Pemmican - Food for thought

[Tom_Ranger]

I came across this video on Townsend (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYDuOKI8maQ) about Pemmican and I was wondering if any of you actually made some and tried it as your exclusive food source for several days on a LARP or similar?

I know you can mix nuts and berries with it but that really reduces the shelf life. I would think having some spice handy would be a good item to carry and just plan on making the pemmican into a dish, but it can also be eaten raw.

[Elleth]

I've tried it with less than great success - the taste was something like tallow candles. Maybe I got the ratios wrong, but I really wasn't a fan. I suppose it's rather quick and easy to prepare compared to other preservation methods, and unlike jerky lets you keep the fat - so as a way to quickly make travel rations of meat you intend to cook, perhaps not a bad idea.

But smoked dry sausage is not too different in concept, and much tastier I think.

On the other hand, I've known Alaskan bush pilots to carry a bag of dry dog food in their plane in case they got stuck way out back of beyond - enough food value to keep you alive, but not so tasty you're ever tempted to sneak a snack. Maybe pemmican's meant to be the same. I don't know if I could ignore a bag full of jaegerwurst like I could a bag full of pemmican.

[Turgolanas]

I made some a while back. I found it to be fairly easy to make, and not too horrible - I had enough dried fruit in mine that it tasted similarly to a fruit power bar, complete with the weird power bar aftertaste. My issue was that I had too much tallow and not enough meat, so the mixture did not do well in summer heat. I still need to remake with double the meat that I used.

That being said, it is a necessity food, not an enjoyable one. I would carry it as a snack/backup, or out of necessity on long outings. Also, everyone else who tried it hated it, so your mileage may vary.

[Thalion of Bree]

I've had pemmican before, and on its own, it's not really all that great. However, there is some evidence that it may not have only been eaten on its own; a pemmican stew called Rubaboo was sometimes eaten by the Metis, who introduced it to the Canadian Mounties. I have yet to try Rubaboo, but I imagine with some salt and some potatoes, it would be rather more palatable than the sum of its parts.