Swedes have eaten reindeer meat since at least the ninth century B.C. Back then, it was all about hunting, now it’s a proper industry. More than 200,000 reindeer are herded by around 4,500 reindeer owners in the northern third of Sweden. Reindeer husbandry is an old Sami right, and forms the basis of their culture. This recipe uses reindeer meat to give a new touch to traditional Swedish meatballs.
Photo: Johan Jeppsson
Reindeer meatballs with glazed garlic confit and red cabbage
Recipe by Marcus Samuelsson
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 pieces of reindeer sirloin*, 1 ½ tbs/20 g each
Meatball mix:
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 tbs breadcrumbs
1¾ oz/0.5 dl cream
2 eggs
¾ lb/300 g ground beef and pork meat
salt and freshly ground pepper
butter, olive oil
Honey-glazed garlic confit:
4 garlics, in cloves and peeled
4 fresh thyme sprigs
3 ½ oz/1 dl balsamic vinegar
3 ½ oz/1 dl honey
1 cinnamon stick
butter
salt and freshly ground pepper
Spicy red cabbage:
½ head of red cabbage, finely chopped
1 tsp garam masala
2 small red onions, chopped
4 oz/1.25 dl liquid honey
3 ½ oz/1 dl port
fresh thyme
2 tbs demerara sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
salt and freshly ground pepper
oil
Preparation
Reindeer meatballs:1. Sauté the onion in butter and leave to cool.
2. Mix breadcrumbs and cream in a bowl and let it soak for a few minutes. Add first eggs, then onion and the ground meat. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Cut the reindeer meat into cubes. Envelope each reindeer cube in ground meat to form eight balls. (If there is time, let the meatballs rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.)
4. Fry the meatballs in oil and butter on medium heat until golden brown, for around 7–8 minutes. Lift them out of the pan and keep them warm.
Honey-glazed garlic confit:
Sauté the garlic cloves in a pan. Add vinegar, honey, thyme and cinnamon. Boil on medium heat for around 20 minutes. Stir in a knob of butter and season with salt and pepper.
Not only does this give you beautiful, glazed -garlic cloves, it is also the perfect base for a sauce.
Spicy red cabbage:
Pour some oil into a large saucepan. Add the red cabbage, garam masala, red onion, honey, salt, pepper, port, thyme, sugar and cinnamon. Simmer on low heat for around 40 minutes.
The meatballs can be served out of the frying pan, with cabbage and sauce on the side.
*If you can’t get hold of reindeer meet, just exclude it from the recipe and do “normal” meatballs with only minced meat. The traditional Swedish way of serving meatballs is with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam.
Copyright:
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