Pemmican

Kyle came by the stand and asked for lamb suet.  “What’s that?" I asked.  "Suet is the hard fat found around the kidneys of beef or sheep," he told me.

“I use lamb suet for cooking in place of other fats. I prefer the taste of lamb fat and find that it compliments most vegetables well. The other thing I use suet for is to make Pemmican, a food of Native Americans. Pemmican was used during times of famine and during migration. It keeps for long periods and provides protein/fat/energy. I like to make it and take it when I go hiking.”

Mr. Darling said he would collect suet from the lambs he slaughtered that week.  Kyle was delighted with the suet when he picked it up the following Saturday.  Later he emailed me his recipe.

"Traditionally Pemmican is made with beef, however I prefer the taste of lamb.    
        * First you want to start with fresh ground lamb. You will need a food dehydrator to dry it in. Make sure your dehydrator is equipped to handle meat and dry it according to the instructions for the dehydrator.
        * Once the meat is fully dry you want to grind it into a powder. It is important to make sure it is completely dry or it will not grind well. You can use either a blender or food processor for this.
        *  Once ground, store in an airtight container.
        *  Now you want to render your suet
        * To render the suet you want to place it in a stock pot and cover it with water(it is best to either grind the suet or chop it in small pieces) to the water you want to add 1T of salt per pound of suet. Bring the water to a boil and then simmer 10 minutes per pound of suet. Then you want to strain the liquid from the gristle. Let the liquid sit in a dish. As it cools the fat will solidify on top of the water. When it is firm enough you can remove it and rinse it off with water.
        *  Allow the rendered fat to dry.
        *  The idea is to have a 50/50 mix of fat and dried meat
        * Once the fat has dried you want to warm it up again so it will mix well with the dried meat
       * When you are mixing it up you may add seasonings. Traditionally dried wild berries were added. You can add anything as long as it is dry (herbs, dried fruit, salt, pepper) the only exception is honey. I personally enjoy adding honey. The idea of keeping it dry is to ensure a good shelf life.
        * Once you have it mixed up spread it on a cookie sheet to be sliced up or roll it into balls.
        * I find it stores best in the freezer, but given the nature of it you really just need to keep it sealed in an airtight container.

Nothing really has to be exact in the measurements; some people like 40/60% fat/meat others like more fat.  I hope to make some  pemmican this fall when I go camping."