Ask Icelanders which meat tastes most like home and most will say lamb. It goes into the Sunday roast, the winter soup pot, the smoked Christmas platter and the old preserved dishes of midwinter.
Icelandic lamb also has a reputation abroad for tasting a little different from lamb raised elsewhere. That difference has real reasons behind it, and once you know them, it is easier to cook the meat well.
This guide covers where Icelandic lamb comes from, why it tastes the way it does, the classic ways it is eaten, and a full recipe for the dish most families still make on a Sunday: roast leg of lamb with caramelised potatoes.
A breed that has stayed the same for over a thousand years
The sheep of Iceland arrived with the Norse settlers in the ninth and tenth centuries. Because the island has kept strict limits on importing live animals, the Icelandic sheep has stayed largely unmixed with other breeds ever since.
It is a hardy, short-tailed Nordic breed, built for wind, cold and poor grazing. The animals are smaller than most modern commercial breeds, which means smaller legs and shoulders on the butcher's counter.
For centuries sheep were central to survival in Iceland. They gave wool for clothing, milk for skyr and meat that could be smoked, salted, dried or soured to last through winter. Very little of the animal was wasted, which is why heads, liver and blood still have a place in the national kitchen.
How lamb in Iceland is raised
The rhythm of the year is what shapes the meat. Lambs are born in spring, and in early summer most ewes and lambs are let out to graze freely in the mountains and highland pastures.
There they spend the summer largely on their own, eating grasses and wild plants. Many Icelanders will tell you that herbs such as Arctic thyme, which grows across the country, give the meat part of its flavour.
In September farmers and volunteers gather the flocks in the réttir, the autumn roundup, which is still a big social event in rural areas. The sheep are driven down into stone or wooden sorting pens and returned to their owners.
Slaughter follows in autumn, when the lambs are only a few months old. Fresh lamb is at its most plentiful in Iceland at that time of year, and much of the rest is frozen for the months ahead.
What makes Icelandic lamb meat taste different
Young age, slow summer growth and a varied wild diet give Icelandic lamb meat a fine texture and a gentle, slightly gamey flavour. It is less fatty than lamb from heavier breeds, and the fat it does have is mild rather than strong.
That character is now protected. In March 2023 the European Commission registered Íslenskt lambakjöt, Icelandic lamb, as a Protected Designation of Origin, the first Icelandic product to receive that status. The name can only be used for meat from purebred Icelandic lambs born, raised and slaughtered in Iceland.
In practice the leaner meat means two things for the cook. It cooks a little faster than you might expect, and it does not need heavy marinades or strong spices to taste good. Salt, pepper and a little thyme or rosemary are usually enough.
Classic ways Icelanders eat lamb
Most Icelandic sheep meat dishes fall into two groups: everyday home cooking and the preserved foods of the old farm kitchen.
The everyday group starts with the Sunday leg of lamb, lambalæri, which you will find in the recipe below. Breaded lamb chops, kótilettur í raspi, fried in butter and served with potatoes and peas, are another family classic.
On cold days the pot comes out for kjötsúpa, the Icelandic lamb soup, made with lamb on the bone, root vegetables and a handful of rice or oats.
At Christmas many homes serve hangikjöt with uppstúfur, smoked lamb with a white sauce, green peas and red cabbage. The smoking gives a strong, salty flavour quite unlike fresh lamb.
The older dishes include slátur, the blood and liver puddings made in autumn, and svið, singed sheep's head. These are less common on weekday tables today, but they remain part of Icelandic food culture and appear at the midwinter Þorrablót feasts.
Icelandic roast leg of lamb (lambalæri)
This is the Sunday roast as it is still made in many Icelandic homes. It is simple, generous and built around a few traditional sides.
Ingredients for 6 people:
- 1 bone-in leg of lamb, about 2.5 kg
- 2 tbsp neutral oil or soft butter
- 2 tsp flaky or coarse salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp dried thyme, or a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, sliced (optional)
- 250 ml water or lamb stock for the roasting tin
Take the lamb out of the fridge about an hour before cooking so it roasts evenly. Heat the oven to 180°C, or 160°C if you use a fan oven.
Pat the meat dry. If you like garlic, make small cuts in the surface and push in the slices. Rub the leg all over with oil or butter, then season well with salt, pepper and thyme.
Set the lamb on a rack in a roasting tin and pour the water or stock into the tin. Roast for about 1½ to 2 hours, basting once or twice and topping up the liquid if the tin runs dry.
A meat thermometer is the most reliable guide. Take the leg out at around 58 to 60°C in the thickest part for pink meat, or at 65 to 70°C if you prefer it cooked through, which is how many Icelandic families serve it.
Cover the lamb loosely with foil and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving. The temperature will rise a few degrees as it rests.
The gravy and the sides
Brown gravy, brún sósa, is a must. Pour off most of the fat from the tin, then add the pan juices to a saucepan with about 500 ml stock or the potato cooking water.
Thicken it with a little flour cooked in butter, or a spoonful of cornflour mixed with cold water. Simmer for a few minutes, season with salt and pepper, and finish with a splash of cream if you like. Icelandic cooks often add a few drops of gravy browning for colour.
The potatoes are the part children wait for. Brúnaðar kartöflur are small boiled potatoes glazed in caramel:
- 1 kg small, waxy potatoes
- 100 g white sugar
- 30 to 40 g butter
Boil the potatoes in their skins until just tender, then peel them and let them cool and dry. Melt the sugar in a dry frying pan over medium heat, without stirring, until it turns a clear amber.
Add the butter and swirl it into the caramel. Tip in the potatoes and turn them gently for a few minutes until they are glossy and evenly coated. Take care, as the caramel is very hot.
To complete the plate, set out pickled red cabbage, green peas and rhubarb jam. The sweet and sharp sides are part of the tradition and balance the rich meat and gravy.
Cooking Icelandic lamb outside Iceland
Icelandic lamb is exported, mostly frozen, so you may find it at specialist butchers or online. If you buy frozen, thaw it slowly in the fridge for a day or two, not on the counter.
If you cannot find it, choose a small leg from grass-fed lamb. A lighter leg of around 2 kg will be closer in size and texture to the Icelandic cut. Reduce the roasting time to match, and rely on the thermometer rather than the clock.
Because the meat is lean, avoid cooking it far past your target temperature. Overcooked lean lamb turns dry quickly, while a short rest keeps it juicy.
Leftovers are well used in Iceland too. Thin slices make good open sandwiches on rye bread, and the bone is a fine start for a pot of soup the next day.
A dish worth making on a slow Sunday
The Sunday leg of lamb is not a complicated recipe. Its appeal lies in good meat, patient roasting and the familiar sides around it.
Make it once with the caramelised potatoes, brown gravy and rhubarb jam, and you will understand why so many Icelanders still count it as the taste of a weekend at home.
About Sigrún Ólafsdóttir
Sigrún grew up baking rúgbrauð with her grandmother in Akureyri and has spent the last decade collecting recipes from kitchens all over Iceland. She writes Icelandic MAT's recipes, one dish at a time.