Cecilia,

        Yours wasn't the only happy dog after a failed pemmican experiment.  I
tried reading the archives for instructions, but either I lack the basic
knowledge to use what is there, or I'm not finding the right instructions.
I too would appreciate some hints from experienced pemmican makers, e.g.:

        How "powered" must the jerky be?  I think one problem I had was my dried
meat was to course.
        By "rendering" the fat, does that just mean cooking it on medium heat until
it is liquid?  One big mystery to me was, What in the world is a rind?
After my failed experiment, I'm guessing it was the dried up looking
leftovers from the melted fat.
        What should the rendered fat look like when it is done?  I didn't cut my
fat up into small enough chunks, I think, and the big pieces on the bottom
burned.  My finished product, after straining and reheating, was brownish
clear.  Is this because of the burning?  Is this why it tasted funny?
Should it be completely clear?
        Finally, what should the final product looks, smell and taste like?  What
consistency?  I imagined slightly greasy balls or patties of meat, suitable
for use as finger food, with a napkin.  What I got was a muffin pan filled
with a coarse glop that could only be eaten with a spoon or fork.  If
somebody could just answer that last question and give me some idea of what
I'm shooting for, then I'd be willing to keep trying with a specific goal in
mind.  But not knowing whether my experiment failed, or whether I just don't
like pemmican, makes experimenting tough...

        Robert, who'd love to be able to consume calories priced locally at 10
cents a pound.

-----Original Message-----
From: Cecilia Thornton-Egan


Has anyone written a Pemmican Manifesto yet?  Ie. many and varied pemmican
recipes from archives? I am currently pemmican-hunting.  My early efforts
at making it were disastrous but at least the dog had a good feed.

Cecilia Thornton-Egan.
(Messenger From Down Under).