Pemmican for the back country?

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Do any of you make your own pemmican for the back country? How does it taste? What's your calorie/weight? What's your recipes?

 

[LongWayAround]

I've been kicking the idea around for the last two years. I haven't actually attempted to make it but I was considering using coconut oil instead of animal fat.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I've been kicking the idea around for the last two years. I haven't actually attempted to make it but I was considering using coconut oil instead of animal fat.

Why coconut oil instead?

 

[Poser]

I made mine using rendered bacon fat, finely ground dehydrated venison, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and maybe a few other old world spices. I wrapped each "brick" tightly in wax paper.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I made mine using rendered bacon fat, finely ground dehydrated venison, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and maybe a few other old world spices. I wrapped each "brick" tightly in wax paper.

What were your calorie/oz?

 

[Poser]

What were your calorie/oz?

I'd guess around 200 calories an oz. oh yeah, I also added cranberries.

 

[Poser]

Here's what mine looked like. I also now recall adding walnuts, so you want rendered fat, dried meat, dried berries and nuts as the principal ingredients. Maple syrup is also a very traditional ingredient used. Mine tasted like a dessert you might have on a Xmas feast: sweet and fatty. It's great to eat just before you go to bed. The amount of fat will definitely warm you up internally.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Good article and recipe here:
http://elkprep.blogspot.com/2014/08/pemmican-ultimate-adventure-food.html?m=1

 

[Dameon]

Here's what mine looked like. I also now recall adding walnuts, so you want rendered fat, dried meat, dried berries and nuts as the principal ingredients. Maple syrup is also a very traditional ingredient used. Mine tasted like a dessert you might have on a Xmas feast: sweet and fatty. It's great to eat just before you go to bed. The amount of fat will definitely warm you up internally.

Dude, stop. You had me at rendered bacon fat.

 

[LongWayAround]

Why coconut oil instead?

It's solid at 70 or so degrees and I wasn't sure what temperature rendered bacon fat would begin to soften at. Plus, I figured the coconut oil might be more convenient.

Poser, that looks perfect!

 

[Poser]

Beef tallow has a higher melting temp than bacon fat. I'm not sure how the amount of Coconut Oil needed would taste. It's definitely a practical idea, but you'll want something that you don't dread eating on the 6th day in a row, so it needs to taste good. I would definitely experiment. Another problem is that when it's warm out, the pemmican can get crushed easily. That's when it gets messy. I wrap in wax papers so I can lick the fat off if it gets crushed and/or melted. Beef tallow should be a litter harder and resistant to getting crushed, but it's not near as easy to find.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I'd guess around 200 calories an oz. oh yeah, I also added cranberries.

If that's accurate that's exactly what I an looking for. Especially if it tastes like desert. That bacon fat looks awesome!

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Did you follow a specific recipe poser?

 

[Poser]

Did you follow a specific recipe poser?

I do not. The first time I made it, I read some recipes just to get an overview of the process, but I've just improvised the recipes each time.

Basic process goes like this:

1. Dehydrate Meat. I used venison and did it in the dehydrator just like jerky but with no sale or seasoning added.
After the meat was dried, I think placed in in a food processor and ground it until fine. If you want a workout, you can attempt this in a mortar and pestle. I did that for about 5 minutes and concluded that Paleolithic women must have had incredible upper body strength.

2. Render Fat (if using bacon fat, you likely won't need to add salt later). This would probably be a excellent opportunity to put some rendered bear fat to good use.

3. While the fat is still hot, pour the dried meat, fat, berries, & nuts into a blender. Start adding flavor: Salt (careful if using bacon fat), Maple Syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, mace... whatever you have in the pantry. You can just do this until it tastes good, though you need to be quick before your fat starts to solidify. Pour the entire mixture into a fat coated bread pan (or you could do muffins) and place in the freezer until solid. Cut into servings. I store mine in the freezer. That's not necessary, but it ensures that it stays solid. Real deal pemmican should have an indefinite shelf life. I read somewhere about some grad students digging up 500 year old pemmican in Canada that had been buried/cached in a buffalo hide. It was still edible.

If you are planning on eating a lot of pemmican this hunting season, I'd make several batches with different flavor profiles. You can go all kinds of directions if you are creative, You can have sweet pemmican -do some with pumpkin pie spice, for example. You could do Carribean flavors using jerk seasoning. You could use a mince meat pie flavor profile. You could use dried blueberries + almond flour for "blueberry pancakes". You could try salt curing some eggs, slicing them up thinly and then having "bacon, egg, & venison scrambler" pemmican. You could add whey protein powder. If you wear a flat bill hat, you could probably add some Mtn Ops Yeti to it for the Cam Hanes Keep on Hammering Breakfast Special.... You could add some marijuana for the CO Altitude effect. If you are cold weather hunting, butter would work fine as the fat source -you could do cookie flavors, lemon meringue pie... the sky is the limit here.

You can pretty much do anything you want and it will likely taste good enough to at least eat in small batches. You can then mix and match your different flavor profiles so you don't get sick of it.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I do not. The first time I made it, I read some recipes just to get an overview of the process, but I've just improvised the recipes each time.

Basic process goes like this:

1. Dehydrate Meat. I used venison and did it in the dehydrator just like jerky but with no sale or seasoning added.
After the meat was dried, I think placed in in a food processor and ground it until fine. If you want a workout, you can attempt this in a mortar and pestle. I did that for about 5 minutes and concluded that Paleolithic women must have had incredible upper body strength.

2. Render Fat (if using bacon fat, you likely won't need to add salt later). This would probably be a excellent opportunity to put some rendered bear fat to good use.

3. While the fat is still hot, pour the dried meat, fat, berries, & nuts into a blender. Start adding flavor: Salt (careful if using bacon fat), Maple Syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, mace... whatever you have in the pantry. You can just do this until it tastes good, though you need to be quick before your fat starts to solidify. Pour the entire mixture into a fat coated bread pan (or you could do muffins) and place in the freezer until solid. Cut into servings. I store mine in the freezer. That's not necessary, but it ensures that it stays solid. Real deal pemmican should have an indefinite shelf life. I read somewhere about some grad students digging up 500 year old pemmican in Canada that had been buried/cached in a buffalo hide. It was still edible.

If you are planning on eating a lot of pemmican this hunting season, I'd make several batches with different flavor profiles. You can go all kinds of directions if you are creative, You can have sweet pemmican -do some with pumpkin pie spice, for example. You could do Carribean flavors using jerk seasoning. You could use a mince meat pie flavor profile. You could use dried blueberries + almond flour for "blueberry pancakes". You could try salt curing some eggs, slicing them up thinly and then having "bacon, egg, & venison scrambler" pemmican. You could add whey protein powder. If you wear a flat bill hat, you could probably add some Mtn Ops Yeti to it for the Cam Hanes Keep on Hammering Breakfast Special.... You could add some marijuana for the CO Altitude effect. If you are cold weather hunting, butter would work fine as the fat source -you could do cookie flavors, lemon meringue pie... the sky is the limit here.

You can pretty much do anything you want and it will likely taste good enough to at least eat in small batches. You can then mix and match your different flavor profiles so you don't get sick of it.

Super helpful poser thanks. I would've thought it would eventually go rancid but that's pretty cool if it doesn't. Wonder why more people don't do this.

 

[jwatts]

I do not. The first time I made it, I read some recipes just to get an overview of the process, but I've just improvised the recipes each time.

Basic process goes like this:

1. Dehydrate Meat. I used venison and did it in the dehydrator just like jerky but with no sale or seasoning added.
After the meat was dried, I think placed in in a food processor and ground it until fine. If you want a workout, you can attempt this in a mortar and pestle. I did that for about 5 minutes and concluded that Paleolithic women must have had incredible upper body strength.

2. Render Fat (if using bacon fat, you likely won't need to add salt later). This would probably be a excellent opportunity to put some rendered bear fat to good use.

3. While the fat is still hot, pour the dried meat, fat, berries, & nuts into a blender. Start adding flavor: Salt (careful if using bacon fat), Maple Syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, mace... whatever you have in the pantry. You can just do this until it tastes good, though you need to be quick before your fat starts to solidify. Pour the entire mixture into a fat coated bread pan (or you could do muffins) and place in the freezer until solid. Cut into servings. I store mine in the freezer. That's not necessary, but it ensures that it stays solid. Real deal pemmican should have an indefinite shelf life. I read somewhere about some grad students digging up 500 year old pemmican in Canada that had been buried/cached in a buffalo hide. It was still edible.

If you are planning on eating a lot of pemmican this hunting season, I'd make several batches with different flavor profiles. You can go all kinds of directions if you are creative, You can have sweet pemmican -do some with pumpkin pie spice, for example. You could do Carribean flavors using jerk seasoning. You could use a mince meat pie flavor profile. You could use dried blueberries + almond flour for "blueberry pancakes". You could try salt curing some eggs, slicing them up thinly and then having "bacon, egg, & venison scrambler" pemmican. You could add whey protein powder. If you wear a flat bill hat, you could probably add some Mtn Ops Yeti to it for the Cam Hanes Keep on Hammering Breakfast Special.... You could add some marijuana for the CO Altitude effect. If you are cold weather hunting, butter would work fine as the fat source -you could do cookie flavors, lemon meringue pie... the sky is the limit here.

You can pretty much do anything you want and it will likely taste good enough to at least eat in small batches. You can then mix and match your different flavor profiles so you don't get sick of it.

I may give this a shot. I typically keep rendered bacon fat around to cook eggs in. Once I get enough stored up I will give pemmican a try. I like the idea of the Keep Hammerin Breakfast Special. Would you suggest the strawberry banana or the blue raspberry flavor? I don't have a flat bill, but I can get one between now and the time I accumulate enough bacon grease.

 

[rayporter]

now if poser will just give me a taste test so i can tell him its good......

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I picked up some stuff to give it a go. I'll let you guys know how it is.

 

[mtnrunner260]

Looking forward to it liveto hunt.
The mountain hunting journal did a piece on it awhile back.
http://journalofmountainhunting.com/2014/10/pemmican-the-original-energy-bar/
Looks like I'm going to have to get a couple lbs of bacon.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Are there any good commercial examples of this? I'm curious what this tastes like but most "meat bars" I am seeing in initial looking don't appear to have the large fat content that is being discussed here.