Hej, Stefan here.
Food always tastes better when it is cooked over an open flame, but some meals feel like more than just a “dinner.” They feel like a connection to the land itself. Last autumn, while sitting by the shore of a quiet Finnish lake, I had one of those meals—bringing together the best of our journey through the Boreal woods.
From the Swedish Forest to the Finnish Fire
The story of this meal actually began a few days earlier in Sweden. My wife, Jana, had spent time gathering wild lingonberries from the forest floor. At a friend’s house, she cooked them down into a fresh, tart jam (lingonsylt) over a campfire. There is something incredibly grounding about preserving what the forest provides using nothing but heat and patience.
Searing the Wild
For the main course, I had a package of renskav—traditional thin-cut shavings of reindeer meat. It is a fantastic ingredient for the trail because it cooks quickly and carries the deep, clean flavor of the North.
I pulled out my Stabilotherm Jägerstekpanna and set it directly over the dancing flames. To start, I rendered down some Swedish bacon; the fat is the perfect base for game meat. Once the pan was screaming hot, I added the reindeer meat, frying it quickly in the bacon fat until it was seared and smoky.
I kept the seasoning minimal: just a pinch of salt and a crack of black pepper. When you have high-quality reindeer meat and the infusion of real wood smoke, you don’t want to mask that natural, pure taste.
The Final Plate
We served the savory, smoky reindeer alongside Jana’s handmade lingonberry jam and some traditional Nordic flatbread. Sitting there by the water, the contrast between the salty meat, the rich fat, and the tart sweetness of the berries was exactly what a “Northbound Soul” needs.
As we sat there in the stillness of the autumn air, watching the reflection of the fire on the lake, I realized again that this is what it means to find peace. It’s about the spirit of the preparation, the honesty of the ingredients, and the quiet found at the water’s edge.
Have you ever tried cooking reindeer over an open fire? What is your favorite wild meal to prepare when you are out by the water?
— Stefan
