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Pemmican – Part 2

This is Part 2 of THIS post.

When I last wrote on the topic, my meat drying was approximately 50% complete.  The next afternoon the elk and a few honey-dates were nice and dry and ready for pulverizing!

This is what the elk looked like right out of the drier (a.k.a. toaster-oven).

Because of the underwhelming power and quality of my food processor, I decided that it would be prudent to cut up the larger strip into smaller pieces. This worked, but overall my food processor just didn’t cut it. 😉 It worked out in the end, but the texture ended up a little too coarse for my liking…although still very tasty. Continue reading “Pemmican – Part 2”

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Are we there yet?

(Find part 2 of this post here!)

Just a quick post today.  I’ve been looking for a simple kitchen “doneness” chart that uses realistic food temperatures, and not the USDA’s overly strict, cook-everything-until-well-done guidelines.

I’d rather have mainly safe chicken than dry tasteless chicken, and because I shop at a local butcher who knows his animals and their farmers, I feel that my risk is reduced anyway.

So, unable to find what I was looking for, I’ve started developing my own quick-reference chart.

(The sub-text says: These temperatures are ideal peak temperatures. Meats should be removed from heat 5 to 10°F (2 to 5°C; more for larger cuts) lower and allowed to rise during resting.)
Continue reading “Are we there yet?”

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Pemmican – Part 1

(Part 2 of this article is now available HERE)

Interested in this ancient food for some time, and looking to pack on a few healthy calories, I thought it was time to give pemmican a try.

Basically, pemmican is pulverized dried raw meat and hard rendered fat. Some people add a small amount of berries, nuts, or spice, but basically it’s raw meat and fat. It’s best known as a calorie-dense Native American food that will last years without refrigeration.

Now, I have to admit, I’ve never eaten pemmican before, but I’m a big fan of jerky and biltong, so how bad could it be, right? Continue reading “Pemmican – Part 1”