Reindeer sausage is an Alaskan institution, sold from downtown street carts and diner griddles statewide and usually cut with beef or pork. It carries the state's deep ties to caribou, long the staple game of the Interior and the Native north.
Bite a griddled reindeer sausage and it snaps, then gives a deep, smoky, gamey-savory richness, leaner and more flavorful than pork sausage, sweet caramelized onions piled on top. Bite: meaty and smoky with a wild-game depth, the garlic and spice warm, the onions sweet. The street-food taste of an Alaskan morning.
Lean reindeer is blended with fattier beef so the sausage stays juicy, since caribou alone is too lean. Smoking adds the signature depth and helps preservation; the casing crisps on the griddle for the characteristic snap, and sweet onions balance the gamey meat.
Variations
With pork instead of beef. Spicier. As patties. With cheese. In a breakfast hash. With mustard.
On the Palate
Where Reindeer Sausage sits in the Alaskan flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
7 steps · 40 min active + 20 min waiting
- 115 min
Grind or finely chop 500 g reindeer and 200 g beef (for fat).
- 25 min
Mix with minced garlic, salt, pepper, and a little sugar.
Watch outKeep the meat and mixing bowl cold as you blend — if the fat warms and smears the sausage turns greasy and crumbly instead of juicy.
- 310 min
Stuff into casings and twist into links (or shape patties).
- 420 min
Cold-smoke or smoke-cook the sausages until firm (optional but classic).
- 58 min
Slice an onion and caramelize slowly in a pan.
Watch outTake the onions low and slow to deep golden and jammy — rushing on high heat scorches them bitter instead of sweet.
- 68 min
Griddle the sausages until browned and cooked through.
Watch outGriddle until the casing browns and tightens with a little snap — pull too early and it's pale and soft, no bite.
- 73 min
Serve on buns with the fried onions, or sliced with eggs.
