A salted and dried leg of lamb, sliced thin with flatbread and butter. Norwegian farmhouses cured whole legs for the winter, and Fenalår fra Norge received European protected geographical status in 2012.
It is a whole bone-in leg cured for months where the salt must reach the centre before anything else does, and a fault deep in the muscle is invisible until the leg is cut.
What goes into it
- a whole leg of lamb, bone in
- coarse salt
- sometimes sugar and smoke
How it is made
The leg is dry-salted or brined for one to two weeks, then rested cold so the salt equalises, and hung to dry in cool airy conditions for three months at minimum — the protected versions run to a year. Some are lightly cold-smoked. It loses more than a third of its weight and is sliced very thin off the bone.
How long it takes: three months minimum, up to a year for the long-cured
How it is eaten
Shaved thin off the bone with flatbread, butter, scrambled egg and sour cream.
History
Farmhouses cured whole lamb legs for winter; Fenalår fra Norge received European protected geographical status in 2012.
Frequently asked questions
What is Fenalår?
Fenalår is a charcuterie & cured from Norway: salted and dried leg of lamb, sliced thin with flatbread and butter. Farmhouses cured whole lamb legs for winter; Fenalår fra Norge received European protected geographical status in 2012.
How is Fenalår made?
The leg is dry-salted or brined for one to two weeks, then rested cold so the salt equalises, and hung to dry in cool airy conditions for three months at minimum — the protected versions run to a year. Some are lightly cold-smoked. It loses more than a third of its weight and is sliced very thin off the bone. It takes three months minimum, up to a year for the long-cured.
Can I make Fenalår at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is a whole bone-in leg cured for months where the salt must reach the centre before anything else does, and a fault deep in the muscle is invisible until the leg is cut.
What goes into Fenalår?
A whole leg of lamb, bone in, coarse salt, sometimes sugar and smoke.
How is Fenalår eaten?
Shaved thin off the bone with flatbread, butter, scrambled egg and sour cream.
