Whale Recipes

White Whale (Beluga)

Brian Fleming
Sanikiluaq, Nunavut (Canada)

Although the white whale or beluga whale is small compared to other whales, it provides a considerable amount of food. The outer skin of the whale, muttuk, is regarded as a delicacy. The most favoured parts of muttuk come from the tail and the two side flippers. Muttak is always eaten raw-fresh, boiled or raw-frozen. The large quantities of meat that come from the white whale are only eaten after it has been sliced into thin pieces and hung to dry. Dried whale meat and muttuk are often eaten together.

The intestines of whale may be cleaned then braided and hung to dry. There is another way to prepare whale intestines which involves cleaning and cutting them into approximately 20cm lengths. Each piece is subsequently packed with whale blubber and the ends are tied with string or sinew. The intestines are then boiled, hung to dry and, on occasion, lightly smoked. They are often eaten with dried whale meat, or any other type of dried meat.

Another part of the whale that is consumed is the cartilage found in the tail, flippers and above the head. This cartilage, or qakalaaq, is hard and crunchy. It is shaved off in thin slices and eaten raw.

Despite the large quantities of muttuk and meat from the white whale, wastage is minimized through sharing a harvested animal with the entire community. The muttuk may be kept fresh for extended periods of time by cutting it into square sections which are secured to a rope and left to float in the sea water with the blubber side up. It will remain fresh for seven or more days when stored in this manner.