Taste Viking Heritage on Newfoundland’s Edge
- Ginger North
- Sep 19
- 4 min read
#30CanadianFoods: You don’t need to pillage to pull off this hearty, smoky, and unpretentious Viking lunch.
Vikings, Lighthouses & Atlantic Breezes
They say the wind speaks in whispers on the coast of Newfoundland. But if you listen closely, it’s also yelling…about bacon.
Newfoundland & Labrador—the place that’s lived inside sagas long before selfies and saltwater taffy, where Viking ghosts walk the cliffs, foghorns still echo, and the halibut tastes like something from another time (because it is).
In this instalment of #30CanadianFoods where we’re stirring history into supper and digging into the real stories behind Canada’s iconic places and plates, we’re hopping from L’Anse aux Meadows, home of Norse trailblazers, to the rugged cliffs of Cape Spear, where history meets horizon.
Catch the full road-trip menu here.
Where the Saga Begins (with a Side of Tree Rings)
Newfoundland doesn’t ease you in—it meets you with cliffs, wind, and myth. This is where the continent ends, but also where one of its oldest European stories begins.
Forget Columbus. In 1021—confirmed by cosmic rays and tree ring science, because time travel is real and it wears a lab coat—Norse explorers landed at L’Anse aux Meadows. Scholars locked down that date by studying solar storm signals in wood found at L’Anse aux Meadows—anchoring those epic Norse sagas in hard science. The explorers built, smelted, probably squabbled, and then vanished into legend.
Except they didn’t vanish entirely: they left iron nails, spindle whorls, and the lingering feeling that the edge of the world isn’t quite as far-flung as we think.
And that’s just the start. Newfoundland and Labrador’s story is one of wild weather and wilder history: Indigenous cultures thousands of years deep. Basque whalers. Cod empires. Folk ballads that go twelve verses longer than you expected. But the Norse arrival? That was the original “first contact”—eyewitnessed not through myths, but through dendrochronology.
If you’ve never been, prepare to feel like you’ve arrived somewhere that never quite left the past behind—and thank goodness for that.
L’Anse aux Meadows: When the Vikings Brought a Tool Kit to Canada
Some places hum with history. L’Anse aux Meadows sings it in Old Norse.
Tucked into the northernmost tip of the island, this UNESCO World Heritage Site looks like a tufted green dream until you get closer and realize those mounds are houses, those beams are hand-hewn, and someone a thousand years ago made iron here in a bog.
Standing inside one of the reconstructed longhouses, it hits you: this wasn’t just a stopover. It was an experiment. A fragile, brave attempt at rooting life in a new land. The only confirmed Viking settlement in North America isn’t just an archeological triumph—it’s a place that asks big questions: What does it mean to land somewhere and call it home? What’s the cost of arrival?
Reenactors in full woollen gear walk you through how they cooked, crafted, and tried to coexist in a landscape that likely gave them both awe and frostbite. Bring a sweater, bring your imagination, and maybe bring a halibut—because it turns out fish was one thing they did very right.
With over 800 artifacts (wood spindles, iron nails, tools), here you’ll find Nordic roots intermingled with Indigenous trails.
Cape Spear: The Edge of the Earth, With a Really Good View
Cape Spear is where the sun says hello to Canada first thing every morning. If L’Anse aux Meadows is about beginnings, Cape Spear is about continuity—the quiet, stubborn kind that keeps the light on through war, weather, and Wi-Fi outages.
The lighthouse is the oldest in Newfoundland, dating back to 1836, and it’s been rebuilt to its 1839 glory. The Cantwell family kept it running for over a century, which is frankly a commitment I don’t even have to houseplants.
You’ll find foghorns. Concrete bunkers left over from WWII. Waves that slam against the rocks with the kind of theatrical flourish only the Atlantic can pull off. People say the place makes you feel small, but not in a bad way. It’s more like you’ve briefly been adopted by the ocean, and it’s singing you a sea shanty.
A Viking in the Frying Pan: Halibut & Bacon, Reconstructed
After walking Viking paths and lighthouses that pierce the horizon, it’s time to eat like a Norse explorer—with a simple, salty dish that would've fueled longboat crews. This Parks Canada recipe hits the spot. It’s still served at L’Anse aux Meadows during interpretive programs, and for good reason: it tastes like the kind of thing you’d eat beside a driftwood fire, a cloak around your shoulders, listening to the wind argue with itself.
You don’t need to pillage to pull it off. Just bacon, halibut, and a willingness to let simplicity shine.
Halibut and Bacon
Ingredients
600 g fresh halibut steaks
300 g bacon
2 tsp salt
200 g water
Directions
Chop the bacon into chunks and fry until golden.
Drain most (but not all!) of the fat—you want to keep enough to fry the halibut.
Skin, debone and cut halibut into 2-inch chunks.
Simmer halibut chunks in salted water for 5 minutes, then fry them in the bacon drippings until golden.
Eat like you’re about to chop wood with an axe you forged yourself.
What the Land Teaches (That Cookbooks Can’t)
Newfoundland and Labrador aren’t just beautiful. They’re humbling. They remind you that stories aren’t something we read in books—they’re built into the landscape.
Every lighthouse. Every turf wall. Every plate of halibut cooked in a battered cast-iron pan. They’re all part of the story of Canada becoming itself—layered, complicated, and best understood through lived experience. Preferably with a side of bacon.
Disclaimer: Fair & Furious is not sponsored by the businesses or brands mentioned in this post. We just really love sharing anything Canadian with you! Support our mission by sharing our posts and interacting with our content! Thank you 💛
Spare 5 min to learn a bit more about the sagas and archaeological findings at L’Anse aux Meadows. You won't regret it.
Comments