View Full Version : Dried/Smoked Meats for trail.
Our ancestors had ways to preserve meats for future use. Other than jerky and commercial freeze dried foods there seems to be a dearth of sources for meats that do not require refrigeration.
I was in Maine earlier this summer and came across this company. I have tried several of their products and found them to be tasty and high quality. I especially enjoyed their Honey Cured Dried Smoked Beef Jerky, the Dried Kielbasa Snack Stick and the Dried Maine Hog-in Berry Snack Stick.
Their web page I www.LogSmokehouse.net.
Response was quite good and they have a nice selection. Does anyone have any other sources they can recommend?
Boliche
Daydream Believer
08-14-2010, 09:40
What a neat site. Do you know if they use any MSG or wheat gluten in their products? I enjoyed their site but I could not find information on ingredients for each product.
I cannot say either way. You know, guydom rule, if it tastes good it is.
Boliche
I just called them, and the answer is "no". They do it the old-fashioned way.
Wise Old Owl
08-14-2010, 10:57
What a neat site. Do you know if they use any MSG or wheat gluten in their products? I enjoyed their site but I could not find information on ingredients for each product.
MSG and Glutens are not used in smoking processes. And science studies have disproven sesitivities to MSG. in normal levels.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate
What is used is salt cures which contain nitrates. Nitrates in small amounts add a tremedous shelf life to meats. They also cause some water retention in humans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curing_(food_preservation)
mister krabs
08-14-2010, 11:53
Response was quite good and they have a nice selection. Does anyone have any other sources they can recommend?
Boliche
Oh Duuuuuude, at this moment I'm eating a sanguich made with fresh pastrami from Patak meats in smyrna. This morning I had some of their fresh smoked peppered bacon. You will never buy meat at the grocery again.
You gotta go, it's smoked meat nirvana and really close to you, just off the east west connector.
http://www.patakmeats.com/
Do not go on the first saturday of the month, it's a madhouse. Go on a week day.
Mister Crabs, thanks for the info. I will be there Wednesday or Thursday to check it out.
Boliche
Always pricey where ever I find it but salmon candy(dried salmon) is a delicch treat on the trail.
Big Dawg
08-14-2010, 22:38
jacklinks.com,, especially their Tender Cuts and Nuggets!
Secret Squirrel
08-15-2010, 05:15
Our ancestors had ways to preserve meats for future use. Other than jerky and commercial freeze dried foods there seems to be a dearth of sources for meats that do not require refrigeration.
I was in Maine earlier this summer and came across this company. I have tried several of their products and found them to be tasty and high quality. I especially enjoyed their Honey Cured Dried Smoked Beef Jerky, the Dried Kielbasa Snack Stick and the Dried Maine Hog-in Berry Snack Stick.
Their web page I www.LogSmokehouse.net.
Response was quite good and they have a nice selection. Does anyone have any other sources they can recommend?
Boliche
Country Hams, as they are called are salt cured and last months without refrigeration. Smithfield is one brand name, there are many others. As I grew up in Virginia, country ham was and is a standard for the Thanksgiving meal. These hams are quite salty and are an acquired taste. Many people will soak them overnight in water before eating.
Wise Old Owl
08-15-2010, 13:08
SSquirrel chopped potato in the water will futher reduce the salt, I found out.
Danielsen
08-15-2010, 16:22
Dried salmon is fantastic!
But here's the ultimate dried meat food: pemmican. Accomplished by drying thin strips of meat (we're talking paper-dry here, not jerky) and powdering them, and then mixing them with rendered organ or muscle fat. Organ-fat pemmican lasts longest and is most solid, though muscle-fat pemmican is slightly easier to digest and some prefer the taste and consistency.
Either version lasts an incredible amount of time and due to being uncooked delivers copious amounts of nearly all the nutrients needed for the body (including scurvy prevention) and is digested at minimal energy cost. It's also very safe due to the lack of moisture and antibacterial effects of saturated fat.
Numerous populations of people in history (including native americans during winter, french fur trappers, polar explorers, and even modern nutritional contrarians) have survived for extended periods of time on diets of pemmican in excellent health. A backpacker could probably satisfy their needs on a pound or less per day (first you have to adjust your metabolism to stop craving carbohydrates, of course...). Control of pemmican supply on the american frontier even led to armed conflict. Following the timbering of America and the rise of our grain industry, pemmican became another of those forgotten relics of the past.
Of course, if you cling to the doctrines of Ancel Key's lipid hypothesis I'm sure you'll want to shy away for fear of the saturated fat clogging up your heart and striking you dead in no time flat (just like it did to the native americans and french fur trappers... right?).
Sadly, the only way to get good pemmican these days is to make it yourself. Any lean cuts of meat (cheap or pricey, you won't notice too much difference) and ask a local butcher for some cuts of fat to render (organ or muscle, your choice). Obviously grass-fed will provide more nutrients and a better omega-3 to omega-6 ratio than grain-fed meats.
There are some modern products sold as "pemmican" which are full of salt and flavorings or are simply glorified beef jerky, none of which are as nutritious and sustaining as true pemmican. Ignore those.
Personally, I wouldn't be happy eating just pemmican every day. I'm a food lover, and I love variety. But I might just carry an extra pound in the bottom of my pack in case I need a serious calorie boost.