Home made trail rations

[Maximilian II]

Somehow I'm thinking this has been covered here before, but I'm interested in everyone's recipes and other thoughts on homemade trail/camp rations. As a diehard history nut and lifelong food consumer I'd love to hear what you guys have to say.
What I'm looking for are things we can make at home from stuff available at the grocery store or gleaned from the wild. Jerky, pemmican, hardtack, whatever. I have a particular interest in "historically accurate" things, but since I camp a lot I'm also happy to hear about modern recipes too.
Let's say for the sake of argument we're talking about food that will keep at least a week or three without refrigeration. Using Ziplock bags to avoid insects is kosher.

[kutaho]

O Pemmican, MMMMM
my recipe
equal amounts of rendered beef fat, shredded jerky, mixed dried fruit, and deluxe mixed nuts (take out the brazil nuts, as these tend to be rancid), rolled into individual bars.
I guarantee this.

[Maximilian II]

A tip for those who are drying meat: alcohol does help to break down fats, which are a problem for making jerky. I like to include whiskey as a marinade/flavor for my jerkeys.
They'll help making your product's shelf life longer.
Hardtack....that's pretty dry already.

Thanks, Kutaho! I'm an amateur when it comes to Pemmican. Proper Pemmican, that is.

So, what are the nuts included? I have a dehydrator (if small) and all recipes are invited here.

[kutaho]

Originally Posted by Maximilian II

A tip for those who are drying meat: alcohol does help to break down fats, which are a problem for making jerky. I like to include whiskey as a marinade/flavor for my jerkeys.
They'll help making your product's shelf life longer.
Hardtack....that's pretty dry already.

Thanks, Kutaho! I'm an amateur when it comes to Pemmican. Proper Pemmican, that is.

So, what are the nuts included? I have a dehydrator (if small) and all recipes are invited here.

The nuts are part of the nutrition balance, i render and clarify the beef fat myself. Lived off the stuff for two weeks, a little bit goes a long way,
and even after all that, i crave the stuff.
a note, don't use regular peanuts, they also have a tendency to go rancid

[BETH]

anyone out there know how to make jerky that does not taste like leather, i live in Ct. and all the jerky here sucks

[kutaho]

Originally Posted by BETH

anyone out there know how to make jerky that does not taste like leather, i live in Ct. and all the jerky here sucks

A lot has to do with the marinade, were you cut the meat from, and how
you cut it. along with how long you smoke it.
first off, 1/8 inch is way to thin, our master jerky maker cuts his 1" by 1".

[Maximilian II]

Kutaho, I'm thinking you have knowledge I need. More detail as you're willing to impart, please!
I've tried to get Dad to explain rendering fat, but he's got Alzheimer's these days and has difficulties in articulating things sometimes.
At least he was able to teach me about the salt box and pork!
I've had some good jerky and make decent hardtack, but never have had or made pemmican I can say was good. I'm looking at your recipe for my next venture!

Does the salt in the nuts suffice, or should I add more to the overall mix?

1" jerky? Sounds thick, but then I never tried it either. Think this will work in my little WalMart dehydrator?

[kutaho]

Being thick is the key to tender jerky, We have a couple of guys here that
make jerky for the most of us. Thick jerky is always tender, thin has a tendency to be as BETH would say 'like leather'. 1" by 1" is important as it gives you a more even dehydration.
rendering fat is easy.
First off, if you can, know were the beef came from. and its diet.
I get my fat from friend's butchered out steers. I now it's clean meat.
put the fat in your cast iron skillet at med. heat, Not to hot. once it's liquefied
let it set. all particulates will settle to the bottom. Then you skim the clarified fat off the top. And the salt in the jerky and mixed nuts is all you need.

[Maximilian II]

Excellent! I'll try that next time I get the itch to make some pemmican.

[Maximilian II]

Hey, what cuts of meat do you reccomend? I've heard eye round roast, rump steak, and London Broil are best.
I'll be talking to the butcher soon.

[kutaho]

Flank or round.
as long as its lean!

[doug66]

Originally Posted by BETH

anyone out there know how to make jerky that does not taste like leather, i live in Ct. and all the jerky here sucks

Dissolve 2/3 cup of brown sugar in a quart of soy sauce. Pour over venison/lean red meat. Cut 1/4" thick. Let meat soak in ice box over night. Drain and sprinkle with cayenne. Dry meat in oven @ 200 with door cracked, I use dehydrator. It is done when it feels like leather.

[Maximilian II]

Thanks! I use a dehydrator too, just a little el cheapo Wal Mart dryer.

[Oldeyes]

A still high energy (and albeit somewhat stickier), yet lower saturated fat version of pemmican can be made by combining raisins, diced dried apricots, toasted oats, lightly chopped up mixed nuts and honey to bind it all together into a nice 'glump'. This modernized version of pemmican has to be carried in a zip lock plastic bag, but it is a good high energy source that keeps well in the field. Use wet or vegetable shortening greased hands and a large mixing bowl to put together enough for your immediate field needs. Any remaining will store well in the refrigerator until needed. The honey's natural anti-bacterial properties retard this pemmican's potential spoilage in the field. The Wal-Mart Great Value brand of toasted oats have a most distinctive background flavor that is excellent when used in this recipe.

[carver]

I also make my own trail mix, but the recipe has changed since I am now a dibetic. I just leave out the fruit mostly, and add in some small pretzels, crackers, corn chips, and nuts. Now, the corn chips are important! Did you know that if you light a regular corn chip with a match, it will burn hot for well over a minute?

[Maximilian II]

I had heard, but forgotten, that tidbit of survival lore. Thanks for the reminder!

[rick2gun]

I got the recipe below from somewhere on the net. I have made a couple of batches and tried it out on more than half a dozen friends. I used envelopes of Idahoan Potato Mix. I aslo used Wyler's Chicken Granules. They are 31% salt and along with the seasoned salt (Lawrey's) in the recipe, some said it was too salty. Everybody said more garlic powder. Instead of onion flakes I recommend onion powder.

POTATO SOUP
1 3/4 cups instant potato flakes
1 1/2 cup dry powdered milk
2 tbs. chicken bouillon granules
1 tablespoon parsley
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
¼ tsp of pepper
¼ tsp. paprika
¼ tsp. thyme
1/8 tsp. turmeric
½ to 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
To make soup:
Put 1/2 cup mix into a bowl. Add one cup or less of boiling water and stir.

Since the soup has almost no protein, I will offer another solution to you.
Some call it: "Hamburg Dirt"

Take two pounds of 90 / 95 percent meat and brown it in a pan. While doing this I start a large pot of water on the stove to boiling as well. Add some Montreal Steak Seasoning (McCormick's) to the browning hamburg. After the meat is well browned, put it in a strainer to drain any fat off it. Pour the boiling water over it to get all of or as much grease off it as possible.
next step is to place the crumbled hamburg in to a food dehydrator and dry for as long as it takes to turn it into very small pebbles that become dust when crushed. It is a lot like making jerky and both recipes can be carried in plastic trail bags. A couple of spoons of burger can't hurt a bowl of potao soup.

[BETH]

Kutaho sounds like a lot of work isn't there a store that sells good jerky?

[Insulation Tim]

Originally Posted by BETH

Kutaho sounds like a lot of work isn't there a store that sells good jerky?

Hands down, the best jerky I've ever eaten is HERE

I learned about the company playing golf one day. Another twosome hooked up with my twosome and we started to talk. One guy worked for one of the large potato producer companies, maybe Or-Ida. He had to make 2 trips a year to China for 2-3 weeks each. He refused to eat their food. He lived exclusively off of Wild Joe's jerky, bottled water and saltine crackers.

If you like quality jerky, not the crap in the stores, gas stations, etc., this is amongst the best.

[JUNKKING]

There are alot of good commercial jerkys out there but at close to 30 bucks a pound I would rather make my own and pump up my chest and say I made this!

[wpage]

My buddy Pete has the best bug out solutions...
Favorite is what mountain climbers prefer light and protein rich. Easy go to Costco and get their mix then modify it with what you like extra raisins, nuts, cranberry, and drop into zip lock bags.
Be certain to exhale out the excess air to prevent oxidation.
Enjoy!

[Maximilian II]

I should have remembered to post this, but I did try Kutaho's tip and used thicker cuts of meat for my last batch of jerky. Works as advertised, the jerky is more tender and tasty.

Last batch of hardtack had the opposite problem. Too thick, it came out with a doughy flavor. I don't think it cooked through completely.