5 Holiday Foods That Will Make You Question Humanity

Kiviak — The Birds Fermented Inside a Seal

For the Inuit people of Greenland, Kiviak is a winter delicacy prepared by stuffing hundreds of raw seabirds (Little Auks) into a seal skin, sealing it with grease to keep air out, and burying it under rocks for several months. The birds ferment whole—feathers, beaks, organs—and are eaten raw when the skin is dug up. The preparation reportedly took seven men and four days in one documented case. The taste is described as extremely pungent, gamey, and reminiscent of a very strong, very old cheese.