Whether you’re prepping your bug-out bag with non-perishable snacks, or just finding an easy way to preserve your game meat, making pemmican is a great way to use any extra game meat. Pemmican is a densely packed mixture of rendered fat and protein with an incredibly long shelf-life. Making pemmican with game meat is a simple and fun family activity.
Learn about the history of pemmican, some common pemmican recipes, and why it's regaining popularity throughout North America and Europe.
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
What is Pemmican?
Pemmican is a mixture of meat and animal fat usually made from elk, bison, caribou, deer, or moose. Similar to jerky, you must use dried meat with the fat removed. However, remember to keep the fat. You'll need to render it down and add the rendered fat back into the meat mixture later when making pemmican.
Depending on your preferences, try adding dried berries or unsalted nuts to your pemmican recipe. And check out the site Alderleaf Wilderness College for some great pemmican recipes for inspiration.
However, take note. Adding extra ingredients to the meat and fat will reduce pemmican's shelf life.
Wild game meat isn't the only wild food to dry and keep in your survival stash or prepper pantry. Learn how to make smoked fish or dried fish at home and preserve your catch for the future. Or learn how to can fresh fish to add some variety to your off-grid food supply.
Related: Hearty Northern Venison Stew Recipe
Where Pemmican Comes From
The word "pemmican" comes from the Cree word "pimikan." And according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Cree word means "manufactured grease."
Traditionally made from dried buffalo meat that was then pounded into powder, pemmican has been a staple food for many native Americans and indigenous tribes over centuries. The high-energy food was adopted by the European fur traders and explorers as they spread across North America.
Facing harsh winters and unforgiving land, pemmican was a lifesaving resource well into the 19th century for native peoples as well as these men and was credited with preventing their starvation. In fact, arctic explorer Robert Peary mentioned packing pemmican with dry berries in his 1917 book, The Secrets of Polar Travels.
Because of its density and long shelf-life, pemmican, like hardtack, (aka survival bread), was easy to transport in canoes or in a pack over huge distances. So as a result, it was used for hundreds of years to supply crews on long journeys across the globe. This included expeditions to the North Pole and through the heart of Africa.
Note: If your kids study pioneers, homesteading, or westward expansion as part of their homeschool, why not learn how to make pemmican recipes from game meat?
What Was the Pemmican War?
Pemmican was critical to the survival of North America's early explorers and traders. In fact, it was so important that there was an entire war fought over it. The Pemmican War (1812 - 1821) was a series of skirmishes and battles between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company.
The main issue was regarding pemmican exports and trade, coming to a head at the Battle of Seven Oaks, and also at the burning of Fort Douglas and Fort Gibraltar. By 1821, the two rival companies merged, swiftly ending the almost decade-long confrontation.
Related: Canning, Preserving & Dehydrating Food Off The Grid
Why is Pemmican Still Popular?
With refrigeration and a variety of other preservation methods available today, you might wonder: do people still know how to make pemmican? Yes! It's actually experiencing a resurgence in popularity as preppers and homesteaders embrace the traditional way of living. Or prepare for a survival situation.
Now, more than ever, more and more people worry about food shortages and their family's food supply. To secure their food supply, people have a renewed interest in pursuing survival and homesteading skills.
They're raising rabbits for meat, keeping chickens, and growing gardens to feed a family
They're foraging and preserving food through pickling, smoking meats, or fermenting foods.
And they're considering the shelf-life of the food items used to stock their pantry.
Tip: Add "making pemmican" to your Winter Homestead Checklist. That way you'll always have access to a supply.
Why Pemmican Appeals to Preppers
Making pemmican with game meat gives you a reason to use up those less desirable cuts of meat. You know, the ones that might otherwise go to waste. And it only takes minimal preparation. So little that a basic pemmican recipe can be made in the woods over a fire.
Plus, like most dried meat, the shelf life of pemmican can be anywhere from a few years to a few decades. That's why pemmican has become increasingly popular among preppers as the ultimate survival food.
Related: How to Store Your Harvest Without a Root Cellar
How to Make Pemmican With Game Meat
How to Make Pemmican
Use this classic pemmican recipe to make your own homemade pemmican. You can add additional flavors as desired.
Ingredients
- When preparing pemmican, try to use the leanest cuts of meat possible. Large game animals such as deer, elk, moose, or bison are preferable. However, use beef if necessary.
- If you have any fat left from harvesting the animal, use that. If not, talk to your local butcher and buy some rendered beef or pork fat.
Instructions
- Begin by slicing the meat thin, about ¼ - ⅓ of an inch thick.
- Remove any fat left on the meat, and then dry it by hanging over a fire, in the sun, in a dehydrator, or in an oven. Hanging the strips on thin branches or racks a few feet above a fire is the traditional way, but can take over 12 hours to completely dry.
- Once fully dried out, pulverize the meat into a powder. With modern conveniences, you can use a food processor or grinder to mill it into a fine powder. Alternatively, you can use a mortar and pestle or simply crush it repeatedly between stones. Although more labor-intensive, this step can be completed by hand. And if you are adding berries to your recipe, they need to be dried and pulverized as well.
- Prepare the fat separately by rendering it in a pot at a low temperature until it stops bubbling.
- Drain it through a strainer to remove any solids.
- Place your powdered meat and any extras you’ve added into a mixing bowl or casserole dish, and very slowly add the rendered fat. As you pour, the powder will absorb the fat, so make sure you evenly spread it throughout the mixture and it does not become too runny
- Once the fat absorbs into the powder, let the mixture sit for a few hours as it cools down and firms up. You can form the mixture into squares, or balls for storage.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size 2.5 ozAmount Per Serving Calories 350
Storing Pemmican
Squares are better for storage and maximize space more efficiently if you’re going to be carrying them in a pack. And as with any dried meat or preserved food, make sure you store it in an airtight container in a cool, dark, dry place for long periods of time.
When you're on the move, eat pemmican in small pieces with dried fruit. It's fine at room temperature.
Pemmican: The Ultimate Survival Food Video
It’s no wonder pemmican still holds a place near the top of the list of ultimate survival foods. Making pemmican with game meat was how indigenous tribes and explorers traveled long distances. They moved across the continent without running out of food.
Preparing and storing pemmican is easy. Plus, it's a very useful bushcraft skill to learn. After hunting season this fall, try making some with the family and store it in your cellar for years to come.
This post is part of the Homestead in Your Homeschool Series.
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Amy
I so want to try this with my husband. Thank you for sharing. It is very neat learning about his metis family herritage
Shawna
Thank you so much for the informative post on making pemmican. This is something I definitely want to try! This is one my picks for the Featured Posts on the Simple Homestead Blog Hop this week - be sure to come back and add some more this week!
Rebekah
I'm curious if you could use rabbit meat. I assume you would have to add in fat from another animal because it is so lean.
Julie Smith
I love wild game--this sounds interesting, for sure!