My Local Butcher

... is a wonderous old fashioned place.

Idsø has been in Stavanger 175 years and is definitely an institution. I love going in and smelling the slightly repulsive odour of raw and smoked meats. Around Christmas the place is crazy with people wanting to get their pinnekjøtt (salted and/or smoked and dried lamb) or ribbe (pork with crackling).

I had to wait for an hour and a half, but fortunately they have delicious sausage samples.

I was in for a turkey (which apparently I had to order three weeks ago, so we're having beautiful organic chicken on Christmas day instead). But I had to get some bacon (American style like the sign sais) and some sausages.

They have amazing sausages. I got some sosisser: small white sausages that you normally eat with ribbe (which I won't get this year as my parents are in Aussie, and I'm spending Christmas Eve with the in laws and they eat pinnekjøtt.

Sigh.

Christmas will never be the same.