Kalakukko
A Finnish fish pie baked inside a rye crust with small fish and pork belly for 3 hours, a speciality of Savonia.
Photograph credit: Kalakukko (opened) (image of kalakukko on Wikidata Q612661) by Rst2000 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
This is a dish from a time when a loaf had to carry a meal into the forest. Kalakukko is the fish bread of Savonia in eastern Finland: a loaf of rye dough filled with small freshwater fish, vendace or perch, and strips of pork belly, sealed and baked for hours until everything has melted into a rich, moist filling. The crust is not eaten in the same way, but cut away and kept for dipping.
The dough is a stiff mix of rye flour, wheat flour, water and salt. Roll it into an oval. Layer the filling in the centre: cleaned fish, thin slices of pork belly and sprinkled salt, in layers. Fold the dough over and seal every edge with water, so the steam cannot escape. Press the seams with a fork and brush with melted butter.
Bake at 150°C / 300°F for 3 hours, covered with foil, until the crust is dark and the filling is fully cooked. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes, then cut off the lid. The fish bones soften and are edible. Serve in wedges with butter, buttermilk, and boiled potatoes. A traditional Savonian lunch.
Quick Answers
How long does Kalakukko take to make?
50 minutes of preparation and 3 hours of cooking, plus 20 minutes of cooling, so allow 4 hours 10 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 6.
How to Make Kalakukko
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Mix the rye flour, white flour, water and 1 teaspoon salt to a stiff dough and knead for 5 minutes.
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Heat the oven to 150°C / 300°F. Roll the dough into a 40 cm oval.
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Layer the fish and pork belly in the centre, salting each layer with the filling salt.
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Fold the dough over the filling and seal the edges with water. Press with a fork and brush with the butter. Set on a tray.
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Cover with foil and bake for 3 hours, removing the foil for the last 15 minutes.
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Cool for 20 minutes, cut off the lid and serve in wedges with the buttermilk.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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A Few Pointers
- Seal every seam so the steam stays in.
- Cover with foil for most of the bake.
- Rest before cutting.
Swaps and Variations
- Out of buttermilk? The usual stand-in is a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar stirred into 250 ml of ordinary milk and left five minutes; it is thinner than cultured buttermilk, so a batter may need a little less of it.
Pairs Well With
Buttermilk · Butter · Boiled potatoes
Keeping and Reheating
Keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in the oven.
The Numbers per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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