How to Make Pemmican
Vihljamur Stefansson, eminent anthropologist and arctic explorer, went on three expeditions into the Alaskan tundra during the first quarter of the 20th century. His discoveries – including the “blond” Inuit and previously uncharted Arctic lands – brought him renown on the world stage. People were fascinated by his approach to travel and exploration, the way he thrust himself fully into the native Inuit cultures he encountered. Stefansson studied their language, adopted their ways, and ate the same food they ate. In fact, it was the diet of the Inuit – fish, marine mammals, and other animals, with almost no vegetables or carbohydrates – that most intrigued him. He noted that, though their diet would be considered nutritionally bereft by most “experts” (hey, nothing’s changed in a hundred years!), the Inuit seemed to be in excellent health, with strong teeth, bones, and muscles. He was particularly interested in a food called pemmican.
Pemmican consists of lean, dried meat (usually beef nowadays, but bison, deer, and elk were common then) which is crushed to a powder and mixed with an equal amount of hot, rendered fat (usually beef tallow). Sometimes crushed, dried berries are added as well. A man could subsist entirely on pemmican, drawing on the fat for energy and the protein for strength (and glucose, when needed). The Inuit, Stefansson noted, spent weeks away from camp with nothing but pemmican to eat and snow to drink to no ill effect. Stefansson, a Canadian of Icelandic origin, often accompanied them on these treks and also lived off of pemmican quite happily, so its sustaining powers weren’t due to some specific genetic adaptation unique to the Inuit. In fact, when Stefansson returned home, he and colleague adopted a meat-only diet for a year, interested in its long-term effects. A controlled examination of their experience confirmed that both men remained healthy throughout.
So, pemmican has a reputation as a sort of superfood. While I’m usually leery of such claims, the fact that the stuff is essentially pure fat and protein (plus Stefansson’s accounts) made me think that maybe there was something to it. I set out to make my own batch.
I got about a pound and a half of lean, grass-fed shoulder roast, let it firm up in the freezer, then sliced it thin. After adding liberal amounts of salt and pepper, I set the oven to the lowest possible temperature (around 150 degrees) and laid out the strips of meat directly onto the rack. I cracked the oven door to prevent moisture buildup. At this point, I also put a handful of frozen wild blueberries on a small oven pan to dry out with the meat.
I let the meat dry out for about fifteen hours, or until it was crispy jerky that broke apart easily. I tossed the jerky in the food processor until it was powder. After the meat, in went the blueberries to process. Again, you want a powder.
Now I was ready to render some fat. I used grass-fed bison kidney fat, which was already diced into tiny pieces. I put about half a pound of that into a cast iron pan and cooked it slowly over super-low heat.
I made sure to stir the fat as it rendered out, and watched closely so that it wouldn’t burn. When the fat stops bubbling, the rendering is done.
Use a strainer to avoid all the crispy bits; you just want the pure, liquid fat.
Mix the meat and berry powder together, then slowly add the hot liquid fat. Pour just enough so that the fat soaks into the powder.
I think I poured too much too quickly, so I added a bit of almond meal to firm it up. Let it firm up, then cut it into squares or roll it into a ball. I went with a ball.
Pemmican will keep almost forever. Pure, dried protein and rendered (mostly saturated) fat are highly stable, so I wouldn’t worry about it going rancid. If it does, you’ll know.
Now, my pemmican wasn’t exactly delicious. In fact, it tasted a bit like bland dog food. Maybe I’ll jazz it up next time with some more salt and spices, but I don’t think pemmican is meant to be eaten for pleasure. This is utilitarian food, perfect for long treks through the wilderness. It gets the job done, and I’ll probably make it again. It definitely doesn’t taste bad; in fact, the taste grows on you after awhile.
My dog certainly enjoyed cleaning up the bowl.
Has anyone else here tried pemmican? Let me know what you think in the comment board!
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
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Unless I was anticipating a survival situation I don’t think I would make this. Seems like a lot of time and effort involved for something that isn’t that tasty.
It is an interesting article, though.
want to try making it but am having trouble finding a good beef fat. could it work with coconut oil?
U.S. Wellness Meats sells beef tallow – you could buy some there. Of course, they also sell pemmican, but it’s probably more expensive than making your own.
http://www.grasslandbeef.com/Detail.bok?no=878
I remember learning about pemmican in grade school social studies class. It seems a lot more appealing now then in did back then…
I think I’ll give this a try next fall or winter. Seems more appropriate to those seasons.
Thanks Mark!
Adam
i agree with jpippenger – not sure i’ll ever make this. BUT the take home message is a good one! Protein and fat = super healthy! Good thing I had my eggs this morning
Hmmmmm….. I think I’ll just stick with jerky.
It always sounded interesting when they told us about this social studies (I’m Canadian). I think we should figure out how to make a tasty version between all the cooks on the board
I’ve never tried pemmican myself, but hear are few good pemmican links . . .
http://www.grasslandbeef.com/Categories.bok?category=Grassland+Beef%3ABeef+Pemmican
https://www.tankabar.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemmican
This seems like a great food for a long hike–it’s difficult to find high energy foods that are worth their weight. Around what temperature will something like this melt?
Yes! Perfect for thru-hiking the AT, eh?
Mark, maybe you could look into packaging a producing pemmican. That way those that are curious, but not to keen on putting in 16 or so hours to make it can just order a package of it.
Possibly, but I’d really have to work on the taste (not that it tastes bad! Just plenty of room for improvement).
I received my copy of The Primal Blueprint today! I’m going to ask my husband to hide it until Sunday, otherwise I won’t get to anything I need to take care of today and tomorrow. I want to read this book NOW!!!!!
Grok on!!!!
I first read about this is Sally Fallon’s book “Nourishing Traditions”…while I see how this could be handy, I think I’ll stick to the primal power bars!
I have made pemmican to utlize on hunting excursions, Ski trips, and epic mountain bike rides.
I have made it as Mark has and I have also made a batch with pure Maine maple syrup from a producer around the corner. I have also made it with a garlic rub. Both of the last two recipes were much better than the initial bland rub, and in my estimation are still primal.
As far as rendering fat goes, its not so bad. Render 6-7 lbs of fat at a time and that provides a wicked charge of tallow (fat) to be used for quite some time. You can freeze or can it for later use.
Get it going on a cold morning, most of the labor is in chopping it up, but even that is marginal. Let is simmer throughout the day and process at the end of the day.
Not as bad as you think. Give it a try!
Like Adam, I remember learning about this stuff in school, and it pops up in books now and again. I always wanted to make some, but now that I know the actual process, I think I’ll just stick with jerky!
But if I ever need to stockpile food in a bomb shelter, I’ll use this recipe for sure!
Wow. Looks different. I see this as more of a nuclear emergency type food or maybe add some spices for flavor.
Dip it in chocolate, and you just might have something there.
This would be great for people like me who are sometimes too lazy to cook… just make a load at once and dip in every once in awhile.
For some reason the whole idea of homemade pemmican seems very appealing to me, even aside from the convenience. I must try this.
I have lots of pictures and a how to guide to making pemmican at my website:
http://tinyurl.com/pe4pyb
There is also a gigantic thread on pemmican over at The Zeroing In On Health Forum.
http://tinyurl.com/pbha9g
I’m surprised it didn’t taste good. It sounds delicious. Maybe it would be better with duck fat.
Hi Mark, I made my first batch of pemmican about a month ago. It was so good i’ve made 2 more!
No berries, and just a small amount of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Maybe the berries and almond flour altered the taste of yours? My husband who is super picky thought it was good and said “it tastes like roast beef”. I cooked my beef in a dehydrator @ 105 degrees F. maybe that is why also.
I’ve wanted to make these for a long time! I read about it first in Nourishing Traditions and then got even more info about it from the Garden of Eating (which is a grain free, dairy free cookbook). I am definitely planning on trying ti sometime!
Prefer jerky myself, but you had some flaws in your pemmican. 1) Dry your berries in the sun like raisins. If you can, dry your meat the same way. 2) Looks like you used way too much fat. 3) Add different spices! Salt is barely a spice, it is more a preservative. 4) Buy a dehydrator.
I’ve often questioned how much nutrient value remains in dried meat. If you really want good cured/dried meats you let it hang in the air, you don’t use a dehydrator. This is how it was done 100 and 1000s of years ago, and how really good cured meat is still made today (i.e. Prosciutto made in the mountains of Italy).
This recipe is awesome~ im going to make this soon!
thank u so much for posting such great info.!
Make biltong……far easier and will keep for years.
I ate kudu biltong that was years old in Namibia.Slight bit o mould..scrapped it off and wallop..wonderful.
Sadly also had the lad in INto the Wild known about this he might not have died due to malnourishment(some conjecture about him being/not being poisoned) as he sadly tried to smoke the beast he shot.
“See them stripped and you do not find the abdominal protuberances and folds which are numerous at Coney Island beaches and so persuasive in arguments against nudism.”
I fell down laughing. It’s certainly no better now.
I actually tried making it twice in the past two weeks. Neither worked very well. I think I didn’t slice the meat thin enough. The outside would break easily, but there would be parts on the inside that I would have to tear apart. My food processor wouldn’t process it, and when I tried putting it in our old meat grinder, it jammed up. The grinder parts have been soaking in soapy water for three days because the parts that need to unscrew in order to clean it wouldn’t unscrew.
I didn’t eat anything that was produced, but my dog did enjoyed it immensely!
At least, he devoured each failed batch within minutes. When I gave it to him, he ate it with his tail tucked between his legs. He normally eats with his tail down to keep it out of the way, but when he was eating this it was VERY straight and it was flat against his behind, and I could tell his mood was off, like he was sad or scared. I was taken aback by how extremely submissive he was. It was like he recognized it for what it was, like this was real dog food and the dog food we had been buying for years may as well have been starvation. If it were up to me, I would feed him nothing but beef and liver (another thing I know he likes) and none of the carbohydrate-laden, meat-flavored stuff again.
I have a few suggestions for making pemmican. Make a big batch of jerky and pemmican so you don’t have to make it as often. Bear in mind that 2 pounds of meat will make only about 8 oz (by weight) of jerky (1 quart before powdering).I find a food dehydrator with multiple trays makes it easy to prepare a large batch of jerky.
Add only enough rendered fat to make the meat stick together. Adding too much fat can alter the flavor, making it taste too strong.
In the Pemmican recipes in my book, *The Garden of Eating*,I figure 1 1/2 cups of liquid tallow to 4 1/2 cups of powdered jerky.
I add herbs, spices, and sea salt to enhance the flavor of pemmican and I press it into muffin tins, which firm up after chilling so you can pop out a meal size round of pemmican, wrap it in lettuces leaves, tuck it into a container and take your hand held-meal with you, supplemented with an apple or a couple of handfuls of grapes.
You can spice up pemmican w/Mexican, Moroccan, Italian, French, or Greek seasonings. I’ve even added sun dried tomatoes and dried bell pepper bits. Some find it an acquired tastes; others take to it right away.
I have taken this on airplanes and car trips. It makes great, compact travel food you can eat w/your hands.
That looks quite awesome, Mark,what’s your opinion on the advanced glycation end products that form as a result of this? Of course there are worse things you can do, but it doesn’t seem entirely healthy.
Sounds interesting rather than “must try this!”
My local butcher makes excellent Boerwors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boerewors
which is more than good enough for me (had some last night) among his numerous other sausage recipes. Which reminded me of Biltong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biltong
another one I didn’t have in a long time
What if you added some cayenne or texmex powders when you blended the meat? or perhaps mixing brown sugar into the rendered fat?
I would like sources for buying beef jerky on the web. I’ve been getting it from Costco (Pacific Gold), but I suspect there are healthier versions. Any suggestions would be appreciated, as I’m NOT going to be making my own.
I don’t know what you guys are talking about. I made pemmican and threw in dried blueberries, a bit of cinnamon.
The only thing is that I used clarified butter instead of tallow or suet. Clarified butter has a great taste
I just made a batch from the “Nourishing Traditions” recipe. 3lbs lean beef, 1 pound fat (leftover from beef stock preparation), and 1/4 cup maple syrup. Absolutely delicious. You will want to do some hard work after you eat it. It is GREAT warmed up. You could even make it a great base for some hash.
I had made my own years ago. While my methods varied slightly (as did my fruit additives), it always turned out well. I used to publish the recipe on my website but had removed it to redo the website.
Mine tasted great – however it took much time to prepare and “babysit” the drying meat.