Homemade Pemmican Recipe

[BenG2813]

Wow. Interesting stuff. I am going to have to give this stuff a try.

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

My folks would make thier favorite mixtures, but they would store it up by placeing the pemmican,wraped in cloths into a wicker basket and press it with heavy stones for several weeks. The pemmican would be rotated twice a week, to ensure even curing of moisture , and the end product would be reduced and very tightly compacted.

[red lake]

I have been making my own pemmican for a few years now for canoe trips. I don't use suet or rendered fat though. I prefer to make mine with peanut butter. Basic recipe is pulverized dried lean meat such as venison, elk or moose. Then I warm some peanut butter to a runny state and add something sweet like honey or real maple syrup. From there I will throw in some dried fruit like raisins or cranberries and nuts and seeds. I let it set and then vacuum bag small pieces. Just one or two bites is plenty for lunch and I always keep a hefty sized piece in my ditch kit.

[sh4d0wm4573ri7]

this may sound rediculous but could one substitute lard for making pemmican ? Is it not rendered fat? Just curious

[Rick]

I like that recipe, red lake. I will have to try that.

I've never made traditional pemmican because I just don't burn that many calories when I'm out and not out long enough to justify that amount of fat intake. Even being out a week doesn't justify it in my mind. Probably good tasting but just not healthy from where I sit. The peanut butter, on the other hand.....

[tacmedic]

Lard is a lot softer than beef suet, being as it come from pigs and it is made up of a different chemical structure. I would think that it could be used, but it will be a softer consistency than using beef suet.

red lake- how long can you keep that type of pemmican?

[red lake]

I have had pieces for well over a year and still ate them. Not sure how long they will last

[Fletcher]

Do people still eat pemmican? That stuff is nasty.

[nell67]

Do people still eat pemmican? That stuff is nasty.

No way dude! pemmican is good stuff!

[Fletcher]

No way dude! pemmican is good stuff!

Come on Nell67 you like that stuff? The greasy film on the top of your mouth
is what i don't like. In this case if it works for you...............work it girl!!!!!

[rphillips1986]

An excript I read while studying the HBC gives a recipe for pemmican that consists of 50 pounds of jerky, grinded into powdered, mixed with 40 pounds hard fat and 40 pounds soft fat. This was left to cool and harden, and the whole 90 pound block then wrapped in a buffalo hide parchment. It would then be traded off to trappers and natives, and transported to other outposts.
The point of this is that it shows that both the hard fat (what you'd get renderind the beef suet) and soft fat (made from pig suet, or lard as found in the tubs at the grocery store) will work. In my studys of Pemmican spacifically, I have found various recipies from arround the world. They can be the basic fat and meat mixture or seasoned with nuts and berries. It all really depended on where you were and what was available. As long as you get the rendering of the fat right you really can't go wrong.

[Ken]

.....you really can't go wrong.

AND, you really can't go wrong if you tell us a bit about yourself!

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...splay.php?f=14

Thanks!

[SARKY]

Peanut butter The smooth kind is a very good substitute for lard/suet, you could also use cashew or almond butter. the cashew butter has more fatty oils than the almond butter. I add what ever fruits that i've collected and dried as well as honey or mollasses. I've never tried maple syrup, i'll have to give that a try.

[oneraindog]

ok some perhaps obvious questions:

whatever you add to the mix must be dried correct?
berries, nuts ok. what about wild greens?
must is be pulverized/powdered? how fine must it be?
what kind of jerky can be used? can you use store bought beef jerky? any kind if DONT want to use?

[oneraindog]

@red lake and/or sarky

with the peanut butter are you letting this mix dry also like with the suet? or just putting it into a container? what sort of container will keep it well?

[rphillips1986]

AND, you really can't go wrong if you tell us a bit about yourself!

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...splay.php?f=14

Thanks!

LOL, sorry, I'll make my introductions.
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...038#post126038

[SARKY]

oneraindog;
yes it is all dried fruit, never tried dried vedies but it should work. Yes for long term storage i let it dry usually under a press. For short term or if I just want it moist, I toss it in a container and munch away.

[oneraindog]

thanks sarky. im excited about trying this out.
what about the jerky. can you use regular store bought jerky? is there anything i DONT want to use as far as that ingredient goes?

[Rick]

You don't have any problem with the oils in the peanut butter storing it long term? Wonder if you could process this through a dehydrator? Hmmm.

[Tx Rd Kill]

Very good thread, gonna attempt to make this to see how it goes. thanks