Every September, something shifts in rural Iceland. Farmers who have barely seen their sheep since May saddle their horses, pack food for several days and ride up into the highlands to bring the flocks home.
The sorting that follows is called réttir, and it is one of the few farming traditions that still pulls whole communities together. It is hard work, but it is also a feast, a reunion and, for many families, the real start of autumn.
For anyone interested in Icelandic food, réttir matters for another reason. It marks the beginning of the season that fills Icelandic kitchens with lamb soup, slátur and smoked meat for the winter ahead.
What réttir actually is
Icelandic sheep spend the summer almost entirely free. After lambing in May, ewes and lambs are let out to graze in the mountains, valleys and highland pastures, often far from the farm, eating grass, herbs and berry shrubs.
When autumn comes, they have to be gathered before snow and swollen rivers make the highlands dangerous. The gathering itself is called göngur: search parties on horseback, on foot and these days often on quad bikes sweep the grazing land, sometimes over several days.
Réttir is the second half. The flock is driven down to a rétt, a large stone or timber fold, usually built as a central pen with smaller pens around it like the spokes of a wheel. Each spoke belongs to a farm.
The sheep pour into the middle, and people wade in to find their own animals by their ear marks, then haul them, usually by the horns, into the right pen. It looks chaotic. In practice it runs on centuries of habit and a lot of shouting.
Why horses are at the heart of it
You cannot talk about réttir without talking about horses. The highlands are rough, boggy and cut by rivers, and the Icelandic horse has carried people through that country for more than a thousand years.
The breed is small but strong, sure-footed on lava and scree, and comfortable in weather that would send most riders home. Many of the people riding the göngur bring several horses each and swap mounts during the day so no horse is worn out.
The horses also have a gait that makes long days bearable: the tölt, a smooth four-beat running walk in which the horse always has at least one foot on the ground. A rider can cover long distances in tölt without the bouncing of a trot.
There are horse round-ups too. In the north, especially in Skagafjörður, free-roaming herds of horses are brought down from summer grazing a couple of weeks after the sheep. The best known is Laufskálarétt near Hólar í Hjaltadal, held on the last Saturday of September, where well over a thousand horses can be sorted in a single afternoon.
If the horses are what caught your eye, you will find Icelandic horse breed guides at icelandhorse-shop.de, a German-language magazine that covers the five gaits, buying, keeping and riding trips to Iceland.
When and where réttir happens
The season runs from early September into early October. Each district has its own dates, and local schedules are usually published in the farming press, Bændablaðið, towards the end of summer.
Some of the best-known folds are in the south and north. Stafnsrétt in Svartárdalur and Mælifellsrétt in Skagafjörður are classic examples of the circular design, and Skeiðaréttir in southern Iceland is one of the old, much-visited ones.
Visitors are usually welcome to watch, and at many folds you can help pull sheep if a farmer waves you in. It is worth remembering that this is a working day, not a show. Stay out of the way, keep children close to the walls and listen to whoever is in charge.
Some farms and riding tour companies offer multi-day trips where experienced riders can join the göngur itself. These are proper riding holidays with long hours in the saddle, and they are best booked well in advance.
The food of réttir day
Réttir is hungry work, and the food reflects it. Nothing is fancy, but almost everything is warming and made to feed a crowd.
Kjötsúpa, Icelandic lamb soup, is the dish most people associate with the round-up. It is a simple, slow-cooked soup of lamb on the bone with root vegetables, rice or oats, and dried herbs. You can find our full Kjötsúpa recipe if you want to make it at home.
Flatbread with butter and hangikjöt, Iceland's smoked lamb, often turns up in packed lunches. So do kleinur, pönnukökur and thermoses of strong coffee, sometimes with something stronger poured in after the sorting is done.
Many families also bring rúgbrauð, the dense dark rye bread, and harðfiskur, wind-dried fish eaten with butter. Both keep well in a saddlebag, which is exactly why they became trail food in the first place.
Sláturtíð: when the kitchen takes over
Réttir is followed by sláturtíð, the slaughter season. Lambs that will not overwinter on the farm go to slaughter in September and October, and for generations this was when households laid in food for the winter.
The most famous product is slátur, which covers both blóðmör, a blood pudding, and lifrarpylsa, a liver sausage made with oats or rye flour and wrapped in suet. Families still gather in some kitchens to make it together. Our guide to lifrarpylsa and slátur explains how it is done.
Svið, singed sheep's head, comes from the same season, as do lamb for the freezer, salted meat and the first smoked joints for Christmas. Nothing was wasted, and the habit of using the whole animal is still part of the Icelandic kitchen.
The evening: réttaball
When the last sheep are sorted, many districts hold a réttaball, a round-up dance. Historically it was one of the big social events of the year in the countryside, and in some places it still is.
Expect a community hall, a local band, plenty of people who have been awake since before dawn and a fair amount of singing. If you are invited, go. It is one of the best ways to see rural Iceland when it is not performing for tourists.
Cooking a réttir meal at home
You do not need a fold full of sheep to borrow the spirit of réttir. A pot of kjötsúpa, a loaf of rye bread and a plate of flatbread with smoked lamb is a perfectly Icelandic autumn supper.
Start the soup in the afternoon, use lamb on the bone, and let it simmer gently. Serve it with butter and bread on the table and let people help themselves. That is more or less how it is eaten after a long day in the hills.
For something sweet afterwards, kleinur or pönnukökur with jam and whipped cream would not be out of place. If you want to go further, our piece on Icelandic lamb and how to roast a Sunday leg explains why free-grazing lamb tastes the way it does.
Visiting during réttir: practical tips
Plan your trip for mid to late September if réttir is the goal, and check local dates once they are published. Weather can change quickly, so bring waterproofs, warm layers and boots you do not mind getting muddy.
Ask before photographing people up close, and never chase or wave at sheep or horses to get a better shot. Animals that have just come down from the mountains are tired and easily stressed.
Finally, treat it like a guest at someone else's family gathering. Bring a little curiosity and a lot of patience, and you will probably be offered coffee, cake or a bowl of soup before the day is over.
Cover photo: "Icelandic sheep Roundup - Réttir" by Ethan Kan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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.