Pemmican
Ingredients
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- 4 pounds beef eye of round – trimmed of all fat and sinew, sliced very thin across the grain
- 2 pounds beef suet – chopped small (for rendering tallow)
- 8 ounces dried blueberries – roughly chopped
Instructions
1. Trim every trace of surface fat and sinew from the beef eye of round, then slice the meat very thinly across the grain (freezing it 30 minutes helps). Lay the slices in a single layer on dehydrator trays or wire racks set over baking sheets.
2. Dry the meat until completely hard and brittle—dehydrator at 135°F for 6–10 hours, or oven at its lowest setting (about 170°F) with the door cracked for 6–10 hours—rotating trays midway. Doneness cue: pieces should snap and show no visible moisture when broken.
3. Let the dried meat cool fully, then grind it to a fluffy, fine powder using a food processor (pulse in small batches) or a mortar and pestle. Set the meat powder aside in a large bowl.
4. Render the beef suet: place the chopped suet in a heavy pot over low heat (225–250°F). Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the fat fully liquefies and the cracklings turn golden and sink, 60–120 minutes. Strain the hot liquid fat through a fine sieve; this is your tallow.
5. While the tallow is hot and liquid, pour it into the meat powder using roughly a 1:1 ratio by weight (start with an amount of hot rendered beef suet equal to the weight of your ground dried meat). Stir and fold until evenly moistened. If the mixture looks greasy or pools fat, add a bit more meat powder; if it crumbles and won’t hold together when pressed, add a splash more hot tallow.
6. Fold in the roughly chopped dried blueberries until evenly distributed.
7. Pack the warm mixture firmly into a parchment-lined 8×8 inch pan to about 3/4 inch thick, or press into silicone muffin cups. Compress hard to expel air pockets.
8. Let set at cool room temperature until solid, 1–2 hours. Unmold and cut into 16 bars. Wrap each piece tightly. Store in a cool, dark place for several weeks, refrigerate for up to 3 months, or freeze for longer storage.
Pemmican is a compact, high-energy food made by combining finely pounded dried lean meat with rendered fat, often with the gentle sweetness of dried berries. The texture is firm yet slightly crumbly, melting on the tongue as the clean flavor of tallow carries the deep, roasted notes of dried meat. It is designed to be nutrient-dense, portable, and durable, making it as practical as it is elemental in taste.
Originating with Indigenous peoples of the North American Plains and Subarctic, pemmican became a vital provisioning staple. Plains Nations and Métis communities perfected it using bison, moose, elk, and regional berries such as saskatoon/serviceberries or chokecherries. During the fur trade era it powered long journeys and wintering posts, even shaping history through events like the Pemmican Wars. Its enduring significance lies in both sustenance and cultural knowledge of preservation.