SKAV

The Swedish definition of SKAV: thin slices of meat that are cut from frozen caribou or other wild game meat and then pan fried.

The meat can be used for a number of dishes including skav (yup, it's the same name) , Philly cheesesteak, "beef" and broccoli to mention a few. In short, dishes that use thinly sliced meat.


Equipment needed

  • a plastic, rectangular container

  • a meat slicer

  • a freezer

The meat pieces are all placed with the muscle fibers alongside the long side of box.

After freezing the meat, the rectangular block is placed so that the blade will cut across the muscle fibers. Creating a thinly sliced meat that will be perceived as tender even if it wasn't to start with.

slice the meat 3-5mm thick across the grain. If you cut too thin the meat will break apart when cooking.

For my family 1 lbs --> 500g is the perfect amount per vacuum sealed bag. Most skav meat is for us used to make skav stew or venison and broccoli.

How to make skav meat

I typically start with skav meat when I'm processing an animal. Deer, moose, or elk are all great choices for skav. As I process the meat there will be pieces of meat that could go into the grind pile, and would also be great for skav. What I look for are pronounced, thick muscle fibers as those cuts will have lots of flavor and will handle skav dishes well.

If I have plenty of meat then I typically save the bottom round for skav. For me this cut is the optimal choice for skav or jerky.

  1. The meat is cut about 1/2 - 1 inch thick alongside the muscle fibers.

  2. Place the meat pieces in a plastic box such as a square ice cream box or similar. Make sure the fibers are following the long side of the box so the ends are towards the short end of the box. Pack the pieces tightly together.

  3. Seal the box and let it stay in the freezer overnight. It might not be solid frozen, that's fine.

  4. Remove the meat from the box. If the meat is sticking to the box you can let the faucet run lukewarm water over the box for a few seconds, which should make the meat come out easily.

  5. The rectangular meat will now be cut across the muscle fibers. The rectangular shaped meat block will be cut on the short end.

Muurikka cooked skav over open fire.