How to Make Pemmican

Pemmican was used by Native Americans to preserve meat back before freezers were invented. This is a technique that many survival guides teach now for the same reasons. It's important to be able to gather food when it's available if you're in a survival situation and store it so that it lasts throughout periods of scarcity. Pemmican can last for years, if made properly.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Use fat from cooked fish or other meat in the wild to make pemmican. Soften the fat by mashing it around in your hands.
2. Dry the meat you want to preserve completely in the sun. You can also dry it slowly over a smoky fire to make pemmican.
3. Cut, grate or pound the cooked, dry meat until it is powder-like. You can use a knife, clean rocks, or whatever you have available if you are in a survival situation.
4. Add seasonings, nuts and berries to taste. Pound the berries and nuts into a powder before mixing into the meat powder.
5. Separate the meat mixture into clumps the size of golf balls. Add the fat to the clumps and mix well. You want about half and half of each in a clump to make pemmican.
6. Shape the clumps into cylinder sausage shapes. Or if you prefer, you can leave them as balls. Leave the pemmican to dry in the sun. It will harden, and as long as it is protected against moisture, it will be edible for years.
7. Eat the pemmican as is, cook it, or add it to stews for a larger meal. If you see mold forming on the pemmican, simply cut off the moldy part. The rest of it is still edible.