A Midwestern Rite of Autumn: The Lutefisk Supper

Not sure much is necessary in terms of comments.  This is the annual Lutefisk Supper at Moe Lutheran Church in Clayton, Wisconsin (1 hour east of St. Paul, MN), but a quick Google search and you can find one to attend on your Roadfood journey.
Enjoy!
007: Licensed to Lute

Lutefisk pre-cooking looks pretty much identical to lutefisk post-cooking, save for the steam wafting from the plate.

Preparing lutefisk requires attention, focus, and a well-seasoned olfactory sense.

Voila! Eat up.

Lefse is a mandatory accompaniment.  How you dress the lefse depends on your heritage and preferences.


The annual argument -- who will eat more lutefisk...this guy, his little brother, or Dad? It was a draw this year.

Lutefisk Suppers are as much about the people and the occasion as they are the food.



And as always, a campfire at the cabin to close out the day.

(All images are copyrighted...please contact if you wish to re-use)

Great pictures.  I would go to these suppers, but the lutefisk never left my plate. 

Nice progression of Lutefish.  I love the finished plate.
 
(Did those people in your pictures sign release forms?)

Why would the people in the photos be required to sign a release?

I've had lutefisk twice in Minnesota, and  liked it. Sure beats Wisconsin bratwurst, Chicago-style hot dogs and Memphis barbeque.

TTM, so they can use them for marketing purposes.

I'm sure it's entirely coincidental that it looks like the precooked stuff up at the top is in a garbage pail.  Nice photo essay MSPD!

Looks like it needs ketchup and pickles.

Good report! It actually makes me want to try some lutefisk!

I don't think Pastor Margaret does any "marketing" of the lutefisk supper.  None of the photos with people will be used for anything (legally) if that was a serious question.  Thus the copyright comment.
Nancy, I did note the garbage can connection and the potential joke there.

I really dont think this can be called a Midwest tradition - more Minnesota and/or Wisconsin thing.  Cincinnati is Midwest as well and 999 out of a 1000 people you'd ask here would have no clue what lutefisk even is

"Upper Midwest" might be more accurate, although I'm not sure where that leaves North Dakota.  Is it part of the Midwest or part of the Plains?
 
Perhaps WarToad can enlighten us to the current state of lutefisk in the Peace Garden State.
 
Brad

Uff da.  Cincinnati is 5 times farther from the west coast than it is from the east coast for the love of pete.  It's "Midwest" like West Virginia is West.
 
Besides I said it was A Midwestern Rite of Autumn not THE Midwestern Rite of Autumn.  I wouldn't be whining about a thread titled with "A Midwestern Rite of Autumn: The Chili With Spaghetti and Weird Stuff In It Supper"
 
Sheesh.
 
(Yes I'm kidding around)

np dude
 
Just saying you wouldn't see this supper all over the midwest
 
but yes, Cincinnati is part of the Midwest.....

MSPD, it's a good thing the lutefisk dinner wasn't somewhere in Minnesota.  Then it would be a Heartland Rite of Autumn...
 
Brad

Anywhere there are Norwegians, there will be a lutefisk supper nearby. Here in Los Angeles we "enjoy" a lutefisk supper two or three times a year at the Sons of Norway Lodge. Next one is on Friday/Saturday, November 12-13 at the Norrona Lodge in Van Nuys, in case you're local and hankering for some really stinky gelatinous fish.
 
By the way, our plates turn out looking pretty much exactly like your plate, except we do peas and carrots instead of green beans and we also have beets, our potatoes are boiled and not mashed, and we are served a crisp flatbread along with the lefse (although WHY anyone would opt for anything other than lefse, I cannot imagine).

Lutefisk is to the residents of Cincinnati what 5-way Chili is to The folks in St Olaf's, MN !! And both are unknown to the folks in Schuelenberg, Texas, who enjoy their sausage stuffed KOLACHE !!  This is America at it's BEST !! !!!

As long as we don't get lutefisk stuffed kolaches, I'm OK.

bill voss


As long as we don't get lutefisk stuffed kolaches, I'm OK.

Why would anyone want to stuff one of those bugs with anything? What is it they call those kolaches in Florida? Palmetto bugs?