How to Make Your Own Pemmican (2024)

FAQs

How long does pemmican take to make? ›

A little Pecan and Apple wood over a 10 hour period should resemble the flavor of Pemmican being dried over a gentle camp fire. My starting temp will be around 200F for about an hour. I'll then reduce the heat to 165F for about 12 hours or until the meat is cracker dry.

Slice the meat as thinly as possible against the grain and dry it using the dehydrator's meat setting (155°F / 68°C), flipping once during the process. Dry the meat until it's brittle.

Meat: Beef or bison. Grass-fed only. Round is a good cut. Prepping: Remove all visible fat.

At room temperature, pemmican can generally last from one to five years, but there are anecdotal stories of pemmican stored in cool cellars being safely consumed after a decade or more.

The Indigenous people of North America could survive on pemmican alone for an entire winter because the food is so filling in such small quantities. When you make pemmican, you shrink down meat proteins and fat to the slimmest possible size while still keeping nearly all the calories intact.

If stored properly, pemmican can last from 3 to 5 years.

Ingredients. Lard (to hold together) Do not use shortening or butter.

Jerky, here defined as seasoned and dehydrated meat, is porous — when exposed to humidity, the dry jerky actually absorbs water vapor out of the air and begins to spoil. Pemmican, on the other hand, is not porous. The rendered fat in Pemmican seals the pores in the dry meat, so that humid air can't moisten the meat.

Pemmican should be stored in an airtight container to protect it from environmental exposure. Vacuum-sealed bags are particularly effective for this purpose, providing an environment devoid of moisture and air which could lead to spoilage.

Nutrition Value

Both pemmican and jerky are high in protein, making them excellent choices for a nutritious snack. Pemmican, with its combination of dried meat and fat, provides a calorie-dense option.

What are the best spices for pemmican? ›

This will make the pemmican with the best shelf life. 1–Place raw ground meat in a mixing bowl. Mix in your favorite spices like: black pepper, anise, rosemary, lavender. (This is my favorite all-round combo but it's good to have several varieties.)

Make Pemmican: Animal fat is the basis of this survival food that's been around for centuries. Combine bacon fat, lean dried meat, berries, and nuts and pound it into a paste. Flatten the mixture into patties and let it sit until it hardens.

40 day winter: 12800 pemmican. 50 day winter: 16000 pemmican. These are near-minimums, though, and you should shoot for higher. (I say near because a colonist can survive for five days without food.)

To make your own, choose high-quality ingredients, such as dried fish or meat, dried berries, and fat. Grind the protein and berries until they're powdery and then mix them with warm rendered fat to make a thick paste. You can spread the pemmican flat and cut it into strips or shape it into a log for easy slicing.

Jerky, here defined as seasoned and dehydrated meat, is porous — when exposed to humidity, the dry jerky actually absorbs water vapor out of the air and begins to spoil. Pemmican, on the other hand, is not porous. The rendered fat in Pemmican seals the pores in the dry meat, so that humid air can't moisten the meat.

This will make the pemmican with the best shelf life. 1–Place raw ground meat in a mixing bowl. Mix in your favorite spices like: black pepper, anise, rosemary, lavender. (This is my favorite all-round combo but it's good to have several varieties.)