Kevin Eifler wrote:

>   A question: pemmican is often descibed (as in Neanderthin) as being so
>handy that it can be stored at room temperature and still be ready to eat.
>I sort of imagined hockey puck-like snacks that were firm like oatcakes.
>For those of you out there who have made pemmican yourselves have you
>succeeded in making it firm and "durable" or is the best when frozen
>popsicle-style uswellnessmeats.com version the way it's supposed to be?
>
>
The WellnessMeats people would have to answer this question, but I
believe the
problem is that you can't legally sell meat products like that without
dosing
them with nitrites, etc. Since the bars are chemical-free, they have to
be frozen
or the USDA would shut them down.  I have kept one out for a day or two
and there was nothing wrong with it when I ate it.

Before the USDA, you could have kept it in a cleaned-out deer stomach
for weeks and no problem, right?  I've made my own pemmican, kept in
small jars on the counter for a week or two, ate it with a spoon, and
didn't die of some intestinal disease. The solidity of pemmican depends
on the consistency of the fat used and the ambient temperature.
I made mine with home-rendered organic pork fat (yum), which would
be softer than beef fat.  If you used lamb fat, it would certainly
be firm.

    Lynnet