Icelandic Lamb

 Lamb Like None Other in the World!

Hay-smoked Icelandic Lamb

“Icelanic Lamb, the way that it’s raised, is like none other in the world,” says Blair Gordon of Whole Foods.Yeah, but why should you care?

Because many, many folks here in the states kinda don’t really like lamb as an entrée, and they are seriously missing out. It’s time to break that cycle of misgivings and think “Spring lamb”–it’s not just for Middle Easterners anymore!

The Dazzle of Spring Color:
Fall is the Time to Eat Your Spring Lamb

I’m a passionate aficianado of Icelandic lamb. There is really no comparison to New Zealand or Colorado lamb, which is often gamey and/or just dull. I find Colorado lamb mostly miserable. But this Icelandic stuff…mine sat in the freezer for six months before I pulled it out for today’s lunch and voila! Magic on a plate in April.

You usually can purchase Icelandic lamb in the stores (whole foods in particular is good at keeping it in stock in September and October) in the fall.

That’s something Colorado and New Zealand cannot provide.

Pity, really, since I have adored lamb since I was a child watching my mother sprinkle LAWRY’S GARLIC SALT on GEORGE ZLAKET’Slamb after a long shop in his butcher shop on weekends. I can still remember the look of those red/pink loin chops slipping under the broiler on mom’s oven-standard slotted pan and watching her watch the chops.

Sniiiiifffff! Heaven-Scent!

Inevitably, and such was the time, she cooked them to medium well, but every once in a while, they were taken out and were still pink inside. Snifffffff! that salty, garlicky, heaven-scent lamb (Pardon the pun!)

At any rate, now you are all grown up, and you can even eat your lamb rare. There is no equal to this Nordic treat. Be in touch with your local Whole Foods butcher, and find out when the first shipment for 2012 arrives. You need to be there and find out why Icelandic lamb matters.

Lamb: It's What's for Lunch

At the INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CULINARY PROFESSIONALS Conference in New York City last week, Icelandic lamb had a stunning presentation when Reykjavik-based chef/entrepreneur of Dill Restaurant Gunnar Karl Gíslason showed off his flair with local lamb:

By Meryle Evans excerpted from FOODARTS.COM:

“With hay ablaze and rye bread crumbs sizzling in bright yellow butter, Gunnar Karl Gíslason, executive chef/co-owner of Dill Restaurant in Reykjavik, Iceland, brought a taste of his country’s version of the New Nordic Cuisine to attendees at the IACP conference in New York City last weekend. “There is no foie gras, only Nordic ingredients on our menu,” Gíslason explained, speaking of his dedication to supporting local products…A pioneer in the movement to preserve older methods of food production and forage the land even before Noma became famous, Gíslason bravely opened Dill in 2009 in the midst of Iceland’s economic meltdown…Gíslason prepared…lamb two ways: braised, and smoked with hay, accompanied by pickled cabbage and onions.”

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