Poronkäristys - Sautéed Reindeer

Poronkäristys, or sautéed reindeer meat, is Finland's national dish. The dish originated from Arctic Lapland, where the Saame, a semi-nomadic indigenous people, have been herding reindeer for centuries. Thin slices of reindeer meat are typically sautéed in butter, with or without onions, before being slowly cooked in beer or stock until tender and luscious. Creamy mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam are the most typical and traditional accompaniments for the dish, but they can also be served with pasta or rice.

Ingredients:

• 500g reindeer meat or poronkäristys
• 50g butter
• salt & pepper
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 carrot julienne sliced
• 3 dl water
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 onion
• cabbage

Instruction:

1. Place the reindeer meat to room temperature at least half an hour before cooking.
2. Wash and peel the onion and garlic
3. Sliced the garlic and the onion as desired
4. Peel the carrots after washing and julienne sliced
5. Wash and slice the cabbage
6. In a cooking pan, place the butter until melted
   
7. Add the garlic and the onion until color brown
8. Saute the reindeer, a small portion at a time
9. When the meat is already brown and the liquid in the pan is almost dry, add the soy sauce.
10. Add the water, let it boil
11. Combine the carrots and the cabbage.
12. Add salt and black pepper based on your desired taste
13. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
14. If you decide to cook it through into the pan, you can let it simmer for another half an hour or continue by transferring it to a casserole pan and place in the preheated oven into 175 C and keep it there 30 min to 1.5 hours depending on how soft you want the meat.
15. I keep it for 45 minutes in the oven and mixed few times.
16. When cooking, add some parsley and serve with lingonberry jam and mashed potato.