseSalting within 7 days of slaughter, dry or brine or a combination, no brine spraying.
Optional smoking with wood smoke; liquid smoke flavouring not allowed.
At least 33 percent weight loss and water activity of 0.9 or lower.
Cited in: Curing, hanging and reading the drying
Mattilsynet (Norwegian Food Safety Authority)Safety
Kjøtt og vilt når du er gravidAdvice for pregnant people on cured and raw meat.