DAY— While many industries are feeling the pain of a weak economy, the lutefisk industry remains as strong as its smell.

At Day Fish Co., they go through 35 tons of lutefisk from October through January and this year is expected to be no different.

Apparently, people are unwilling to give up their “poor man’s lobster,” especially around the holidays.

Next week the small shop with a stink twice its size will be swamped. Instead of fighting for a parking space at Cub Foods, many locals and others from all over the state will take the unbeaten path to reasonably-priced and extremely friendly Day Fish Co. to pick up the only lye-soaked menu item around for the main dish of a Christmas meal.

Some say the “aroma” of the fish alone is the reason they buy it— filling their homes with the stench of the holidays.

“Sometimes when people come in, they have to bring their kids outside because they start crying because of the stink,” admitted Kitty Taute, one of the three operators of the shop. “But the taste is less than the smell, so it can’t be that bad.”

The shop, located in Day, seven miles off of Highway 65 in northern Isanti County, is open from the first of October through the end of February.

Where the stink began

Roy Bolling and his brother opened the shop in 1968.

Now in his 70s, Bolling has given his life to the Day Fish Co., with possible unknown rewards.

“He’s in pretty good shape,” Taute said, impressed. “Hanging around with lutefisk can’t be all that bad for you.”

He is now assisted by nephew Dave Bolling and Taute, D. Bolling’s spunky girlfriend of nine years.

The couple plans to tie the knot five years after the Vikings win the Super Bowl, said D. Bolling.

“It’s getting scary this year,” he said, with a hearty chuckle.

But when it comes to lutefisk, D. Bolling is committed. He has eaten lutefisk at least five times so far this season.

“I nuke a piece for lunch once in a while,” he said with a smile.

The place is stinky, but you get used to it, Taute said. “The fish doesn’t taste half as it is stinky.”

How do you create lutefisk?

Day Fish Co. gets their preserved lutefisk from Norway. It comes to them in a refrigerated truck right from the boat.

“It’s like a big piece of shoe leather when we get it,” Taute said.

The pieces of “shoe leather” get put into bins with caustic soda, or lye solution, and finally they puff up into pieces of translucent fish triple their previous size. The lutefisk hangs out in the tubs for 10 days to two weeks, and then its ready for purchase.

Everyday in the meantime, the bins are stirred with a big paddle and the solution is drained and filled everyday towards the end of the cycle.

When they deem the lutefisk ready, and they must be careful not to leave it in too long or too short, it can be sold.

What is lutefisk?

Lutefisk, a Scandinavian tradition, dates back to an era before refrigeration when cod was preserved by drying it and then soaking it back to life using a lye solution.

Because of its chemical properties, the fish— and some no longer consider it fish— has been jokingly compared to rat poison (which has a hint of truth to it because of the traces of a shared amino acid).

Lutefisk literally means “lye fish.” Lye is used in soaps, detergents and as drain cleaner.

Customer appreciation

Greg Oldenkamp of Dalbo, visits the Day Fish Co. every year. He grew up eating lutefisk because his dad would always buy it. He swears he truly likes the taste.

“Oh, I like it— I don’t want it every day, but it’s good three to four times a year,” he said. “Yeah, I’ve got to have a meal of it. I like it; my wife likes it; my son likes it.”

Dragging two huge buckets of herring off the counter on the way to his pick-up, Oldenkamp told Taute he’d be back later for more lutefisk.

Best way to prepare lutefisk

Microwave it.

“I’ve only ever made it in the microwave,” Taute admitted, adding she’s never used the traditional boiling method to which so many people are accustomed. She said she’s sure that method tastes pretty good too.

At the shop, she uses a small glass dish lined with paper towels and puts the lutefisk on high in an aged microwave for 5-8 minutes. Then she add butter, salt and pepper.

If Taute is feeling ambitious, she makes a white gravy with an undisclosed recipe —”just a white sauce.”

“Then of course the edges are quite mushy, and if that’s the first bite you take you’re not going to like it,” she warns a first timer. “Scoop that stuff away and go for the flakey stuff. And then it’s good.”

In comparison to fish normally caught in Minnesota, guess what? Lutefisk is not so bad, in Taute’s opinion.

“A sunfish, a northern or a crappie, or something, has more of a ‘fish’ flavor than lutefisk does to me,” Taute explained. “I think a lot of people get turned off by the texture, because it will get mushy if you overcook it.”

More about Day Fish Co.

Other than lutefisk, the shop also sells herring, lefse, lingonberries, shrimp, fresh cod, oysters, Swedish herring in flavored marinades, smoked fish, select cheese and salmon pâté.

The only local specialty fish store, Day Fish Co. sells their products at multiple grocery stores —including the big box stores in the area. They take pride in providing the main course for many a Swedish church dinner in the area during the winter. Added bonus: they also deliver.

To get to Day Fish Co. from Cambridge, take Highway 65 north, turn left onto Isanti County Road 4 and drive seven miles until the first stop sign. The shop is on the right at 4409 409th Avenue NW. Call the shop at 320-396-3468 with questions.

Day Fish Co. is open from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. right now, but as the season slows so will the regular hours.

The store is open until the end of February, not with regular hours, though. “Then the party’s over,” chuckled D. Bolling.