Is this what pemmican is supposed to taste like?

YES.

Pemmican was a very old-fashioned way of storing food. Pieces of food embedded in fat. They melted fat until it was liquid and greasy, then added protein e.g. dried meat. It was originally an Indian creation, later adopted by settlers. So it is definitely very fatty and greasy. Keep in mind - it was designed for winter survival in harsh conditions. Your body needs energy. Fats have that stored energy. A good flavor was not the goal - just a food that lasted longer and had high calorie content.

Few users would like pemmican today. Some people make their own - with other fats that are more healthy (lower saturated fat). But any fat that is high in polyunsaturated fats and monosaturated fats will be liquid at room temperature. That destroys the object of making pemmican - the fat is a binder that holds the food together. It needs to be solid.

Usual disclaimer.....no relation to any company. Just like their food.

Target (we like the archer brand) trail mixes.

Lara Bars (VERY FEW ingredients) good for those wanting alternate to many ingredients you can't say. Taste good too.

Costco dipped granola bars (come in choc chip and caramel).

Jerky (find your preference).

All of these were good for us during Irma. Plus canned stuff.

Fat turns rancid much more quickly than dried protein so pemmican probably isn't a very good option for long term storage.

I like Lara bars as well, although they do not keep as well as Clif or Tanka bars. If kept past their "bestby' date, they are noticeably drier and less flavorful..

Pemmican using rendered tallow not "fat" does not go rancid. Reports of pemmican made this way of lasting for years.

Interesting. I've never made it before but that makes sense.

Our whole survival and camping food strategy had to change when my wife was diagnosed with Celiac disease a year ago. Aside from the obvious wheat, barley, and rye, in all their forms and derivatives, many with this auto-immune disorder, including my wife, are also unable to tolerate oats. The sensitivity extends even to foods processed on the same equipment as the above grains. An example is one time while traveling my wife ate some Pringles without reading the ingredients. We spent that evening in the ER...... We had to purge the house and camper of all food, including our stored emergency food, and most of our cooking gear and rethink everything. It took us quite a while to rebuild our supplies and equipment.

Hello again Byrd_, glad to see you are still dropping by.

A person in my extended family is full-blown Celiac, and believe me it's no joke. All our family events deal with this -- even accidentally moving a spoon from one one pot to another can have very serious medical effects. One large exposure can nuke somebody's digestion for many months. Yikes.

So FWIW I understand how that can upend everything. Please post details of how you have adjusted for this.

Quite correct. For proof, refer to the bricks of lard (well-rendered pig fat) stored at room temperature on the shelves of your local supermarket.

Thank you. I took some time away when I retired, but got to spend a lot of it outdoors. You are correct to say that Celiac disease, a hereditary auto-immune disorder, is serious. Undiagnosed, it leads to malnutrition, cancer, and death. This is much different than the 'gluten intolerance' that many people have developed. For a Celiac, a single breadcrumb can cause an immune response as if it were a virus, and seriously damage parts of the digestive system, as well as making the sufferer immediately sick. The reason this is relevant to prepping is that as 'moderate' preppers, we had 30 days of food and water etc in storage. What you learn from Celiac is that many unexpected foods contain, or are contaminted with, grain gluten. For example, none of those 25 year survival rations can be eaten by a person with Celiac, even in an emergency. Canned and frozen green vegetables, jam and jelly, whole chickens, granola bars, most chips and crackers, medications, some canned meat, canned beans, powdered drinks, and the list goes on and on, contain wheat, barley, oat, or rye starch or proteins, or are contaminated in the processing. It was a sick, sinking feeling when we realized that she was now vulnerable and we were no longer 'prepared', nor could anyone come to our aid with food in an emergency. To keep this post from getting too long, I'll tell you what we did in another post.