Pemmican - Healthy Snack and Longlife Food
- Thread starter nicklebleu
- Start date
Finished my first batch of pemmican recently. I just cut up a braising steak and dehydrated in the oven, crushed it up and added rendered lard. It's absolutely delicious! It tastes almost sweet, and very creamy.
The only thing I'm worried about now is the amount of protein in dehydrated meat. It is lean to begin with, and then is much more concentrated after dehydration, so may not be conductive to our experiments with ketosis.
The only thing I'm worried about now is the amount of protein in dehydrated meat. It is lean to begin with, and then is much more concentrated after dehydration, so may not be conductive to our experiments with ketosis.
Carlise said:
Then why not just eat less of it? Beef jerky has 33.2 grams of protein per 100g serving. I use a program called Nutrition Facts to get percentages of protein and carbs.
So assuming you did equal amounts in weight of beef jerky and fat, then you would get 16.6g of protein per 100 for the finished pemmican bar. So then just take your desired protein amount for a meal, say 24g. Divide 24g by .166 and you get how much pemmican to eat: ~144.5g. That's my method for nutrient intake.
Ah, that makes sense. In that respect beef heart might be a good option if the fat were trimmed off - eat that now and save the lean stuff for a "rainy day". Or it could be rendered if one had enough. I've heard that it is more saturated than fat off a random cut of meat, so maybe it's comparable to suet? Anyway, cool stuff.Prodigal Son said:
Wu Wei Wu
Jedi Master
Conveniently enough I started making pemmican recently using recipes from a different site. Just did a search here and discovered a topic existed!
First, I made my pemmican two weeks ago. I used triple A beef tallow and triple A beef heart.
Why did I choose heart? Its more nutritious than steak, and cheaper. I would go into one of my butcher shops and clean them out of heart, and everyone is happy.
I'd have to shear the fat off it myself, which required some effort. I would then cut it into thin strips and put it in my dehyrdrator. I have two: One of the 10 dollar jerky driers previously mentioned in the thread (they work great!) and an older commercial dehydrator that I have yet to test.
After 2-3 days, I would then grind the dried heart jerky into a fine powder. I tried using my sausage maker at first, that didn't work at all. But luckily my associate had a vitamix on hand which did a fine job. I've heard the Ninja blender is also excellent for pemmican uses.
During the grinding process I was boiling my suet at the same time. I timed it so it would all be done together. Upon completion I put all my grinded heart jerky into a large bowl and then poured my bowling fat over it, constantly mixing it with my hands, like tossing a salad so that it was all covered.
My first batch was too liquidy though, so when I attempted to roll them into bals and put them in wax paper they mostly fell apart and the fat leaked to the other sides. Nevertheless the finished product was excellent, and nutritious. I liked it so much that I ate most of my first batch.
A question for some of you, how have you found molds to work? I'm thinking of doing that to get around my current splattering issue. Also, I've bought another 10 kilos of beef heart and fat so that I can try again. I'm planning to make this my survival food.
First, I made my pemmican two weeks ago. I used triple A beef tallow and triple A beef heart.
Why did I choose heart? Its more nutritious than steak, and cheaper. I would go into one of my butcher shops and clean them out of heart, and everyone is happy.
I'd have to shear the fat off it myself, which required some effort. I would then cut it into thin strips and put it in my dehyrdrator. I have two: One of the 10 dollar jerky driers previously mentioned in the thread (they work great!) and an older commercial dehydrator that I have yet to test.
After 2-3 days, I would then grind the dried heart jerky into a fine powder. I tried using my sausage maker at first, that didn't work at all. But luckily my associate had a vitamix on hand which did a fine job. I've heard the Ninja blender is also excellent for pemmican uses.
During the grinding process I was boiling my suet at the same time. I timed it so it would all be done together. Upon completion I put all my grinded heart jerky into a large bowl and then poured my bowling fat over it, constantly mixing it with my hands, like tossing a salad so that it was all covered.
My first batch was too liquidy though, so when I attempted to roll them into bals and put them in wax paper they mostly fell apart and the fat leaked to the other sides. Nevertheless the finished product was excellent, and nutritious. I liked it so much that I ate most of my first batch.
A question for some of you, how have you found molds to work? I'm thinking of doing that to get around my current splattering issue. Also, I've bought another 10 kilos of beef heart and fat so that I can try again. I'm planning to make this my survival food.
I'd like to briefly comment that some time ago I made jerky with beef heart and it worked very well, although trimming the fat was a bit slow. (But, that's true with many cuts of meat, right? No big deal, and maybe I'll learn tricks with time.) I used the "$20" jerky drier from Data's link (which sadly cost me more like $40-50 to construct, but at least once you've built it the only part that needs replacing on occasion is the cardboard box - just a couple dollars per box at a local office supply store). The heart meat is almost perfectly lean once the fat is trimmed off, so unless there's a devil in the details somewhere I would say it is an ideal meat for making jerky and probably pemmican.
Currently I'm working on a batch of pemmican using bottom round roast and beef tallow from US Wellness Meats. The jerky was seasoned with equal parts garlic, black pepper, and salt, as suggested in the jerky drier instructions. Eye of round is considered the ideal meat from what I've read because it is very lean, but the bottom round is cheaper so I gambled on it. I will definitely try beef heart next time as it is more nutritious, cheaper, and more lean. (What's not to like?) The jerky did end up having a few tiny fat drops on it after drying due to a bit of marbling in the meat, but since I plan to refrigerate or freeze this pemmican I think it should be fine. It tastes pretty good, although a bit bland because the fat masks the flavors. Lots of chewing brings them back out, though.
It could be fun to try variations on this in the future.
As far as ketosis goes, pemmican is roughly 50% fat, 50% protein as I understand it (if you use the 50/50 recipe), so it leans toward the "proteiny" direction. A 50 gram portion of this is about 325 Calories, with 25g protein (and as I recall 30 grams is about the most protein you can get before gluconeogenesis takes over and ketosis might stop). That said, in a desperate situation you won't have to worry about rabbit starvation or nutritional deficiency with the stuff (assuming you use grass fed beef and tallow).
Currently I'm working on a batch of pemmican using bottom round roast and beef tallow from US Wellness Meats. The jerky was seasoned with equal parts garlic, black pepper, and salt, as suggested in the jerky drier instructions. Eye of round is considered the ideal meat from what I've read because it is very lean, but the bottom round is cheaper so I gambled on it. I will definitely try beef heart next time as it is more nutritious, cheaper, and more lean. (What's not to like?) The jerky did end up having a few tiny fat drops on it after drying due to a bit of marbling in the meat, but since I plan to refrigerate or freeze this pemmican I think it should be fine. It tastes pretty good, although a bit bland because the fat masks the flavors. Lots of chewing brings them back out, though.
It could be fun to try variations on this in the future.
As far as ketosis goes, pemmican is roughly 50% fat, 50% protein as I understand it (if you use the 50/50 recipe), so it leans toward the "proteiny" direction. A 50 gram portion of this is about 325 Calories, with 25g protein (and as I recall 30 grams is about the most protein you can get before gluconeogenesis takes over and ketosis might stop). That said, in a desperate situation you won't have to worry about rabbit starvation or nutritional deficiency with the stuff (assuming you use grass fed beef and tallow).
davey72
The Living Force
How to make Pemmican – The Ultimate Survival Super-Food
Invented by the natives of North America, pemmican was used by Indian scouts as well as early western explorers. These people spent a great deal of time on the go and depended on having portable, high-energy, highly nutritious, and filling foods that would last for long periods of time.
Pemmican was light, compact, high in protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and if done properly can last anywhere from a few years (decades) up to a lifetime without refrigeration!
Pemmican consists of lean, dried meat which is crushed to a powder and mixed with hot, rendered fat. Back in those days the natives made it with bison, deer, or elk but nowadays it is usually made with beef. Crushed, dried berries can be added as well.
A man could subsist entirely on pemmican, drawing on the fat for energy, the protein for strength and vitamins for health. There are a few cases in history of people living for months (in good health) only out of pemmican.
So, it’s easy to understand why I choose pemmican as the ultimate survival-superfood.
250 x 250 Nate jpg2People really should avert their gaze from the modern survival thinking for just a bit and also look at how the guys who wandered the west 130 or so years ago did it. As I’ve said it in a recent article (30 Lost Ways of Survival from 1880) the “SHTF” we all prep for is what folks 150 years ago called “daily life:” No electrical power, no refrigerators, no Internet, no computers, no TV, no hyper-active law enforcement, no Safeway or Walmart.
-http://www.askaprepper.com/pemmican-ultimate-survival-food/
Invented by the natives of North America, pemmican was used by Indian scouts as well as early western explorers. These people spent a great deal of time on the go and depended on having portable, high-energy, highly nutritious, and filling foods that would last for long periods of time.
Pemmican was light, compact, high in protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and if done properly can last anywhere from a few years (decades) up to a lifetime without refrigeration!
Pemmican consists of lean, dried meat which is crushed to a powder and mixed with hot, rendered fat. Back in those days the natives made it with bison, deer, or elk but nowadays it is usually made with beef. Crushed, dried berries can be added as well.
A man could subsist entirely on pemmican, drawing on the fat for energy, the protein for strength and vitamins for health. There are a few cases in history of people living for months (in good health) only out of pemmican.
So, it’s easy to understand why I choose pemmican as the ultimate survival-superfood.
250 x 250 Nate jpg2People really should avert their gaze from the modern survival thinking for just a bit and also look at how the guys who wandered the west 130 or so years ago did it. As I’ve said it in a recent article (30 Lost Ways of Survival from 1880) the “SHTF” we all prep for is what folks 150 years ago called “daily life:” No electrical power, no refrigerators, no Internet, no computers, no TV, no hyper-active law enforcement, no Safeway or Walmart.
-http://www.askaprepper.com/pemmican-ultimate-survival-food/
Re: How to make Pemmican – The Ultimate Survival Super-Food
You might also want to take a look at these directions- The Pemican Manual: http://www.traditionaltx.us/images/PEMMICAN.pdf
I tried making it a couple of years ago but I got busy/distracted and it became a bit of a lost cause. I got the meat dried and ground but never bought the fat and the meat ended up growing mold, I think because I did it in humid summertime and left it in a closed container. The meat should be dried of its own moisture so it doesn't grow mold OSIT.
There's an interesting comparison photo in the pdf of grass-fed tallow vs. standard store meat that I often remind myself of when I mentally balk at the price of grass-fed beef in the market :)
You might also want to take a look at these directions- The Pemican Manual: http://www.traditionaltx.us/images/PEMMICAN.pdf
I tried making it a couple of years ago but I got busy/distracted and it became a bit of a lost cause. I got the meat dried and ground but never bought the fat and the meat ended up growing mold, I think because I did it in humid summertime and left it in a closed container. The meat should be dried of its own moisture so it doesn't grow mold OSIT.
There's an interesting comparison photo in the pdf of grass-fed tallow vs. standard store meat that I often remind myself of when I mentally balk at the price of grass-fed beef in the market :)
Re: How to make Pemmican – The Ultimate Survival Super-Food
I'll have a look, sounds. good. I've been wondering what next in terms of preparing. Right now I'm going with fat, meat and books. More water filters also.
I'll have a look, sounds. good. I've been wondering what next in terms of preparing. Right now I'm going with fat, meat and books. More water filters also.
Mrs.Tigersoap
The Living Force
Re: How to make Pemmican – The Ultimate Survival Super-Food
For those who are interested, pemmican has already been discussed on various threads on the forum, but more notably on this one :
Pemmican - Healthy snack and longlife food
:)
For those who are interested, pemmican has already been discussed on various threads on the forum, but more notably on this one :
Pemmican - Healthy snack and longlife food
:)
Mrs.Tigersoap
The Living Force
Thank you Heimdallr!