Steven Rinella, founder of MeatEater, Inc., writes: “Long before prepackaged trail food, Native American hunters made their own version of today’s protein bars and trail mix called pemmican. The word pemmican is derived from the Cree word, pimihkan. The root of pimihkan, pimi, means fat. Many Native American tribes had their own version of pemmican.”
16 servings
source: https://www.themeateater.com/cook/recipes/pemmican-the-original-hunters-trail-food
Ingredients
- 1 lb venison or prepared jerky
- 1 lb rendered (cooked and liquified) meat fat (venison, duck, wild boar, or beef)
- ½ lb dried cranberries, blueberries etc.
- ½ lb pine nuts or substitute with cashews or walnuts
Directions
- Ensure that jerky cracks and crumbles when bent. Grind the dried meat or jerky into a rough powder. You can use a food processor to do this quickly. Do the same with the dried berries and nuts.
- Mix dry ingredients with rendered fat.
- Pour and pack mixture into molds – muffin pans or cookie sheets work well.
- When solidified, remove each piece from the muffin pan or cut the pemmican into blocks on the cookie sheet and then package pieces individually with a vacuum sealer.