Cubed meat / stew
Reindeer and root vegetable pot pie
A slow braise of reindeer, smoky bacon and sweet root vegetables, finished with cream and a handful of parsley.
Instructions
Heat the oven to 125°C (250°F) and set a Dutch oven over medium-high heat with the olive oil.
Season the reindeer cubes well with salt and pepper and brown them in batches, giving each piece room so it colours instead of steaming. Lift the meat out, crisp the bacon in the same pot, then crumble it over the meat. Return both to the pot with the carrots, onions and celery and stir for 5 minutes until they soften. Pour in the stock and scrape the bottom of the pot to lift the browned bits.
Add the thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and half the parsley, and bring everything to a slow simmer.
Cover tightly and slide the pot into the oven. Braise for 2 to 2½ hours, until the meat gives easily to a fork and the vegetables have taken on the flavour of the broth. Look in now and then and spoon a little liquid over the meat.
When the meat is tender, take the pot out and strain the liquid into a saucepan, fishing out the woody herb stems.
Return the liquid to the pot, stir in the cream and bring it back to a gentle simmer. Taste and adjust the salt. If it looks thin, whisk in a little cornflour slaked in cold water and let it tighten. Spoon the reindeer and vegetables into bowls, pour the creamy sauce over generously and scatter the last of the parsley.
Tips
- Brown the vegetables in the bacon fat before the stock goes in. It adds another layer.
- Mashed potatoes, soft polenta or a torn-up sourdough loaf all earn their place next to that sauce.
You might also like
Cubed meat / stew
Reindeer and barley stew
Reindeer simmered long and slow, then barley and potatoes stirred in until the whole pot thickens into something between a stew and a porridge.
Cubed meat / stew
Reindeer and caramelised onion pot pie
A kilo of onions cooked down to mahogany, built into a white wine gravy with seared reindeer cubes, then baked in ramekins under flatbread and melting cheese.
Cubed meat / stew
Reindeer and onion cream stew
Reindeer cubes browned in butter and simmered with sweet caramelised onions, then finished with enough cream to turn the broth into a sauce.