I first tasted reindeer stew at a Bavarian dinner in the lovely chalet home of Hermann Pfieffer, a German steel cable manufacturer. Hermann’s wife Sieglinde, an accomplished cook, served hirschgulasch (reindeer stew in German) and I was a little anxious about eating reindeer. I was torn between being a gracious guest and my affection for the Rudolf and Bambi cartoon characters. But when I tasted Frau Pfieffer’s luscious stew, I was hooked.
On subsequent European trips, every time I would spot reindeer stew on a restaurant menu, I had to try it and was always pleased with my choice. Thus, when on a recent trip to Davos-Kloster, Switzerland I spotted reindeer stew with spicy red cabbage and a huge potato dumpling on the menu, I challenged myself to replicating the memorable taste of these European reindeer stews.
As I embarked on my plan to prepare a delicious reindeer stew at home, I encountered an obstacle: reindeer or venison of any kind is difficult to find in American stores. After calling local butchers and a careful internet search, I was able to find only three sources in the United States, one of which was a Chicago specialty butcher that carried only frozen red deer meat from New Zealand! A close relative to reindeer, but it had to do for my challenge.
Why isn’t venison more popular in America? Hunters, of course, eat all forms of venison — reindeer, deer, elk, caribou. In hunting communities, local butchers process venison into steaks, roasts, stew, sausages and jerky for private consumption. But the only venison commercially available nationwide is limited to reindeer and deer for various reasons.
First, US food safety regulations forbid the sale of wild-caught or hunted venison, mandating that markets sell only farmed inspected venison. Second, reindeer were introduced only 120 years ago to North America and unlike in Europe where numerous farms raise reindeer for meat, there are few reindeer farms in the United States. Only a small supply of USDA-inspected venison is available on-line. Approximately 85% of the venison sold frozen in America comes from New Zealand where red deer are farmed and inspected before sale to consumers. (Farm-raised, corn-fed reindeer have a milder beef-like flavor than those raised in the wild.) A less significant, but probably more emotional, reason is the personification of Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Bambi.
Reindeer meat is very popular throughout Europe, where reindeer are farm-raised as an alternative meat and butchered like cattle. Consequently, reindeer meat is widely available in supermarkets and restaurants as steak, stew, ribs, jerky, sausage, soup, smoked and fried.
Although domesticated 5,000 to 7,000 years ago near the Russian-Mongolian border, reindeer husbandry is most common among the Sámi, a semi-nomadic indigenous people who live in the northern most regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The Sámi have been reindeer herders for centuries and have developed a symbiotic relationship with their herds. The Sámi depend on the reindeer and the reindeer depend on them. They follow and tend enormous herds that provide them with meat, fur and transportation from country to country. Because the Sámi consume all reindeer meat produced from their herds, reindeer farms in 18 European countries supply meat commercially.
Domesticated reindeer were introduced to North America only in the early 1900s from Siberia and Norway as a way of improving nutrition among Native Alaskans. Sámi herders taught Native Americans how to manage and expand the herds which provided meat, milk, tallow, sinew for sewing, and hides for fashioning blankets, clothing and footwear. Reindeer were even also used to pull sleds of gear for miners and initially delivered mail in Alaska. Thus, for over a century reindeer herding in Alaska has been a cultural and traditional mainstay in many villages. Most of the reindeer meat from Native Alaskan herds, however, is consumed within Native Alaskan communities because few villages can deliver their meat to slaughterhouses for inspection–a key to reaching new markets. Many must do their butchering in areas without plumbing, relying on the weather to freeze the carcasses.
Times changed. Recent recognition of the nutritional benefits of venison seems to have spurred American consumer demand. Venison is now regarded a desirable alternative to factory-farmed meat because it is a lean meat high in protein and low in fat. Reindeer meat is tender, like chicken, high in B vitamins: B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B6 and B12 and a significant source of essential minerals, including iron, copper, zinc and selenium, comparing favorably to fish when it comes to omega-3 and 6, and other essential fatty acids. More and more restaurants are offering venison on their menus. Native Alaskan villages, which have not previously sold reindeer meat outside their communities, recently started improving processing infrastructure to permit larger supplies of meat to satisfy growing demand. Only recently have reindeer started to be raised on farms in other parts of North America.
Once I realized how rare reindeer meat was in America, in pursuing my challenge, I wanted to locate or develop a special reindeer stew recipe that would highlight this unusual ingredient. As I worked through German, Norwegian, Swedish, Austrian, Polish and Italian recipes for reindeer stew, I noted many similarities in preparation. The pungent, bracing and rather piney flavor of juniper berries and the herbal, slightly floral bay leaves are often natural companions to richly flavored reindeer or deer meats. Venison is often cooked slowly in bacon or pancetta fat to keep the meat moist. Wine and beef stock are usually added as cooking liquid to impart depth and richness. Whether prepared in Norway, Sweden, Italy, Austria, Poland or Switzerland, this low in fat, darker red meat, more succulent than beef, becomes tender in a velvety winey sauce, a perfect winter comfort food.
This recipe combines the best reindeer stew preparations I found in Europe and makes a very flavorful dish. I urge you to try it. Reindeer meat is available on-line at http://americanpridefoods.com/reindeer-meat.html, http://www.exoticmeatmarkets.com/reindeermeat.html and https://www.paulinamarket.com. If reindeer or other venison is unavailable, the flavors in this recipe make a wonderful stew of beef chuck roast or shoulder.
Reindeer stew is served with different accompaniments from country to country: boiled or roasted potatoes, potato dumplings, spaetzle, egg noodles or polenta, red cabbage or other vegetables and lingonberry or cranberry jam. I photographed and served this reindeer stew the same way I first tasted it at the Pfeiffers, with spaetzle, the German homemade noodle for which I provide recipe in a previous blog on noodles. http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/spaetzle-the-ubiquitous-noodle/.
Reindeer Stew
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
4 strips (6 ¼ ounces; 180 g) smoked, thick-cut bacon, diced
3 ½ tablespoons flour
2 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons pepper, freshly ground
2 ¼ pounds (1 k) venison shoulder, trimmed of silverskin, visible fat and sinews, cubed into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion, minced
6 shallots, cut into wedges
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 small carrots, diced
1 bottle (750 ml) pinot noir
1½ cup (355 ml) dark beef broth, homemade or canned
2 teaspoons beef bouillon powder or 2 beef bouillon cubes
Fresh thyme, leaves from 3 – 4 inch long stems
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced
⅛ teaspoon paprika
⅛ teaspoon cayenne
12 juniper berries, crushed
12 peppercorns
½ pound (227g) cremini mushrooms, whole if small; quartered if large
1 ounces (28 g) dried porcini mushrooms
2 small carrots, diced
3 bay leaves
1½ tablespoon lingonberry jam** (or whole cranberry sauce), plus more for serving
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped as garnish
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
Cover dried mushrooms with 1⅓ cup (355 ml) boiling water. Leave to soak for at least 20 minutes. Drain soaking liquor into small bowl and set aside. Roughly chop soaked mushrooms.
Heat sunflower oil in a large pot and fry bacon lightly until colored and fat is rendered and bacon is crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towel and then place bacon in large bowl. Do not wash pot; reserve for later use.
Combine 2 tablespoons flour with salt and pepper. Dry venison chunks well and in a large bowl toss in flour mixture until well coated. Re-heat oil in pot and sear meat in batches to develop a crust all over. Remove meat when browned with slotted spoon to bowl with bacon. Set aside.
Add onions and shallots to the pot, adding more oil if necessary. When onions and shallots start to brown, sprinkle with remaining 1½ tablespoon of flour and stir with a wooden spoon. Cook several minutes to allow flour to color. Add garlic and carrots.
Deglaze pot with red wine, stirring with a wooden spoon to release bits burned on pot bottom. Return meat to pot. Add beef broth, bouillon cubes or powder and reserved bacon. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low.
Stir in thyme, rosemary, cayenne, paprika, juniper berries, both mushrooms, soaking liquid, peppercorns and bay leaves. Add lingonberry jam or cranberry sauce.
Cover stew with parchment round (cartouche) and top with the lid. Reduce heat in oven to 200°F (93°C) Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Stir and test for doneness. If meat is not tender, continue cooking for another ½ hour until meat is tender. Stir and test again. Remove from oven when done.
Sprinkle with parsley and serve with your choice of potatoes, noodles, spaetzle, noodles or polenta and more lingonberry jam or cranberry sauce.
Serves 8.
Reindeer stew also tastes great when reheated the next day. If sauce needs thickening before serving, combine 1 tablespoon flour with 2 tablespoons water and stir into the stew which will thicken as it is being reheated.
* Photo by Bryan and Cherry Alexander of www.arcticphoto.com, used here with permission.
** Lingonberry jam is available at IKEA.
One year ago:.http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/swiss-dried-pear-bread/
Two years ago:http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/cuba-restarting-the-clock/