Steamed Over Birch · Salted Lamb Ribs
Pinnekjøtt
📷 Closely related photo — Photo: Jarvin / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
The dish is traditionally steamed over a bed of birch sticks laid in the pot — pinnekjøtt literally means 'stick meat.'
Salted and dried lamb or mutton ribs are soaked to rehydrate, then steamed for hours over birch twigs until the meat pulls easily from the bone. It's sold at Western Norway's Christmas markets alongside mashed rutabaga and potatoes.
Why it's made this way: Salting and drying let farming families preserve autumn lamb through winter in a region without reliable refrigeration, and steaming it over birch became the traditional way to bring it back to life.
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Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries.
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