I expect a flood of emails from the Rudolph Advocacy Society after this post, but that will not deter me from describing how incredibly delicious reindeer meat is. It is my new favourite red meat, surpassing beef and even moose (apologies to my family living in Newfoundland!)
I bought stewing meat, but even so it was incredibly tender and a pleasure to work with. It's a very "sweet" meat -- that is the only way I can describe it. It smells wonderful even before you start cooking, and is soft and lean... I'm in love!
According to blackangusmeat.com: "Reindeer meat is fine-fibred, tender and lean. The meat is very healthy with more vitamins and micronutrients and less fat than pork or beef. Reindeer meat is also an ethical choice for free grazing and a cleaner environment. Today, reindeer meat is prized for its rich flavor, tenderness and low fat content."
As I had purchased the stewing meat, I wanted to make an authentic reindeer stew. I found an online recipe from Norway, but I preferred something local. Fortunately, my boss lent me the "Northern Cookbook", dating back to 1967!
It has a number of gems, including recipes for caribou, rabbit, polar bear, beaver, elk, deer, buffalo, squirrel and muskrat!
Mmmm yummmmmy.
I finally settled on a recipe for moose stew that I adapted for reindeer and cooked in a crockpot, minus a few ingredients that I didn't want to add.
The result was delicious. So delicious that I ate half the pot before remembering to take a photo, so what you see here is the bit at the bottom!