A fascinating tale of history and culture from Smithsonian Magazine:
- In Newfoundland, having a “scoff” (the local word for “big meal”) includes some pretty interesting food items unique to the region: scrunchions (fried pork fat), cod tongues and fishcakes, for example.
- But perhaps the least appetizing dish, which is traditionally made during the Lenten season—specifically on Good Friday and Easter—is seal flipper pie.
- The meal, which originated in the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, tastes as strange as it sounds. The meat is dark, tough, gamey and apparently has a flavor similar to that of hare (appropriate for America’s favorite Easter mascot, no?).
- While it might be difficult to imagine eating a meal made from something as cute and cuddly as a seal, the dish has a history based in survival.
- Seals were especially important to Inuit living on the northern shores of Labrador and Newfoundland dating back to the early 18th century when seal meat, which is high in fat protein and vitamin A, was a staple in the early Arctic-dweller’s diet...
- Seal hunters used all parts of the seal from their pelts to their fat to light lamps (at one time, London’s street lights were fueled with seal oil), but they couldn’t profit off of the flippers
- To save money and to use as much of the animal as possible, they made flipper pie. As the hunting industry grew, seal meat became a major resource for oil, leather and food for locals after the long, harsh winter in these regions.
- According to Annie Proulx’s best-selling 1993 novel The Shipping News, which takes place in...Newfoundland, the dish is quite tasty, but mostly evokes fond memories for the Newfoundlander characters.
For those of you who have access to two (2) seal flippers, here is a recipe for a traditional pie.
