GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
Reindeer! Was this in Alaska? How was it?
National Chicken Noodle Soup Day ~ 3/13/2024 ~ What's In Your Bowl?
- Thread starter Kaneohegirlinaz
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Kathleen
Cupcake
It was absolutely delicious. They used a smoked reindeer sausage in it.
Was that herded reindeer from indigenous Alaskans or wild caribou?
Quick answer....
Reindeer and caribou are the same animal (Rangifer tarandus) and are a member of the deer family. In Europe, they are called reindeer. In North America, the animals are called caribou if they are wild and reindeer if they are domesticated.
(Feb 2, 2023)
But then again....
Reindeer and caribou are the same animal (Rangifer tarandus) and are a member of the deer family. In Europe, they are called reindeer. In North America, the animals are called caribou if they are wild and reindeer if they are domesticated.
(Feb 2, 2023)
But then again....
I may know a little bit about reindeer. 
My ancestors were reindeer herders. Reindeer are caribou, but they are smaller than most of the wild ones. I was actually wondering if the reindeer meat was called that because it was from one of the herds that are descended from Saami reindeer brought over to Alaska from Scandinavia along with Saami herders.
My ancestors were reindeer herders. Reindeer are caribou, but they are smaller than most of the wild ones. I was actually wondering if the reindeer meat was called that because it was from one of the herds that are descended from Saami reindeer brought over to Alaska from Scandinavia along with Saami herders.
Kathleen
Cupcake
In Alaska, we were told that reindeer meant that it was domesticated and raised on a farm, and caribou were harvested from the wild. No one said anything to us about the lineage. But....delicious!
Poor Comet and Blitzen - those ladies must be heart broken. Their sons disappeared about a month ago.
I know that many years ago they passed a law that only indigenous Alaskans were allowed to have reindeer herds. The Saami who had been invited by the government to bring their deer to Alaska had to get rid of their herds. Most of the reindeer ended up with indigenous Alaskans. Some of those reindeer were herded off to Canada. I have a FB friend who lives in Inuvik. His ancestor led that very large herd of reindeer to Canada. Until he retired, he was in charge (and may have owned) some of those reindeer. The trip from Alaska with the reindeer took a couple of years. I believe there were Indigenous Alaskans helping bring those deer to Canada.
In any case, I imagine that farmed reindeer might fall under the legislation that limits who can own reindeer in Alaska, but I don't know for sure. So, if it was reindeer, then I think it was raised by indigenous Alaskans.
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