Pemmican

[crockett]

What kind of fat do you use for making Pemmican? I tried lumps of beef fat but all I get is lumps when I try to heat it up. I have read about bone marrow tallow? What should be used and how????
And, do you mix pounded up jerky and fat or do you add the dried currants- and what do you pack it in?

 

[Norskie]

Whatever you use, you need to render it first. Boil it and skim it off the top. Then mix it with the rest of the ingredients. I've used beef tallow. You get used to the taste. :hmm:
In the day, they packed it in cleaned intestines. Don't retch, thats what sausage gets packed in. :grin:

 

[JAFO]

I use pure lard. You can usually find it in one pound block in the baking section of your local grocer. Use just enough to bind the ingredents togeather. One thing to remember, the warmer the climate the faster the lard will go rancid. I live in Florida so I use about 1 heaping tbs of lard per 2 cups ground jerky.

 

[Birdman]

Crockett-to "render" your fat, dice up your fat(suet) into about 1/2 inch pieces(or smaller is even better) and toss it into a fairly deep frying pan. Cook the fat on a low heat until it actually melts into a liquid. The solids will not melt but the fat will. After you get a good amount of liquid in the frying pan siphon it off into another container and add more fat to the frying pan until you have melted it all down. Run the solids and any liquid left in the frying pan through a sieve into your seperate container.You can toss the solids in the sieve or heat them until golden brown n snack on them your choice, I usually toss them. Now take the liquid fat(or semi solid if it has cooled a bit)and put it into a good sized pot and cover it with water, bring this to a easy simmer and let it cook afew minutes. Drain it into a heat proof bowl and place into your fridge or in this weather outside until the fat sets up. Peel the fat off the water(toss the water yer done with it for now) and scrape the underside of the fat clean of any gunk. Put the fat back into a pot, cover with water and simmer again. Let it cool and set up a second time and clean the bottom off again.What ya just did is called "trueing"(sp) the fat You now have good clean rendered fat. It can be used for many things from here on out and should not go bad for a long time if kept cool. To make the pemmican, pound yer jerk into very small pieces, heat yer rendered fat to just melted and warm, ya don't want it to hot as ya don't want to cook the meat just bind it together with the congeeled fat. Put yer pounded meat(jerk) into a bowl and spoon a table spoon of fat at a time into the broken meat mixing as ya go. When it starts to come together and hold in a ball ya got plenty fat mixed in. I usually place my pemmican mixture into old butter tubs and put in the fridge to completely set up, then pop them loose and put into plastic bags in the freezer until needed. A one pound tub of pem is good for better then a day when out woods walking and you can gnaw on it cold or chop it up n heat it mixed with what ever ya want for a soup or stew like meal.I usually make it plain , just jerk n fat, that way I can mix n match what ever else I have to keep the meals at least a bit interesting. I've also heard mixing berries or nuts into the pemmican can help it go bad quicker in warmer weather, don't know but something I read or heard, and what the heck I like it plain anyway. It is an aquired taste for some but I really like it. Along with some dried berries n bread of some sort ya can go a long way on very little n not really feel that hungry. hope this helps some YMHS Birdman

 

[Bountyhunter]

I saw a recipe in Outdoor life several years ago that used peanut butter and honey for the fat instead of lard or tallow. Wish I could find that. The article said it kept a lot better than the fat and tasted oh, so much better.

 

I saw a recipe in Outdoor life several years ago that used peanut butter and honey for the fat instead of lard or tallow. Wish I could find that. The article said it kept a lot better than the fat and tasted oh, so much better.

Well, then it wouldn't be "pemmican", would it?

That would be like substituting apple juice for lemon juice and still calling it "lemonade". Pemmican is what it is. Those that can appreciate it, do..... Those that don't - should buy a granola bar. (with all due respect)

 

[Bountyhunter]

Pemmican is meat preserved with fat. Traditionally it has been tallow, but I suppose that any fat would do.

Its sorta like substituting sarcasm and calling it respect, aint it?

 

Pemmican is meat preserved with fat. Traditionally it has been tallow, but I suppose that any fat would do.

Actually, pemmican is meat that is already preserved by drying (jerk), mixed with fat. It is not "preserved" by the fat. The fat is added to help complete the nutritional value. It's made a complete food by adding berries (carbs).

Meat = protein
Fat = fat
Berries = carbohydrates

Its sorta like substituting sarcasm and calling it respect, aint it?

Actually, you seem to be substituting guesswork for knowledge. :shake:

 

[Claude Mathis]

Pemmican is meat preserved with fat. Traditionally it has been tallow, but I suppose that any fat would do.

Although peanut butter contains fat, it also usually contains, salt, sugar and vegetable oil (which will turn rancid) and will grow mold in a rather short amount of time, compared to true pemmican. Pemmican, made correctly, can last for years without refrigeration.

That's not to say that peanut butter isn't tasty and doesn't make a great trail food.

 

[Stubert]

There is a recipe for it in this months Backwoodsman magazine. Nov/Dec 2006 Volume27 #6

 

[Otter]

Just made a batch testerday . . .

I go to the local butcher shop and get about 10 pounds of beef trimmings (for free - I tell him it's for my dogs). I cut it up into small (1/2" or less) pieces and put on the range in a large pot on low heat. I heat this nearly all day, stirring it about every 15 to 20 minutes. I strain this through cheese cloth and store in the refrigerator. One rendering will do about 4 batches of pemmican for me. I dry my chosen meat (unseasoned) completely, until in breaks rather than bends. I have used beef, venison and buffalo - preferring venison and buffalo as they have less marbled fat, regardless of cut. I like to put fruits/berries in my pemmican. Cranberries are my favorites, but I have also used cherries and raspberries with success. I dry these in my dehydrator also. I will usually dry the meat and fruit in somewhat larger quantities and store them in air-tight containers in the refrigerator until I want to make a batch of pemmican. I grind the dried meat and fruit in a blender until it is almost powder, put this in a large bowl and add salt to suit my taste. I then melt some of the tallow I have rendered and slowly add and mix it with the meat/frit/salt mixture until it is about the consistency of smooth peanut butter. I spoon this mix into muffin tins , allow to cool and then wrap in wax paper for storage.

I don't make large quantities at a time because I have developed such a fondness for pemmican that I would eat it all the time and not "ration" it to myself.

Watch yer topknot . . . Otter

 

[FSCGunslinger]

Just made a batch testerday . . .

Wanna send me some?! :grin: Haha. I've never had it but would like to make some while I'm home on my Christmas Exodus from the Army (starting next week). I'm going to use extra-lean ground beef, boil it, strain it, then dry it with my buddy's dehydrator. Haven't decided if I want to add fruit to it yet.

I spoon this mix into muffin tins , allow to cool and then wrap in wax paper for storage.

About how much does one "muffin tin" of pemmican weight?

I don't make large quantities at a time because I have developed such a fondness for pemmican that I would eat it all the time and not "ration" it to myself.

I'm afraid of that happening. I can see myself making several pounds of it and bringing it back to base with me. I'll just have to hide it from my roommate. haha

 

I'm going to use extra-lean ground beef, boil it, strain it, then dry it with my buddy's dehydrator.

After doing that, you'll have no nutritional value, but plenty of muscle fiber. All the nutrients will be in your water.

 

[Birdman]

Gunslinger-before ya go to all that trouble why don't ya just buy an "eye"roast or a LondonBroil roast and make yer jerk from that. Those two types of meat give ya the most meat with the least waste in fat and silverskin ya need to trim off. Toss yer chunk of meat into the freezer for a couple of hours to firm it up, it makes it much easier to slice that way. Then put yer slices into a bowl n cover with CHEAP soysauce. If ya want a bit more flavor ya can put a tablespoon or two of liquid smoke in the mix.Put the bowl(covered) in the fridge overnight to marinade. Then pull the slices from the marinade n let drip dry a minute or two n then place into the dehydrater until dry. You can use some for jerky n break the rest up for pemmican. If ya want you can spice the meat up a bit more when ya put it into the dehydrater by dusting it with onion powder, garlic powder, fresh ground pepper or if ya like a bit of heat Red Pepper(Cayanne). I've found that doing it this way gives mucho flavor to the meat. Some folks put the flavors into the marinade but they seem to get overpowered by the soysauce to me.Just some thoughts from an ol woodsrunner. YMHS Birdman

 

[Otter]

Pemmican is made from UNCOOKED, UNSEASONED, but dried meat. You can use lean ground beef if you want, but it will result in a funky flavored final product. As Birdman has outlined you will end up with jerky, and that is great, if that is what you are after. But jerky isn't cooked either, it is seasoned, dried meat. A dehydrator will dry, but not cook your meat. "Back in the day", jerky was made by drying unseasoned strips of meat on racks in the sun, sometimes over a low heat, smokey fire to give it some flavor. Pemmican just took that jerked meat and mixed it with tallow of some type to preserve it for longer storage and future use. There is a branded jerky called "Pemmican", but it is jerky, not pemmican. If you would follow the steps Birdman posted on 12-04-06 or that I posted on 12-05-06, you will end up with pemmican . . . if you add seasonings, dry the meat, grind it and add fat, you will have ground jerky with fat added - might be good, too. If you boil lean ground beef before drying it, you will have boiled ground beef with no (or little) nutritional value and little flavor.

 

[FSCGunslinger]

Thanks for all the advice fellas! Dale, I thought that was true about the boiling thing. I asked somewhere else on here, but I don't think there was a general concensus made.

Birdman, I never thought about buying an "eye" roast of London Broil. I just might have to do that and then dry it out till it snaps instead of bends. That's how I prefer my jerky anyway, and that'd also give me the kind of dried meat I need to make pemmican. I am definately going to do this when I get home now.

Otter, I am going to use those steps. I'm really quite excited about this. I mentioned doing this to a friend of mine the other day and he asked me if I'd make him some hardtack as well. Haha.

 

[redwing]

Otter has it right. From what I have seen over the years, by folks who make it. The Pemmican in this part of the country is sweetened with dried Service or {Sarvice] berries. or Ground Cherries.
NDN people, and frontier folk on the High Plains in the early days used this method. :thumbsup:

 

[FSCGunslinger]

Well fella's, I actually got a chance to finally make some pemmican the last couple days of my break. I got two pretty big eye roasts from the grocer that turned into about 2# of jerky using my brand new dehydrator! I ground up just under 1/4 of that and mixed it with some twice rendered dear fat from a well corn-fed doe. I was surprised at the texture/consistency of the fat once it was rendered. A lot like hard wax.

You all are right, pemmican's not half bad! The fat doesn't change the taste of the jerky too much either, but acts as a healthy binder and preservative. I ended up putting the whole batch of blended jerky into the liquid fat instead of spooning it over (like I tried with my first two "patties"). That worked much better for me. I just kept adding till it looked good. From there I spooned it into cupcake tins to make a total of 8 patties (total weight 1/4#). I still have a large hunk of fat left too!

 

[FSCGunslinger]

Check out these couple links I found about pemmican. The first one is a recipe, the second one is a commercially available pemmican (don't mind the messed up descriptions).
[url] http://www.physicalmind.com/pemmican.htm[/url]
[url] http://www.grasslandbeef.com/...erky,+Franks,+Sausage,+Bacon++&+Pemmican[/url]

 

[bnail]

Got a dead link on tyhat second link Gunslinger, and you've peaked my curiousity too