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Pemmican
Dried beef, rendered fat and berries, the First Nations travel food
Pemmican was the essential food of the Cree, Métis and other Plains and northern peoples, and later of the fur trade: dried, pounded bison meat mixed with rendered fat and sometimes saskatoon berries, packed into hide bags and kept for months. This home version uses lean beef, heated to a safe temperature before drying in a low oven, then ground and bound with beef tallow and dried berries into dense bars. It is very rich and very filling, eaten in small pieces on hikes and camping trips. A common mistake is leaving fat on the meat before drying; fat goes rancid, so trim it all off. Chef's tip: dry the meat until it snaps, not bends; any moisture shortens its keeping time.
- Total time
- 510 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
- 3 ⅓ lb very lean beef (eye of round or topside)all fat trimmed off
- 1 tsp salt
- 9 oz beef tallow or suetrendered
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 3 ⅓ lb very lean beef (eye of round or topside) in the freezer for 1 hour to firm up, then slice with the grain into strips 3–4 mm thick. Rub with 1 tsp salt.
20 minStep 2: Heat the oven to 325°F (275°F fan). Lay the strips on racks over trays and heat for 10–15 minutes, until the meat reaches 160°F; this makes it safe before the long drying.
15 minStep 3: Lower the oven to 158°F (or the lowest setting) with the door propped open a crack. Dry for 6–8 hours, until the strips are dark, brittle and snap when bent.
480 minStep 4: Grind the dried meat to a fine, fluffy powder in a food processor in batches. Pulse 4 oz dried saskatoon berries, blueberries or cranberries in briefly too.
10 minStep 5: Melt 9 oz beef tallow or suet gently until just liquid (do not let it smoke). Mix it with the meat and berries until evenly moist; it should hold when squeezed.
5 minStep 6: Press firmly into a lined tin about 2 cm deep and leave to set, then cut into bars. Wrap and keep in the fridge for up to 2 months or freeze.
60 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 260 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 6 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pemmican take?
- About 510 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 480 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
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