Pemmican
By Henry Stelfox
During the latter part of the seventeenth century fur traders were striving for the most suitable trading localities in Western Canada, goods used by them in trade and barter had to be transported long distances by canoes. It was not possible to carry fresh fruit, vegetables and meat like those used by people who travel today. It was necessary to find a substitute which would contain food qualities necessary to insure good health, and at the same time to be of such concentrated form as to occupy a very small space. It must also have the preservative qualities essential for long journeys. To meet these needs pemmican was used extensively by the voyageurs, traders, trappers, Indians and Metis in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It was used to such an extent, that it had a very important place in the trade goods of Canada.
The manner in which it was made depended a lot on the time of the season, the animals used, the amount of available wild fruit, fat, nuts, sugar, salt, etc.
The majority of the pemmican made on the Plains before and during the early days of white settlement, was made from buffalo meat, prepared as follows by Indians:
No. I. The meat was cut into strips and hung up to dry on racks over a slow fire, turned over a few times, and when thoroughly dried, was pounded until all the fibres in it were broken up. It was then packed away in sacks or other containers for future use. That was a very rough way to make it, and in most cases considerable blood was still in and on the meat, which was not seasoned. If this meat was thoroughly dried, and then thoroughly pounded and hung in a dry place away from dampness, it would keep for several years.
No. 2. Prepared as above, then boiling fat sprinkled on it and throughly mixed by hand. When all of the meat was coated with the fat, it was put into rawhide sacks and throughly pressed down and the balance of the boiling fat poured on top.
No. 3. Prepared as in No.2 with pounded saskatoon berries (or other berries used in the making of pemmican, such as blueberries, huckleberries or any of the other edible berries which the Indians used, depending on which was available) put in to suit their taste or according to the amount of fruit obtainable. In some cases, for 100 pounds of dried pounded meat, only sufficient fat would be used to cause the mixture to stick together, and it might have only five pounds of dried fruit in it. There were many different proportions up to equal quantities of meat, fat and fruit with a little sugar mixed in it. All was pressed down tight in the container. According to some records, it is doubtful if the Plains Indians made more than 5% of their pemmican with berries mixed in. It was considered to to have a very flat taste, owing to lack of seasoning.
No. 4. The best quality of pemmican was considered by some to be made by the Stoney Indians, of the Kootenai Plains and Big Horn Range of mountains. Cut the lean meat, also the fat meat (Bighorn Sheep meat preferred to any other), into thin flat slices. Thoroughly wash it in clean cold water, then put the lean meat in a brine over night, and add a little soda to the brine. After being in brine from 12 - 24 hours (according to strength of brine) the meat was put on a rack made out of thin sticks over a slow fire, peppered and turned once or twice during the day. The fire was allowed to be close enough to cook the meat during its drying process. Care was taken not to expose the meat to the night dew. The fat was fried until thoroughly cooked. Saskatoon berries, or blueberries, sultana raisins, huckleberrries or any other edible dried fruit was pounded or put through a meat grinder, and sugar added to suit taste. The container to be used was greased with some of the boiling fat, and into it a layer of the cooked fat, a layer of the prepeared meat, then a layer of the prepared fruit. Alternate layers of fat, meat and fruit were used in proportion of about 50 pounds of fat and 50 pounds of fruit. All was pressed as tightly as possible into the container. (A red berry found in the mountains and called "cam-sagi-min-sa" was the favorite berry used by the Stoney Indians in the manufacture of Mountain Sheep pemmican.)
No. 5. Equal quantities of dried pounded meat (beef, moose, elk or deer) and boiling fat thoroughly mixed and seasoned and pressed down tight in the container used. For mid winter use and for cold latitudes a larger percentage of fat was useful.
No. 6. Equal quantities of dried pounded meat, fat and fruit suitably flavored, method as above.
No. 7. (The following is a recipe from William Swan, a Metis whose grandfather carried mail for the Hudsons' Bay Company from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, to British Columbia and other points about 1860.) Fifty parts of dried pounded lean meat to fifty parts of dried and pounded saskatoon berries. A little sugar, salt and pepper added, and the meat and fruit thoroughly mixed. During the mixing process sprinkle the boiling fat on the ingredients until it is all thoroughly coated with the fat. Then thoroughly press it into a dressed raw hide sack with all hair removed and thoroughly fleshed, the inside being greased with the boiling fat. Pour the remainder of the boiling fat on top and seal and hang in a cool dry place.
(William Swan claimed that the majority of the pemmican made by Indians on the plains was lacking in flavor and had a very flat taste owing to lack of sugar, salt and pepper.)
No. 8. (The following is a recipe which William Swan's mother and grandmother used when making a high quality pemmican for sale to the Hudson's Bay Factors:) Cut the lean meat into suitable strips for drying, wash thoroughly in clean cold water, then place in a barrel or other container in which is a medium brine, add a little soda, mix, allow the meat to remain in the brine from 12 - 24 hours according to the strength of the brine. Then remove the meat from the brine, stretch it by hand, dust it with pepper, and place it on thin sticks which form a rack (or hang it up) over a slow fire. Guard against flies and dew. When thoroughly dry, pound it until floury and all tissues are broken. Add an equal quantity of pounded dry saskatoon berries. Add sugar and boiling fat as in recipe 7. Equal quantities of meat, fat and berries can be used if desired.
Before refined sugar was introduced to Canada by white people, the Cree, Saulteaux (Chippewa), Stoney, Blackfeet, Blood, Kootenais and Shushwaps collected in the spring of the year sap from birch and box elder in the same manner that maple sap is collected in Eastern Canada, and put it through the same boiling process to convert it into syrup and sugar.
The salt used by the Saulteaux, Stoneys and Crees of Central Alberta was made from alkali found in some of the big alkali beds in what is now known as Wainwright National Park.
(Editor's note: Buffalo National Park Wainwright existed from 1909 until 1940, when the Department of National Defense created a training base. The herd of buffalo had grown so large at the Park that their grazing area could not sustain the herd, and large numbers of buffalo were shipped to Wood Buffalo Park and to other points around the world before the decision was made to close Buffalo National Park. In 2007, Alberta's largest herd of buffalo is at Wood Buffalo National Park in the northeast corner of the province.)
