Labskovs the Scandinavian Comfort food You are Missing Out On!

As Seen in Hook & Barrel Magazine

Did you know that “Reindeer” is the name that was given to caribou in Scandinavia and Russia? Did you also know that caribou is delicious to eat?

 In the Scandinavian culture they have make a dish called Labskovs. I know, it sounds like a piece of Ikea furniture, right? Well Labskovs is the stew you never knew you needed in your life. Traditionally stews here in the U.S. are broth based and filled with veggies and meat. But Labskovs is an entire new take on stew. It’s more of a meat and potatoes mash, and let me tell you I am here for it! While Nordic cuisine tends to be a bit blander, I had to spice it up a bit and put my take on the dish. I add Guinness Beer to the mix for the meat to simmer in to impart more flavor. And I add a few more warming spices like clove into the mix. It is simple to make yet is simply delicious! If you don’t have caribou on hand you can definitely sub it for venison, beef or even bear would be a great option. I also had to impart just a dash wilder game flavor and I add some butter and duck fat right at the end just to give it a bit more depth to the dish. If you are in a rush you can also through everything except the butter, duck fat and chives into the crock pot and let it do its thing! So hopefully you can get out there and harvest a Caribou if not use up some wild game you have on hand and get a taste of the Scandinavian culture!

Caribou Labskovs

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds cubed Caribou meat

2 cups of chicken stock

2 cups of Guinness Beer

4 bay leaves

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 whole clove

1 teaspoon black peppercorns, smashed

4 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 tablespoons salted butter

2 tablespoon duck fat

1/4 cup fresh chopped chives

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven, add about 1 tablespoon of avocado oil (or vegetable oil) to the pot and place to pot over high heat. Once the pan is hot add the cubed meat. Sear the meat on all sides until golden brown.
2. Add the chicken stock, Guinness Beer, bay leaves, garlic, thyme, clove, and black peppercorns to the pot. Lower the heat to low and simmer covered for 1 hour.
3. Then add the potatoes to the pot, cover and let simmer for 1 more hour.
4. After the stew has cooked, train off all the liquid and return the meat and potatoes to the pot. Use a balloon whisk to gently mash everything together. Make sure you don’t mash too much as you want small chunks of meat and potatoes. Add the butter and duck fat gently fold it into the stew. Season the stew with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve immediately garnished with fresh chopped chives.