Throughout September, across great swathes of the Icelandic countryside, farmers, their family, friends and even a few tourists, will be heading into the highlands to gather the sheep and lambs that have been roaming free, grazing on wild herbs and grasses all summer. It’s the great Icelandic sheep roundup known as réttir. Gatherers, warmly dressed in lopapeysur (traditional Icelandic sweaters made using Icelandic wool), will spend a few days rounding up sheep and meeting up at the end of each day to dine on tasty lamb dishes. From the clothes to the activity to the food, réttir is all about Icelandic lamb.
In the days of settlement a successful réttir meant there was a high chance that folks would have enough food to see them through the harsh winter. Nowadays, the stakes are less high but it is still a great way to help out local farmers, build up camaraderie, reinforce family ties to the land and form lasting friendships.
Depending on the region, it can take many days of travel across the highlands to gather the sheep. Not being mindful of roads and accessibility, the sheep range far and wide, which means the task must be undertaken on ATV, on horseback and even on foot. Gathers travel from one rustic highland cabin to another in search of wayward sheep.
In some cases a cook travels between cabins preparing dinner for the gatherers, which consists primarily of, you guessed it, lamb served in a myriad of ways. Traditionally, leg of lamb is served with brown sauce, canned green peas, pickled red cabbage and rhubarb jam. Other nights might feature kjötsúpa (lamb stew) or lamb chops or any number of lamb dishes.
After a long day of rounding up sheep, gatherers sit around a table or perhaps just with their plates on their laps, savoring delicious Icelandic lamb, telling stories, raising a toast and enjoying each others’ company. Meanwhile, the sheep and lambs that have already been gathered graze in their night enclosure, ruminating and sleeping. But it is early to bed for the gatherers as tomorrow will bring another day of riding, hiking and sheep herding.
A hearty breakfast and coffee fills the stomachs of the gatherers before they continue on the next morning. With them they may bring a packed lunch made up of Icelandic flatbread with butter and any number of lamb based delights including hangikjöt (cured lamb), or cold lamb chops, or slices of liver sausage and black pudding, or perhaps rye bread with mutton pate. It’s not unheard of for some to even bring a small flask of liquid fortitude, taking a nip or two to stave off the chill and warm the bones.
As the wooly hordes are brought down from the highlands to be sorted into their proper herds and the roundup winds down, a feast awaits the valiant ones who weathered the harsh conditions and rough labor of gathering the sheep. Kjötsúpa or a leg of lamb is customarily served on the occasion and tales of the gatherers’ adventures are exchanged as they bask in the satisfaction of a job well done. Another successful réttir in the books means more delicious Icelandic lamb for all to enjoy.