Flavors · Lapônia

poronkäristys

Sliced reindeer meat, sautéed with onion and butter and simmered in broth or beer, served with mashed potatoes and lingonberries. It’s the dish most associated with reindeer herding in Lapland.

Traditional dish from Lapônia

Also known as: käristys, poronkäristykset

Updated November 2026

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poronkäristys — Lapônia, Finland — poronkäristys

poronkäristys — Lapônia, Finland

Poronkäristys is made with reindeer meat cut into very thin slices. The slices are added to the pan with butter and onion and sautéed until they release their juices; then they cook slowly in a little broth or beer, with salt and black pepper, until tender. The result is a sauté of small pieces with a short gravy.

The dish comes with the usual accompaniments of almost all traditional Finnish food: mashed potatoes and lingonberries, served fresh, as jam, or mashed with sugar. Visit Finland presents it as one of the country’s best-known regional dishes, especially in the north.

Finnish reindeer are not wild: each animal has an owner and grazes freely in the forests of the reindeer-herding area that covers the country’s north. Lapland reindeer meat has a protected designation of origin from the European Union since 2009, under the name Lapin Poron liha: only meat from reindeer born and raised in the Finnish herding area, and slaughtered, cut, and packaged there, may use that name. Cold-smoked and dried reindeer meats have their own registrations.

Poronkäristys appears on menus in Lapland restaurants and in Finnish restaurants elsewhere in the country, and also in northern homes as everyday food.

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Where it comes from

Lapônia
Lapland is the land of reindeer: poronkäristys is the dish most closely linked to reindeer herding in northern Finland.

Ingredients

Thinly sliced reindeer meat, butter or other fat, onion, broth or beer, salt and black pepper.

How it is eaten

Hot, with mashed potatoes and lingonberries.

When it is eaten

Everyday food in Lapland, all year round.

Your questions

Questions about poronkäristys

What is poronkäristys?

Sliced reindeer meat, sautéed with onion and butter and simmered in broth or beer. Served with mashed potatoes and lingonberries, it’s the dish most associated with Lapland.

Where can you eat poronkäristys?

In restaurants in Lapland and in Finnish restaurants elsewhere in the country, including Helsinki.

Does Lapland reindeer meat have a protected label?

Yes. Since 2009, Lapin Poron liha is a protected designation of origin in the European Union: the meat comes from reindeer born and raised in the Finnish herding area, and slaughtered, cut, and packaged there.

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