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Bannock! Staple food product of the Northwoods?!

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Now that I have your attention; maybe not Bannock, but what about that other old staple of the traditional northwood's diet (both of natives and europeans alike) PEMMICAN?!

Has anyone here made their own recently? I tend to think of pemmican as a food product that is no longer used (or needed in the modern life) in the traditional sense and has now commercially morphed into a energy food sold with athletes or just snacking in mind rather than as a survival food or a meal replacement for a woodsman or expedition canoe tripper.

I looked at at various pemmican recipes, deemed traditional for ingredients, very simple. Typically dried beef, beef fat or tallow and some sort of dried fruit like cranberry.
Also, I looked at as those readily sold commercial products that seem either more in the granola bar or fruit bar mode with , honey, multiple fruits, peanut butter, nuts, seeds, etc. And some beef, but certainly not at a 50% ratio to fat.

A commercial mixture that was produced in the 1950's for Navy folks working at the various Antarctic stations, for polar camping conditions and survival bags contained no less than 23 ingredients that seemed to have been approved scientifically for nutrition.

Maybe it's just evolved and that is not a bad thing?

I have a large bag of frozen sliced beef that was meant to go for jerky, but now I am thinking I'd like to try making some of my own. And if somewhat successful to then try making it with moose or caribou later this fall when I have the opportunity to get game meat.

If anyone is also purchasing a commercial product they are fond of or think should be avoided, I would like to hear of that too.
 
I have used the first version of Soylent which required mixing in oil. The newest generation is all powdered. Eating pemmican day in day out, day after day was probably a little boring, too. Soylent seems to be the logical replacement for the 21st century. I'm by no means monkish and hostile to enjoyment but I could see a use for it on trips when you need a wholesome and quick meal.

https://www.soylent.com/product/powder/
 
When I was staying on the west coast some time ago, some of the mountaineering types out there took large quantities of margarine for the concentrated energy it provided and as a measure to reduce weight. Maybe it duplicated the effects of pemmican the same way pemmican did in the old days.

OT somewhat and another useless but possibly interesting natural fact... birds can fly the long distances needed for migration because they build up fat reserves necessary to fly the sometimes thousands of miles north and south. Often it's insects they eat, and insects' bodies are full of fat. Nutritionists are now going on about how humans can eat insects as a good source of energy and nutrients and maybe those one day will be included in crunchy trail mix... good old raisins and insects.
 
It's funny, I was thinking about pemmican just the other day. I was sitting on a porch with a friend enjoying a couple cold pops after a gruelling day's work when his wife and daughter arrived, along with family dog. Marty the Rottweiler is a pampered pooch, and real friendly, even if he is big enough to have his own postal code. He came over and we exchanged snuggles before I retrieved my spilled can of beer from the ground (thanks Marty) and pushed him off my feet again. Why do dogs like to sit on your feet? Anyway, it was then I saw a packet of his doggy snacks on the truck tailgate...beef jerky. Wow. Beef jerky for people, but fed to a dog. Nice snack for a dog! While Marty was playing with a tree branch he'd torn off from somewhere I sauntered over to the bag of doggy treats and made a reach for it, but just as I did I looked at my best bud Marty to be sure we were cool with this, and only then saw a concerned look on his face. Deeply concerned. Was he cool with this? Did he just want a treat, and would he share with his good buddy Brad? I made a quick decision after seeing half my life pass before my eyes and left the jerky right where it was. Marty's shoulders relaxed, his big brown eyes became limpid pools of puppyness again, and he resumed gnawing on the fetched tree. And as I sloped back to the porch pretending I'd changed my mind and no longer cared for the jerky, it was then I remembered what I'd rather have snacked on actually was pemmican. Oh yeah, pemmican.
I'd bought a commercial variety years ago, now available everywhere. It was really good. Dried bison and Saskatoon berries. I see it contains a bunch of other ingredients relating to preservatives and the smoking process. But garlic powder too? I haven't bought any recently as all jerky products are a bit expensive for this poor boy. But I don't mind sampling a little from a buddy's snack packet, if they'll let me.

ps . My friend's daughter later explained the jerky was hers, but Marty loves it too. Often jerky has way too much salt for a dog, so dog owners really should stick to jerky made for dogs. Try explaining that to Marty.
 
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I have used the first version of Soylent which required mixing in oil. The newest generation is all powdered. Eating pemmican day in day out, day after day was probably a little boring, too. Soylent seems to be the logical replacement for the 21st century. I'm by no means monkish and hostile to enjoyment but I could see a use for it on trips when you need a wholesome and quick meal.

https://www.soylent.com/product/powder/

Soylent green is people!....
Lol
 
When I was staying on the west coast some time ago, some of the mountaineering types out there took large quantities of margarine for the concentrated energy it provided and as a measure to reduce weight. Maybe it duplicated the effects of pemmican the same way pemmican did in the old days.

OT somewhat and another useless but possibly interesting natural fact... birds can fly the long distances needed for migration because they build up fat reserves necessary to fly the sometimes thousands of miles north and south. Often it's insects they eat, and insects' bodies are full of fat. Nutritionists are now going on about how humans can eat insects as a good source of energy and nutrients and maybe those one day will be included in crunchy trail mix... good old raisins and insects.

There's a wide variety of trail mix with yummy insects like roasted crickets available on Amazon right now
 
In the southern Alberta town of Nanton there's a candy shop. One excruciatingly long day last year I escorted two grandsons around all the candy counters and overflowing shelves. Repeatedly. It was well past nap time (for the three of us) and they were fit to be tied (which crossed my mind). With one eye on the dynamic duo and another on the cornucopia of candy as they led me on a sugar overload frenzy I thought I saw packets of crickets flash by. Crickets? In-between "Don't touch that" and "Ask your mom first" I managed to check out the bags of bugs. Yup. They even had chocolate covered ones. All imported from I don't remember where. And if they were fake they sure looked real. Shrivelled thorax, spindly legs and gnarled little heads; not quite the appetizing treat staring out at me from beyond a cellophane sheen. No, wondering what they tasted like didn't even cross my mind. Wondering what my troublesome grandkids would make of it did. Maybe I should ask their mom first?
We left the shop with bags of stuff (dark chocolate coated black licorice for me) but no bugs. Their mom said no.
 
I've made my own version of pemmican before. Turned out alright but most definitely needed a big gulp of water to help it down.

Here is how I made it from memory.

Dried meat powdered
Peanut butter
Dried fruit. I think I used raisins or cranberries.
Chopped walnuts
Honey


I spread the meat out into a shallow baking dish. Then mixed in nuts and fruit. Then I heated the peanut butter and honey and then poured it over dried ingredients. Worked alright. I never did go back and experiment more. I have made my own Larabar type food and they had mixed results too.

Good luck and please let us know if you do experiment with it.
 
Red,

I've made my own version of pemmican before. Turned out alright but most definitely needed a big gulp of water to help it down.

Ummmm... I've never tried authentic, historically accurate pemmican and have no plans to since it seems kinda gross in nature. IIRC, the pemmican made for bush travel was roughly half pounded meat and half fat of some kind, and maybe some berries were thrown in, in an attempt to improve the flavor. Taste tests vary, but some find it pretty bad and something tells me I wouldn't be too thrilled having to eat pemmican like the old voyageurs had to on a canoe trip.

Maybe OT, but never mind.... the word pemmican seems related the the Huron word migan which was their corn-based food staple... Champlain's and Sagard's 1600s descriptions of migan include that it was the most acceptable food to their French tastes, again IIRC corn boiled like porridge with some fish or meat or fat added for flavor.

Some of the food descriptions, especially the food they were forced to eat to get them through the winter to keep starvation off was downright disgusting and since breakfast is coming I'm not going to get into the details. My guess is pemmican was eaten because it would keep without spoiling and it also would prevent starvation but who knows. Huron beer, now there's something a real adventurer's stomach should try to keep down if it's prepared accurately to historical descriptions.
 
Brad, pretty sure if you made pemmican, it would be full of the hottest peppers on the planet, and would probably burn the arsehole out of an elephant. I'm guessing, of course, based on that one tiny piece of bannock that you gave me with one tiny piece of pepper hidden in it that gave me instant sweats and made my bunghole pucker later that night like an old Johnny Cash song.
 
Brad, pretty sure if you made pemmican, it would be full of the hottest peppers on the planet, and would probably burn the arsehole out of an elephant. I'm guessing, of course, based on that one tiny piece of bannock that you gave me with one tiny piece of pepper hidden in it that gave me instant sweats and made my bunghole pucker later that night like an old Johnny Cash song.

Yeah, but it cleared up your acne and made you a man. lol
Actually I never thought of pemmican piquante. You might be on to something.

The other day M and I were wandering the aisles of Costco. We were looking for bargains. We found lots. Later our son and d-i-l joined us for more bargain hunting. He was looking for energy bars. He didn't find the flavour he was looking for. There easily must've been half a dozen brands each with many varieties. Some boasted protein, others boasted fibre, all boasted flavour. They left me standing wondering at the display "What did intrepid travellers surviving in the wilderness centuries ago do? "Pass me that Cliff Bar. No no no, not the peanut butter one. Remember my allergies!"

I have recipes somewhere at home for DIY granola/fruit/nut bars. They don't interest me, but maybe they should. They might make a good emergency meal, like pemmican once did. Do any of you take energy bars, and if so why and which kind??
 
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Subterfuge, yes, indeed. But I gave it away quite early on!

My first try was just okay. I made it with marinaded (hot and sweet) beef that I made into jerky then ground down to small bits. I added some ground nuts, dried and ground cranberries and melted about 1/4 of melted beef suet into a small bake pan...I might have not been generous enough with the melted fat as it was too dry and crumbly. The flavor was just okay, cut into little formed balls.

I will try it again and peruse other recipes and methods of making on line first. Or I might make the jerky, and decide it was too good to make in to pemmican!
 
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