Pemmican Recipe

Pemmican is a light weight nutritious food used by Native Americans and consists of a mix of rendered fat, dried meat, nuts and berries. Properly made, it has a long shelf life.

There are four common ingredients
1. Lean meat – beef, buffalo, goat, or venison
2. Rendered (cooked) animal fat
3. Fruit, nuts or berries
4. Salt

Step One
Grind trim lean meat with a meat grinder.  Or you can cut it into beef jerky thickness strips.  Use about 2 pounds of raw meat to get a cup of dried meat.

Step Two
Spread the meat evenly over a cookie tray or flat rock and heat at approximately180 degrees for 6 to 10 hours so the meat is crisp and chewy.  Sun drying or smoking is an alternative, but will take longer.

Step Three
Grind or pound (pestle and mortar) the dried meat into a powdery form.

Step Four
Prepare your fruit, nuts or berries in the same way.  Dry them and then pound or grind them in to a chunky powder.

Step Five
Combine the fruit/nut powder with the meat powder in a 1:1 ratio and add salt to your suit your taste.  The more salt you add, the longer the shelf life. 

Step Six
Cut the fat into one inch cubes and render (melt) it over low to medium heat in a little water.  Keep the heat low enough to avoid smoking. Experiment using a little honey, or even using honey instead of fat.

Step Seven
Pour the melted fat over an equal amount of meat/fruit power mix stirring it to get an even texture.  Spread this mixture out evenly in a thin layer (about 1/4") and allow it to cool and then cut in to 2" wide strips.  Then store it in a cool dark place, preferably in tightly sealed container.

Food preservation is an important skill that is essential to sustainable survival, so this is something you should practice.  It doesn't cost much

For additional information see the following links:
Blog Table of Contents
Complete Sustainable Living Plan
Blog Table of Contents
Acorn Flour Pancakes
Pemmican Recipe
Hardtack Recipe
Corn Bread
Sour Dough Bread
Corn Fritters
Apple Cider Vinegar
More on making Vinegar
Backing Soda vs Yeast
Baking Soda uses

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