Kuivaliha is a type of beef jerky popular in Finland and Nordic Europe, made from thin strips of meat dried or smoked to a tough texture. It is traditionally made from reindeer meat and has an important place in Finnish cuisine. The meat is prepared from dense muscle, soaked in brine, and hung up to dry for about 6 weeks. Traditional preparation calls for the meat to be dried outdoors, but modern methods include indoor drying rooms and smoking. The snack is simple and has allowed commercial producers to sell it throughout Northern Europe. In 2010, the European Union created a “protected designation” for kuivaliha made from certified Finnish reindeer meat, known as “Lapin Poron kuivaliha”.
Kuivaliha is a style of beef jerky popular in Finland and throughout Nordic Europe. The meat is prepared in thin strips and is dried or smoked to a tough, leathery texture. It generally resembles jerky in both appearance and taste. Most often, kuivaliha is made from reindeer meat, although most any large animal can be used.
In Finnish, the word kuivaliha is best translated as “jerky”. However, the actual drying practice has to be done quite precisely. Not only any dried meat can be recognized as kuivaliha. Snacks with this designation are something of much national pride in Finland and have an important place in traditional Finnish cuisine, particularly in the northern parts of the country.
In general, only certain parts of an animal can be used in the preparation of kuivaliha. Dense muscle is best, usually from the hindquarters and the top of each leg joint. Some tendons and connecting fibers may be used, but the muscle is generally as clean as possible. The end result is an incredibly lean, often fat-free snack.
Cooks cut the muscle into strips about 5cm wide, which are then soaked in a brine for several days before being hung up to dry. The drying process usually takes about 6 weeks.
The Finnish people have been eating this type of dried meat for centuries. In the far north, particularly in communities located above or in the Arctic Circle, reindeer meat was once the staple food source for most inhabitants. Hunters likely began drying the tough striped muscle to maximize the kill and harvest as many meat products as possible. The dish was also desirable because it didn’t spoil, and thus proved to be a way of preserving the meat killed in one season to last the next.
Traditional preparation calls for the meat to be dried outdoors, hung on long wooden dowels facing the sun. They should be left unattended until completely dry, usually two to three weeks. In most of Finland, spring is the only season when a cook can successfully dry meat outdoors. During the fall and winter, the air is so cold that meat often freezes before it dries out. Insects are likely to contaminate and consume the strips during the more temperate summer months.
The most modern cooks have found a way to modify the original methods so that the snack can be prepared all year round. This can be as simple as an indoor glass enclosed drying room or as complex as a temperature controlled pressure chamber. Some modern hunters also smoke their meat. This deviates from the traditional practice, but often results in a richer, more flavorful final product. No matter how prepared it is, however, the essence of the snack is its simplicity.
The ease of production has allowed many commercial producers to start producing and selling the meat throughout Northern Europe. In order to reduce market confusion about the sourcing of these products, in 2010 the European Union created what is known as a “protected designation” for kuivaliha which comes from reindeer native to northern Finland. This denomination, “Lapin Poron kuivaliha”, can only be applied to certified Finnish reindeer meat and serves as a seal of authenticity.
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