So I have attempted pemmican once with rendered fat and dried unspiced flank steak. Not to say that it was bad, but it definitely wasn't appetizing. Has anyone tried to make pemmican with steak and coconut oil? I bet if you threw some spices in with it that would be pretty awesome. I'm in need of some backup food.
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I wouldn't recommend it unless you mean to keep it refrigerated, or use it only in the winter. Even then you might end up with a messy disaster rather than what you want, since coconut oil is liquid even at ~70F. Even with an icebox, you might end up with one side being soft and the other melting out. The normal pemmican (Lex Rooker recipe pemmican) grows on you the more you eat it. The first time/first bite is always a bit gross, but after a few more bites you can't stop going back for more. At least that's been my experience over numerous batches. It's also much more practical if you want to carry it somewhere outside of civilization and eat it without a spoon. I tried to season a batch and it didn't really work out. For whatever reason, maybe because I'd already gotten used to the plain stuff, plain always tastes better and is more palatable than a spiced up version. |
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First, spices are key for the jerky part. It is like when people say they do not like turkey burgers, because they are bland, generally they are not self-spicing and require a bit of initiative. Coconut pemmican is doable but again one needs to pair its flavor well with the meat and spice selections. Additionally, coconut oil melts much easier than traditional tallo, so is not suited for carrying close to the body, outdoors pursuits etc... |
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I'm a trial and error sort of gal. I suggest trying some pepper, chili pepper or chili powder, and cinnamon. I think those will go well with coconut oil. |
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Jake, did you ever experiment with the coconut oil pemmican recipe? |
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I just made my first ever pemmican - and used coconut oil. And sea salt. (Reduced sodium Pink Himalayan). I had my butcher slice a lean roast into about 1/8 inch thick slices, then I hung the slices from skewers in my oven - on my oven's lowest setting - 175 degrees, and then realized it was maybe hotter than that, because the meat was dripping onto the floor of the oven...since a baking sheet was too small to catch all the drips, I put two flattened grocery bags on the oven floor...(do you know where I'm going with this?)...and went to watch a movie with my kids. Maybe I should mention the oven had been used to cook the kids dinner in - a frozen spinach pie - so the oven was cooling from that, and although the electronic display said '143' it must have been higher, because, the house filled with smoke and I ran to see what was happening - well, the bags were gone - just gray ashes on the floor of the oven and the hanging meat looked a bit, um, cooked. Oh well. I left the experiment in the oven all night and by morning, it was dry and brittle - I 'ground' it in my food processor and added room temp coconut oil (my house therm reads 71 degrees, it's winter, so the oil is like a very thick paste) in an equal amount...and blended it all together- added the sea salt - and really, what is this I'm making? Meat pudding? Yuck. But I persevered and poured it into a square baking tin and put it in the fridge. Then, I cut it into bars and put them in ziplock bags - in a tupperware, in the fridge. Tastes ok, maybe I'll get used to it. :D Next time I'll do the fan technique and avoid the oven. |
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I've decided not to try. If berries are okay, I'll just buy pemmican bars from http://www.tankabar.com/cgi-bin/nanf/public/main.cvw |
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