Pemmican

[Barry Smith]

Been reading about Pemmican and it seems like a versatile trail food.

Anyone able to suggest any recipes and how long it will store for?

Reading in Ray Mears 1st survival handbook he suggests it can last a very very long time.

Look forward to hearing...

[bigjackbrass]

Most of the old camping text, those of a century or so ago, list good and varied recipes for pemmican. This is particularly true of the northern American texts, as pemmican is generally a food of the north woods and colder climes. A more modern recipe can be found in "The Winter Wilderness Companion" by Garrett and Alexandra Conover:

"Recipe fills four 12-oz. tuna cans.
Melt together:
2 cups animal fat
1 cup bacon drippings
Pour over:
2 cups finely ground dried meat (jerky)
Sprinkle with salt, pepper. Let harden in tuna cans with lids removed. Loosen pemmican by dipping cans partway into hot water. Wrap in waxed paper. NOTE: Dried berries (2 cups) can be added for carbohydrate content and extra flavoring. However, a true pemmican contains only fat and meat."

I'd suggest avoiding commercially produced jerky if at all possible. Make your own, or find someone who makes it with no additives. One vital part of pemmican is not in the recipe: it should be eaten with plenty of water, because digesting all that fat is hard work and takes a lot of fluid.

Storage time is naturally variable, and of course temperature and the container used make a difference, but I've heard of good pemmican typically lasting for years. In freezing conditions the stuff will probably outlast all of us. In one of his programmes I recall Ray Mears sharing Vietnam war-era pemmican with an American survival instructor...

[al]

i`ve got loads of polar exploration books at home and pemican was the food to take and dogs:-D they all mention how long it lasts providing its packed correctly and they were even using it from food depots from previous expeditions from years gone by, i cant remember the name of the firm now but at the time they were" the" authority on producing it and still do i think, now i`m going to have to find out, which reminds me that word round the campfire is someone has got me the rannulf fiennes book about scot for xmas , ha ha , quick google job http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarc...ence/food2.htm ,hoosh is the nickname for the food and what a splendid name too,something which we in our house have pinched for a hot smokey veg stew,right then , get the hoosh firing :-D

[Stew]

I'd suggest avoiding commercially produced jerky if at all possible. Make your own, or find someone who makes it with no additives.

I know it might sound like a daft question but how do you make your own? I know that jerky is dried meat but do you stick it in the oven at a low temp or maybe leave it on the side to dry?

[Hoodoo]

Stew, it's easy as pie to make in an oven. First you need a cut of lean meat. I like sirloin tip the best or venison is even better. Lay the meat out flat and sprinkle some spices on it (I like to use garlic powder). Then LIGHTLY tap the meat with a meat tenderizer, not to tenderize the meat but to drive the spices into the meat. Did I say LIGHTLY tap?

Now cut the meat into fairly thick strips about 1 cm thick. I like to cut across the grain to make it easier to chew. Dump it in a ziplock baggie or bowl and pour in some marinade. I like a combination of liquid smoke, soy sauce, and hot sauce. Experiment! Let soak for at least 4 hours.

Line the bottom of your oven with aluminum foil. Put your oven rack on the highest setting (top of the oven). Now take a tooth pick and stick it through the end of one of your strips. Hang the strip on the rack by the toothpick so that the meat hangs vertically. Once you get all the meat strips hung, turn the oven on to it's lowest setting (150-160 degrees F), prop the door open 1/4" with a stick to let the moisture escape, and go have an ale. Then go to bed. When you get up the next day, you will have lovely dried jerkey. :-D Remove toothpicks and enjoy!

[Stew]

Cheers Hoodoo! That was very useful!

[ditchfield]

Great explaination. Do you leave the oven door open all night? Would it make much difference if it was done in an aga at 200 degrees?
Cheers

[Hoodoo]

I've never made it at 200 degrees so I'm not sure. My guess is that that might cook the meat a little but I dunno.

Depending on how hot your oven is and how well it's vented, you may not even have to prop the door open. But I do it anyway because I dry overnight. I think the bulk of the moisture goes out in the first 4 hours.

If you want to dry more quickly, you might try leaving the door closed to let the heat build a little. All I can say is play around a bit.

I do some of my jerky a little different now because I use something called a jerky shooter. :shock: It turns ground meat into jerky and it's a lot easier to chew. No marinade either because you mix the spices right into the meat. But I still like the old style too and it doesn't crumble on you either.

[Tony]

Fantastic stuff Hoodoo, I've made Jerky a few times but what your suggesting seems the easiest

[gurushaun]

Hoodo, do you have any more details on the *Jerky Shooter*? I'm intreagued, and might try and pick one up (I'm lucky to have a brother who lives in D.C.).

Cheers

Shaun

[Hoodoo]

Hi Shaun,
The one I have I purchased from Cabelas. Here's the link:

http://www.cabelas.com/information/C...59610922a.html

You don't need a dehydrator for this kind of jerky. It can be made in the oven as well. You can shoot the jerky on aluminum foil or use a nonstick cookie sheet. But don't overdry it unless you want it crumbly (which can be used in other recipes like pemmican). I like mine kind of springy to the touch.

If you go to google and do a search on jerky shooter, you'll come up with a lot more information.

[giancarlo]

Didn't know i'd seen them Jerky Shooters before... on construction sites all about the place.

http://www.kelvin.com/Merchant2/merc...ct_Code=390728

oops, my msistake, that's a silicon sealant gun ops:

cheers
Carlo

[Stuart]

We used to make biltong (the southafrican version of jerky) in the airing cuboard during the winter whilst the central heating was on high all the time

works great, though i suppose it depends on how well insulated your boiler is


Barry didnt you just ring me about your knife?

[Barry Smith]

I did ring you about the Knife yes. Looking forward to getting it after the great reviews on the site.

By the way everyone, I am very pleased with the responses to the Pemmican post. I will give the recipes a go.

[gurushaun]

Cheers Hoodoo, now I understand I think I can knock something up.


Cheers

Shaun

[Andy]

this is probably a stupid question but does anyone have any ideas for a veggi option for this. i have veggi suit and soya products if thats any help