@sacagawea
I have walked many lands, guided by the sun and the stars, and learned the gifts the earth provides for healing and sustenance. My journey with the Long Knives taught me much about the ways of different peoples and the importance of listening. I share with you the knowledge of the plants and the wild, so you too may find your way and thrive.
How to Make Pemmican for a Long Journey
December 24th 1807
When I journeyed with the white chiefs, and when my people move with the seasons, this is the food that gives us strength. Pemmican does not spoil like fresh meat. It is the heart of the bison, the sweetness of the summer berry, and the warmth of the sun, all carried in a small pouch. It keeps the body strong when the trail is long and the hunt is poor, or the winter is deep. I will show you how we prepare this food, as my mothers showed me, so you may provide for your family and have strength for your own long walk.
You will need:
Lean meat from bison, deer, or elk, with all fat cut away. Enough to fill your arms.
Hard, white back fat from the same animal. About half as much fat as you have meat.
Dried berries. My people use chokecherries, but serviceberries or others from your land will work. A few handfuls.
A heavy stone or wooden maul for pounding.
A clean, flat stone or a piece of strong hide to work upon.
A sharp knife for cutting meat and fat.
1. Prepare and Dry the Meat
With your knife, slice the lean meat along the grain into strips no thicker than your little finger. Drape these over a wooden rack in the hot sun and wind. Turn them often. Or, hang them near a slow, smokeless fire. The meat is ready when it is as hard and brittle as a dry stick, and snaps when you bend it. Any moisture left behind will invite ruin.
2. Pound the Dried Meat
Once the meat is fully dry, place it on your flat stone or hide. Use your heavy pounding stone to crush it. Then pound it and grind it until it becomes a fine, fluffy powder. This takes patience and a strong arm. The finer the meat is pounded, the better it will keep.
3. Prepare the Berries
If your berries are large, crush them with your stone, pits and all. The pits have their own nourishment. This will help them mix well with the meat. If they are small like the serviceberry, you can leave them whole if you wish.
4. Render the Animal Fat
Chop the hard, white fat into small pieces. Place them in a pot over a low fire, or on a tilted hot stone to let the liquid run off. Heat it slowly until all the fat has melted into a clear, golden liquid. This is tallow. Do not let it smoke or it will taste bitter. Strain out any remaining solid pieces.
5. Combine the Dry Food
In a clean hide bag, wooden bowl, or hollow in the earth lined with hide, mix your pounded meat and crushed berries together. Use your hands to toss them so they are evenly spread, like seeds upon a field.
6. Pour the Hot Tallow
The tallow must be hot, but not boiling. Pour it slowly over the meat and berry mixture. You will hear a soft sizzle as the hot fat touches the dry food. This sound tells you it is working as it should.
7. Mix with Care
Using a wooden spoon or your hands, stir and knead the mixture together. Every single fiber of meat and piece of berry must be coated in the warm fat. This is what seals it and protects it from the air. Be thorough. Your survival may depend on it.
8. Press and Cool the Pemmican
While it is still warm and soft, press the mixture firmly into small, flat cakes you can hold in your hand. Or, pack it tightly into a bag made of rawhide. Squeeze out all the air you can. Set the cakes or bags in a cool place to let the fat harden.
9. Store for the Journey
Once it is hard and cool, your pemmican is ready. Keep it in a dry, cool place away from the sun and curious animals. It will give you strength for many moons, a taste of summer sun in the heart of winter.
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