Hangikjöt (Smoked Lamb for Celebrations)
A smoked leg or shoulder of lamb, then poached, served in thin warm or cold slices, accompanied by potatoes in a sweet white sauce and green peas.
A smoked leg or shoulder of lamb, then poached, served in thin warm or cold slices, accompanied by potatoes in a sweet white sauce and green peas.
When Christmas came, the house was perfumed with this smoked lamb that had hung for weeks above the birch smoke. I would poach it gently, without haste, for patience makes all the tenderness of the meat. Slice it thinly, accompany with potatoes coated in a barely sweet white sauce, and everyone serves themselves at the common table. It is a dish that brings people together, and bringing together, you see, was always my calling.
- •Birch-smoked lamb shoulder or leg — a fine piece (centerpiece)
- •Potatoes — according to guests (side dish)
- •Milk and flour — for the sauce (white sauce (uppstúf))
- •Green peas — a handful (garnish)
- •A little sugar — a pinch (balance for the sauce)
Hangikjöt (Smoked Lamb for Celebrations)
A smoked leg or shoulder of lamb, then poached, served in thin warm or cold slices, accompanied by potatoes in a sweet white sauce and green peas.
Why this dish? Hangikjöt — literally 'hung meat' — is the dish of Christmas and the Þorrablót, those moments when all Iceland gathers. For a president who embodied national unity and cultural pride, this birch-smoked meat is the very symbol of the celebratory table.
When Christmas came, the house was perfumed with this smoked lamb that had hung for weeks above the birch smoke. I would poach it gently, without haste, for patience makes all the tenderness of the meat. Slice it thinly, accompany with potatoes coated in a barely sweet white sauce, and everyone serves themselves at the common table. It is a dish that brings people together, and bringing together, you see, was always my calling.
Ingredients (period version)
- Birch-smoked lamb shoulder or leg — a fine piece (centerpiece)
- Potatoes — according to guests (side dish)
- Milk and flour — for the sauce (white sauce (uppstúf))
- Green peas — a handful (garnish)
- A little sugar — a pinch (balance for the sauce)
Ingredients
- Smoked lamb (hangikjöt, or smoked shoulder if unavailable) — 1.2 kg (centerpiece)
- Potatoes — 800 g (side dish)
- Milk — 500 ml (white sauce)
- Butter and flour — 30 g each (roux for sauce)
- Green peas — 200 g (garnish)
- Sugar — 1 teaspoon (balance)
Method
- Place the smoked lamb in a large pot of cold water, bring to a simmer, and poach gently for 1 to 1.5 hours depending on weight.
- Let the meat cool slightly in its broth, then slice thinly.
- Boil the potatoes in water.
- Prepare a white sauce (uppstúf): butter-flour roux, milk, a pinch of sugar and salt, then the peas.
- Nap the potatoes with sauce and serve the lamb warm or cold alongside.
How it was made : Lacking wood, Icelanders traditionally smoked meat over dried sheep dung (taðreykt) or birch wood, hanging it in the smoke of the hearth. Poached and then served cold, hangikjöt keeps well and features prominently on Christmas and Þorrablót buffets.
The contemporary twist : Serve in thin slices on flatkaka (rye flatbread) with a knob of butter, as bite-sized buffet appetizers.
Sources : Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir, Icelandic Food and Cookery (2002)
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir · Charactorium
