Lamb in Cabbage: The National Dish of Norway
Fårikål is Norway’s national dish. A casserole of seasonal lamb and cabbage makes this simple dish a favourite autumn treat. It is traditionally served with new potatoes, cowberry sauce and crispy flat bread with a cold local beer on the side (but ice water allows the flavour to be savoured).
Norwegians expect this dish to get ugly – in fact, if it looks too pretty you probably haven’t done it right. (Ours must have been cooked to perfection as it took a couple of hundred shots to get some ‘pretty’ photos.) The trick to this meal is to use real mutton. Not lamb but sheep. Because mutton has lived longer it has had more chance to get cuddly. If the meat is too lean you don’t get the true Fårikål taste as the fat is supposed to soak into the cabbage.
Leftovers are a must. Like any great casserole, Fårikål will mature with age and by the fourth day, after the meat and cabbage has been eaten, the leftovers makes a great soup stock.
The third major ingredient in this dish is peppercorns and the Norwegian Fårikål Society says you don’t have to eat them if you are a ‘pyse’, which roughly translates to ‘sissy’. (Firstly, I think it is funny that a whole Society has been organised just to promote one dish, and secondly, their website is all Fårikål – you can even play a ’round-em-up’ game to see how many sheep you can get into your cooking pot!) But if you ever want to learn about real traditional fårikål, the Norwegian Fårikål Society is the place go.
Even though fårikål is traditionally made (and eaten) in Autumn there have been other versions that have obtained ‘seasonal’ status. The ‘hunting season’ dish includes juniper berries in the stock. The ‘winter season’ dish also uses juniper berries but with a dash of cumin spice for that extra warmth. For the ‘summer season’ dish, smoked lamb is used to create a deep flavour and the cabbage is steamed to retain a little crunch.
Whatever the season, when you eat fårikål it feels just like a warm hug from the inside. But there is no need for you to wait to get to Norway before trying some – why not celebrate National Fårikål day with us. On the last Thursday of September every year Norway celebrates their national dish with, of course, all you can eat fårikål! What better way to experience Norway than eating like a Norwegian? Below is the traditional recipe – it’s quick and easy as the dish cooks itself:
Fårikål Recipe
What you will need:
serves two people (double it for four):
500g of mutton bits – on the bone (fat is good!)
1/2 small cabbage choped into 1/8
Teaspoon of peppercorns
Pinch of salt
(Boiled new potatoes for the side and a dollop cowberry/cranberry sauce)
Chuck everything into a casserole pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover 2/3 of the ingredients. Put on the lid and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for two hours or until the meat falls off the bone. Serve in a pasta bowl – meat, cabbage, stock, peppercorns, potatoes and a dollop of cowberry sauce (cranberry would do just fine). If the dish looks ugly then it’s perfect!
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Looks yummy to me the Lamb in Cabbage. Love to try it sometimes..Regards.
Blimey, I haven’t had fårikål for absolutely ages. That must be remedied
the best food i make….captain thank you so much….
Hello! Yes, this fårikål is well worth being named the nation’s official dish! It’s so good for you, and makes your house smell so very country homey. I literally watch my two teenagers and husband change their moods to “yum” mode! Everybody is a bit happier when a pot of fårikål is simmering very slowly.
the way my family makes it, any time of year, is a few packs of frozen lamb meat or fresh is best, sliced up to chunks, even serving pieces. Much of the fat has to be trimmed off or it gets very greasy.
I make mine on the stove always, and start with the fattiest meat slices for the bottom of the pan, then a layer of cabbage slices, a layer of lamb slices, salt, pepper, etc.. until filled. Bring the water level up to 1-3 of the way from the top, and bring to a boil. Turn down to medium low and simmer gently, checking to see you do not run low on water. you have all the time in the world to do whatever you want to do before your guests get to the house .. so this kind of dinner is so tasty, we serve it to guests, and use nice porsgrunn porcelain to serve on. I do have lignoberry sauce on the side. Potatoes are served with thë
fårikål and butter (setesmør) farm butter. Hvar så god! 😀
oopsy I forgot.. you need to add a bayleaf and a tablespoon of peppercorns, (red, green, black is good for this).. peel and trim a carrot and put those in to simmer with it. I also add a level tablespoon of mustard seed. Simmer it simmer it all day simmer that! You are going to love this if you decide to try it, and now my mouth is watering! 😮 😀 Enjoy
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from L-Jay:
Yes, a bay leaf is a very traditional ingredient to put into Fårikål. Thanks for the tips 😉
Hello
This indeed looks very yummy and reading all the posts you guys put after it makes me definitely want to try it out!! The only problem: price! Meat is so expensive here and not to mention the lamb, of all meats… I just got here so I wasn’t able to stock up on meet for the freezer (from the hunting season). Is there any place you can still get some meat at a reasonable price to cook this? (by reasonable I mean probably half the prices I see for portions of say chicken, in the regular supermarkets) (also I don’t have a car so I probably can’t access further locations easily… so is there a place in big cities where you find cheaper lamb or meat to try these recipes out?)
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from L-Jay:
Hi Corina!
Most out of season meat can be bought in the frozen food section. Rema is the cheapest in meat that I’ve seen but it needs to be a fairly big store to have a good selection. Spar has a good reputation of providing traditional meats in the frozen section too. The best time to buy meat, of course, is when it s in season as it’s cheaper and fresh. Norwegians normally have a big freezer and bulk buy their meat when it is cheap.
Pork is really the cheapest meat in Norway (Lamb is actually expensive out of season). At Coop Obs! we buy pork chops from the freezer for about kr30,- per kilo.
Cool — I’ll definitely try to find some meat at those stores… I’ve got to say turning vegetarian all of a sudden = not cool when you love meat
I’ve been invited to have dinner with my friends today. Guess what? We had fårikal! I‘ve never imagined lamb can be so dilicious! (Ps, I don’t like lamb before)
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from L-Jay:
Small world 😉
Cowberry sauce ??
We do NOT eat our fårikål with cowberry sauce!! I never heard of this.
I’m norwegian by the way…
cowberry sauce is delicious with reindeer..
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from L-Jay:
The National Fårikål association in Norway begs to differ.
The National Fårikål association ??? hhahahahahah
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from L-Jay:
Hey, well, Norwegians love making up these types of ‘associations’ – you should be proud of your tradition – though it is also Norwegian to mock themselves. You obviously didn’t check out the link.
I guess you’d bag on Rogaland, Oppland and Nord-Møre for having their own version of fårikål too. You have the wrong idea about fårikål. There is no wrong or right – it is not a locked in tradition that if you deviate you cannot call yourself Norwegian anymore. Fårikål was a peoples dish and they used what they had to make variety – for sheep farmers, having fårikål every night in autumn can get boring so they mixed it up a little with what they had available. The reason I know this is because I live on a sheep farm run for three generations. We raise our own spæl sau and we have been in the situation of having an abundance of fårikål meat and we certainly mix things up. I think cowberry sauce is lovely with fårikål, it is a good complement to the meat. You should try it some time. Since you seem so passionate about fårikål, you will just love our series on our different fårikål versions:
Fårikål with Rosemary and Garlic
Fårikål with Cinnamon
Fårikål with Curry
Fårikål with Ginger and Chili
Check out farikal.no for more recipes.
This is one of my all time favorite meals! I have wonderful childhood memories of my mum making this, and have continued the tradition with my own family. My husband had never tasted this until he met me, and now requests this every winter here in Australia
Oh, memories … I remember many of these meals prepared by my mormor … It was a childhood favorite of mine!
Hi,
This reminds me of a similar dish we were served when visiting aunty and uncle at their dairy farm in Brostadbotn, Northern Norway – the only difference is that pork was used not lamb otherwise the ingredients and cooking method were identical. Perhaps it is a case of utilizing an option they had at their disposal? It also is delicious and I prepare this for my family occassionally [we live in Australia] with great success
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from L-Jay:
It is a little strange as Norway, especially the North doesn’t traditionally have pigs – they can’t stand the cold…lol. But the dish is like the good old shepherds pie – lamb, beef, pork – whatever you have laying around…lol.