Iceland
Photo: Martin Sønderlev Christensen, CC BY-SA 2.0, croppedHangikjöt
/ˈhauɲcɪˌcʰœːt/HOWN-kih-kyurt
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- When
- FestiveLunch & dinner
- Taste
- SmokySavory
- Made with
- LambPotato
History
Hangikjöt, "hung meat", is smoked lamb, a leg or shoulder hung in a smokehouse for days or weeks. In Iceland it was traditionally smoked over dried sheep dung, often mixed with birch, which gives a sharp, earthy smoke; in the north, where birch was scarce, dung smoke was the norm. The meat is boiled and served hot or cold in thin slices with potatoes in a white béchamel sauce, green peas and red cabbage, and with laufabrauð, thin fried leaf bread cut with patterns. Hangikjöt is the classic Christmas Day meal in Iceland. Smoking was one of the few ways to keep meat through the long winters, alongside salting, drying and souring, and smoked lamb remains a common holiday gift.
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