Snack in the Saddle - Pemmican!

Often in the trek west, our ancestors had to find quick, nutritious meals without the convenience of today’s snack foods. One solution to this was a food often called pemmican. There are many different recipes for this frontier fast food, and here is a modernized one that uses dried blue berries and peanut butter. This would be a great addition to a unit study on the Westward Expansion in the USA, or on pioneering in general.

SUPPLIES/INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Jerky, either beef or venison
1 cup dried blueberries*
1 cup un-roasted sunflower seeds or crushed nuts of any kind
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 cup peanut butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. This version uses peanut butter rather than melted lard as the binding agent, which is much better suited to today’s tastes and need for conscious diets.
2. Grind [or pound] the dried meat to a mealy powder.
3. Add the dried berries and seeds or nuts.
4. Heat the honey, peanut butter until softened. Blend.
5. When cooled, store in a plastic bag in a cool dry place.

Supposedly this will keep for months, but it doesn’t last long at our house. If you can’t find or use dried blueberries, please feel free to use other dried fruits. You can used dried cranberries, raisins, applies, apricots, peaches, etc.

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