Finnish recipe
How to make Sautéed reindeer
Poronkäristys
Lapland
Thin shavings of reindeer meat, fried in butter and then simmered until tender, served with mashed potatoes and lingonberries. It is perhaps the best-known traditional meal of Lapland.
Ingredients
- 500 g reindeer meat, frozen (or ready-sliced reindeer shavings; thinly sliced beef or venison can replace it)
- 50 g butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped (optional)
- 300 ml water, light beer or stock
- Salt and black pepper
- To serve: mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam or fresh lingonberries mashed with sugar, and pickled cucumber
Method
- If the meat is a frozen block, let it soften for a few minutes, then shave it into very thin slices with a sharp knife.
- Melt the butter in a heavy pan or pot over a high heat and brown the meat in batches, adding the onion with the last batch.
- Return all the meat to the pan, pour in the water, beer or stock, and season with salt and plenty of pepper.
- Cover and simmer gently for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring now and then, until the meat is tender and cooked through. Add a little more liquid if it gets dry.
- Serve hot with mashed potatoes, lingonberries and pickled cucumber.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
The meat is sliced while it is still frozen, which makes it easy to cut very thin. In Finland it is often served with pickled cucumber too.
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