Food has a short shelf life. The convenience of refrigeration has made our society vulnerable to keeping grub for purposes. And why should we? The local grocery store will always have their aisles stocked full of product ready to be bought.
From fruits and vegetables grown in Mexico to a wide selection of chicken, steak, or pork, it’s all there. But what happens the day their isles are not stocked?
In our effort of becoming self-sufficient, we can’t rely on the food logistics currently set in place. There are plenty of ways to become competent, and one of them is through preparation. Preparing for future ration storage now is an effective means of not just having meals for the time being but also for unexpected events where food becomes scarce.
We at Grid Down Tools noticed the fragility of our grid and food supply chain and how screwed our society will be if it goes down. And let’s face it, who wants to eat spam, rice, and beans for the rest of their days? This put us on a quest to find new recipes. Ironically, our ‘new’ method is about as O.G. as it gets when it comes to survival superfoods… Pemmican.
Where did the Pemmican Recipe Come From?
The way I understand it, Pemmican was a Native American survival food that has a meat, fat, and berries base. Made during the summer months, the North American Plains Indians used this ready to eat food to complement their nomadic lifestyle following the buffalo herds.
The secret was they used lean dried buffalo meat along with rendered animal fat for their pemmican recipe. By doing this, they were able to preserve the meat during the hard winter months. The tribe’s scouts would take pemmican with them when out doing, well… scouting.
Passed Down to Our Forefathers
Naturally, our forefathers learned of this ultimate survival food, and it became the food for patriots on the frontier. After that, the recipe was passed down – generation to generation – becoming a must have non perishable food item for family’s who still were privy to its existence.
Thanks to the Internet, it’s had a resurgence in recent years with protein loving diet based groups.
Paleo Fast Food & Keto Approved
The paleo crowd loves to make protein bars using the pemmican recipe. Once created, it’s a paleo fast food! While a pemmican recipe might not have been on a caveman diet plan, it’s still an old world recipe!
And the Keto crowd is warming up to this nutrient rich travel food. And it makes sense because there are no two things the ketogenic diet crowd love more than protein and fat! If these aren’t at the top of the ketogenic food pyramid, I don’t know what is!
So here is a list compiled of 4 very different pemmican recipes for you to try.
Traditional Pemmican Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups beef jerky
- 1 cups dried berries
- 2 cups rendered fat
INSTRUCTIONS
- Turn jerky into powder with a meat grinder, blender, or mortar and pestle
- Mix the berries with meat powder until same consistency
- Cut the fat into chunks.
- Set oven at 225 degrees
- Place fat in roasting pan and put in the oven for 12 hours, or until rendered fat reaches 220 degrees.
- Mix the fat with the meat and fruit mixture.
- Pour into baking pan to cure.
- Shape into bars, balls, or squares
Sweet & Wild Game Pemmican
INGREDIENTS
- 2 lbs lean meat (think deer, caribou, moose)
- 3 cups dried fruit
- 2 cups rendered fat
- 1 cup unsalted nuts
- 1 shot of honey
INSTRUCTIONS
- If meat is not dehydrated, spread thin on a cookie sheet and dry at 180 degrees until jerky texture.
- Grind dried meat into a powder with a mortar and pestle, or blender
- Add the 3 cups of dried fruit, grind accordingly.
- Leave some larger chunks of fruit for binding reasons.
- Cut the fat into chunks.
- Over medium heat, render the fat down to a tallow.
- Mix the fat with the meat and fruit mixture.
- Add nuts and honey to taste
- Let pemmican cool then shape into balls, bars, or put in a cookie sheet (think brownies) to store.
Vegan Pemmican
For those who choose not to consume meat products here is a recipe for you.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups dates
- 3 cups powdered tofu-jerky
- 2 cups raisins
- For binding purposes use as much honey as needed
- 2 cups of nuts
INSTRUCTIONS
- Grind ingredients together except for honey.
- Once mixed slowly add honey a little at a time.
- Mix well each time honey is added.
- Add pemmican to a pan with about a ¾” thickness.
- Refrigerate to let the mixture set up
- Cut into bars or shape into balls
Crunchy Hippie Pemmican
This last one is for the trendy foodie type. To some, it might be out there. Others, this pemmican recipe might be right up your alley. If it’s nothing else, it’s intriguing!
- 2 cups grass-fed organ meat (beef heart)
- 4 cups frozen spinach chopped
- 2 cups chopped packed greens (kale or arugula)
- 2 cups berries
- ½ cup dates
- 2 Tablespons of coconut oil
- ½ cup tallow
INSTRUCTIONS
- If meat, greens, and berries are not dried, use a dehydrator to remove excess moisture and ingredients are crisp.
- Grind dried meat and greens into a powder with a blender, Magic Bullet, or Food Processor
- Add the 2 cups of dried berries, grind accordingly.
- Melt the coconut Oil and Tallow
- Mix the fat with the meat, greens, and fruit mixture.
- Let pemmican chill in a 9×9 inch pan.
- Shape into balls, bars, or squares.
Storing Your Pemmican
Now that you’ve made your pemmican recipe it’s time to wrap it up and store it. There are three best practices for long-term storage:
- First, wrap in foil or wax paper
- Then vacuum seal
- Last, store in a cool dark dry place
If you follow the guidelines above you should have the ultimate survival food ready for the time when your grid goes down.
Stay Safe,