How Finns make poronkäristys: thin-shaved reindeer browned in butter, simmered soft and served on mashed potato with lingonberries. Oven method, prices.
Half-frozen reindeer shaved thin, browned in butter and simmered soft: the herders' recipe, the oven version and where to order it in Lapland.
Poronkäristys, reindeer: Reindeer shaved into ribbons while half-frozen, browned in butter and simmered until it falls apart, then served on mashed potato with lingonberries and pickled cucumber. Here is the herders' own recipe, the oven version, what it costs and where to order it in Lapland.
The reindeer herders' own association calls poronkäristys perhaps the most legendary of all reindeer dishes. The traditional version needs four things: reindeer, butter, water and salt.
Shaved half-frozen: The meat is shaved while half-frozen, at around −6 °C, when it is firm enough to cut into thin ribbons. Finnish shops sell it ready-shaved and frozen.
Butter, water, salt: Traditional poronkäristys has no cream and no stock. The meat browns in butter or reindeer fat, then simmers under a lid with a splash of water. Pepper arrived later.
Never without lingonberries: It is served on mashed potato with lingonberries and pickled cucumber. The herders' own recipe names frost-nipped, raw-stirred lingonberries as the best side.
Poronkäristys, the home way. Three recipes: the stovetop classic of the reindeer herders' association, the slower oven version for a bigger pot, and the two sides that belong with it.
Traditional poronkäristys: The herders' version: reindeer, fat, water and salt, simmered under a lid until tender. Pepper is optional, cream is not part of it.
500 g frozen poronkäristys (shaved reindeer)
Freshly ground black pepper, if you like
Let the frozen meat soften in the fridge just enough to break the block apart; the slices should still be icy.
Melt the fat in a heavy pan or a cast-iron pot over high heat and add the meat in batches, breaking up the frozen slices with a spatula.
Fry until the meat has thawed, its juices have boiled away and it has started to brown.
Turn the heat down, cover and simmer until the meat is tender, 10 to 30 minutes for leg meat and longer for other cuts. Add a splash of water if it runs dry.
Taste, add pepper if you like, and serve on mashed potato with lingonberries and pickled cucumber.
The reindeer herders' association says the strongest flavour comes from frying the meat in reindeer fat.
Poronkäristys in the oven: The same pot, finished in a low oven. It takes longer, needs no stirring and suits a bigger batch.
1 kg frozen poronkäristys (shaved reindeer)
Brown the meat in the fat in an ovenproof cast-iron pot on the hob, in batches, until its juices have boiled away.
Add the water and the salt and bring to a simmer.
Put the lid on and move the pot into the oven for 2 to 3 hours, until the meat pulls apart.
Check once or twice and add a splash of water if needed. Serve like the stovetop version.
Published oven recipes range from 125 °C for 2 to 3 hours, the herders' association's choice, to 175 or 200 °C for about an hour. The lower the heat, the longer it needs.
Mashed potato and raw-stirred lingonberries
The two sides that make the plate: buttery mashed potato and lingonberries stirred raw with sugar.
Peel the potatoes, cut them into even pieces and boil them in salted water until soft, about 20 minutes.
Drain, mash with the butter, then beat in the hot milk until smooth. Season with salt.
Stir the lingonberries with the sugar in a bowl and leave them while the potatoes cook, stirring now and then, until the sugar has dissolved.
Serve both with the reindeer, with a few slices of pickled cucumber.
Finnish recipes mash puikula, the long yellow potato of Lapland; Lapin Puikula has been an EU protected designation of origin since 1997.
Reindeer, shaved thin. Poronkäristys is reindeer meat shaved into thin ribbons while half-frozen, browned in fat and simmered in a little water until tender. The reindeer herders' association names the cuts for it: silverside and knuckle from the hind leg, shoulder and the front of the back.
Most Finnish reindeer are slaughtered in October and November, after at least half a year on nothing but natural grazing. The meat is dark and lean, with 2 to 4 % fat.