HOW TO MAKE PEMMICAN, AN ANCIENT SURVIVAL FOOD - by Jennifer Skyler - With Love From Portland

Pemmican -  a concentrated blend of dried meat, fat, and berries - was developed by Native Americans as the ultimate survival food to provide sustenance between hunts and during nomadic journeys. High calorie and light weight, if stored properly in a cool, dark place, pemmican has been reported to remain shelf stable for up to 50 years. 50 years! 

                                                         

                    Pictured here, is a Native American woman grinding up dried meat to make Pemmican.                        

 Pemmican was quickly recognized as life-saving sustenance, and was adopted by European explores in the Americas as an easy-to-make survival food. In the 19th Century, each British shoulder carried a ration of 4 oz of pemmican. It's even considered to be a part of Canadian cuisine. Traditionally, the meat used in making pemmican are elk, bison, deer, and moose, but pemmican can be made with beef as well. 

The recipe is simple.

6 pounds lean red meat

2 pounds tallow (fat)

1/3 cup blueberries

The first step in making pemmican is to dry the meat and the blueberries. Slice the meat very thin. You can either use a very sharp knife or chill the meat for a few hours in the freezer before slicing. 

Lay the thin slice of meat directly on the oven baking racks, and set your oven on the lowest temperature possible - around 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Take tin foil and create a flat tray with 1 inch tall borders. Spread the blueberries in the tray, then place the tray on an oven rack next to the meat.

Cook the meat for 15 hours, or until it's crispy. 

Take the crispy meat and blend it up in a food processor. 

Do the same with the berries.

Using a food scale, weigh the meat. 

Dried meat generally weighs a third of what it weighs uncooked. 6 pounds of dried meat = about 2 pounds of dried meat.

Now it's time to render the tallow (fat). Cut it into 2 inch square pieces. 

Placing the fat in a pot on a stove, heat it to between 225 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep it below 250 degrees Fahrenheit to preserve the fatty acids as much as possible. 

For the first 10 minutes of cooking the fat, keep the heat on medium and stir every minute or so. This helps the liquefying fat coat the bottom of the pot which prevents the fat from sticking and burning. Once there is a liquid bottom, the pot only needs to be stirred every 5 minutes or so.

After about an hour, the fat should be completely rendered. Cracklins can be removed with a strainer and salted  if you want a snack.

Weigh the rendered fat on the food scale. 

The ratio of fat to meat must be 1:1, so if there is excess fat, remove it. 

Place the rendered fat back on the stove, keeping it warm (120 degrees Fahrenheit). Spoon in the dried meat, mixing well. 

Add the blueberries, mixing well.

The fat should cover the meat fibers entirely - there should be no (or very little) liquid fat in the bottom of the pot.

Spoon the mixture into Ziplock bags, flatten them, then squeeze all the excess air out of the bags. 

Stored in a cool, dry place, the pemmican should be good for years. If your plan is preserve it for a long time, consider adding salt when you are combining the fat and dried meat. Salt is a natural preservative. 

                                                       

                                                                 12 oz of pemmican = 2200 calories

With Love From Portland,

Jennifer Skyler