Got Pemmican?

K

kr1

Joined
May 30, 2006
Messages
1,343
Who’s got the best Pemmican recipe? I have been researching what might be the best wilderness food. Because of its carbs/fat/protein ratio and the amount of calories and its ability to survive without refrigeration for extended periods of time. I would like to know if anyone here has made pemmican and would be willing to share their recipe. I have found many recipes on the web but I am looking for one from here if it is available. I’d like to be able to pick the person(s) brain with some questions. I been doing dehydrating for my camping for years but I have never made Pemmican. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
KR
 
the last pem. i made was made from dry deer meat,wild raspberries,potatoes,spices,onion soup mix,and lard.mix 2 T. into 2C. boiling water.boil till thick. recipe #2 mix nut butter,honey,dry fruit,olive oil,and protein powder.mix
make sure that you grind all ing. fine.will last 6-12 mo. forever in freezer.
 
If you want the real/traditional Pemmican recipes from the fur trade era in North America, contact the Hudsons Bay Company archives in Manitoba, Canada. The archives hold every concievable bit of information on northern trade for the last 300 years, gathered from the trading posts themselves. I can't begin to explain how much information is held here, it's mind boggling.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/about/hbca.html
 
I would really like to obtain the various ingredients and try to make a couple different types of pemmican. I've always been interested in this, it's awesome survival food.

Given our current diet, however, reading these recipes leaves one with the very disturbing feeling that if you ate a handful of some of this stuff you would be shitting like an Ebola patient in about three hours. :D
 
4 cups dried meat - depending on how lean it is, it can take 1 - 2 lbs. per cup. Use only deer, moose, caribou, or beef (not pork or bear). Get it as lean as possible and double ground from your butcher if you don't have a meat grinder. Spread it out very thinly in cookie sheets and dry at 180° overnight or until crispy and sinewy. Regrind or somehow break it into almost a powder.

3 cups dried fruit - to taste mix currents, dates, apricots, dried apples. Grind some and leave some lumpy for texture.

2 cups rendered fat - use only beef fat. Cut into chunks and heat over the stove over medium (or Tallow) heat. Tallow is the liquid and can be poured off and strained.

Unsalted nuts to taste and a shot of honey.

Combine in a bowl and hand mix. Double bag into four portions. The mixture will last for quite a while without refrigeration. I have eaten it four years old. It actually improves with age.

HINT: Vary the fat content to the temperature in which it will be consumed. Less for summer. Lots for winter. Not only is it good energy food for canoeing, but an excellent snack for cross country skiing.

This recipe was originally from a Chippewayan Indian Guide as he learned it from his father. No buffalo chips!
From:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~haskell/HSP/PEMMICAN.html

List of Pemmican Recipes:
http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Cabin/3067/Pemmican.html

And More:
http://www.lns.cornell.edu/~seb/pemmican.html

Enjoy!
 
Don Rearic said:
I would really like to obtain the various ingredients and try to make a couple different types of pemmican. I've always been interested in this, it's awesome survival food.

Given our current diet, however, reading these recipes leaves one with the very disturbing feeling that if you ate a handful of some of this stuff you would be shitting like an Ebola patient in about three hours. :D
Click to expand...

Old farmers around here still mention plowing up old Indian Pemmican stashes in their fields, as youngsters. The farmers would just toss them in the bush and forget them.
 
No matter what, DO NOT let the meat cook. If it cooks, it will spoil.
Don't boil it, and let the fat cool a bit before you add it to the powdered meat.
 
I learn something new here every day. I always thought that pemmican was just dried meat. I've got to try this stuff. I want to try making my own biltong, too.
 
The Pemmican that I have seen was all in pictures, always looked like a cross between a Bratwurst and a turd but I would love to actually make some.

As a side note, I was discussing this with my brother and we are a bit confused, does anyone know the real difference between grease, cooled grease, tallow and all the other related things you have to know to really know what you're doing with this stuff?
 
If I have time I'll make some phone calls and or do some research for you. Considering that this province has the largest Indian population in all of Canada and was in the middle of the fur trade and plains buffalo hunts, there is an incredible amount of info around. Wait and I'll see what I can get.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ab/rockymountain/natcul/natcul09_E.asp

Sorry, people on the phone or working, too busy, and I don't want to wait. A common berry used in pemmican around here is the Saskatoon. Which is also the name of the second largest city in this province, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan is a Cree indian word meaning "Swift flowing river". The Saskatoon berry grows on bushes/smallish trees and is about 2-3 times bigger than a blueberry and quite sweet. They are also called "Serviceberries".
 
Don Rearic said:
The Pemmican that I have seen was all in pictures, always looked like a cross between a Bratwurst and a turd but I would love to actually make some.

As a side note, I was discussing this with my brother and we are a bit confused, does anyone know the real difference between grease, cooled grease, tallow and all the other related things you have to know to really know what you're doing with this stuff?
Click to expand...


Now here is one of the questions I really would like answered by someone who has done it.

I keep hearing how using rendered fat fixed into meat it will keep for years. That is something I would like someone with first hand experience to tell me they have tried and had not "been shiting like and ebola patient" :barf: :D

I have lots of questions and lots of web info but with little first hand people talking to me, so far. ;)

I do appreciate all that have been contributing.

Thanks,
KR
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top