Christmas Market · Sheep's Head
Smalahove
Photo: PerPlex / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tradition says to start with the ear and the eye, the fattiest parts, because they're best eaten while still hot.
A sheep's head is salted, smoked, and dried, then boiled or steamed for hours until the meat falls tender. It's served whole on the plate with mashed rutabaga and potatoes, traditionally around Christmas and at Voss-area food fairs and markets.
Why it's made this way: In lean farming communities in Western Norway, no part of the slaughtered sheep went to waste, and the head — usually discarded elsewhere — became its own festive dish.
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