🇮🇸 Icelandic Cuisine

Hangikjöt

Smoked Lamb

Prep Time 48 hours

Servings 8

Difficulty Hard

Traditional Icelandic smoked lamb, slowly cured over birchwood and dried sheep dung smoke, yielding deeply flavored, tender meat served thinly sliced.

Ingredients

2kg bone-in lamb leg
100g coarse salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper
Birchwood chips for smoking

Instructions

1 Rub lamb with salt, sugar, and pepper. Refrigerate in a covered container for 3 days, turning daily.
2 Rinse off the cure and pat dry. Hang in a cool, airy place for 12 hours to form a pellicle.
3 Cold-smoke over birchwood chips at 20-25°C for 24-48 hours until deeply golden.
4 To serve, simmer the smoked lamb in water for 2-3 hours until tender.
5 Slice thinly and serve warm or cold with potatoes and bechamel, or on bread.

Did You Know?

Hangikjöt is so central to Icelandic Christmas that many families order their smoked lamb months in advance to ensure supply.