Modern Trail Food

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Slice the meat you're going to use for jerky into thin strips. 
Slice the meat you're going to use for jerky into thin strips. 
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Insert toothpicks into the end of each piece of meat and hang it in your oven to dry.
Insert toothpicks into the end of each piece of meat and hang it in your oven to dry.
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With these recipes you can make trail food that is delicious, nutritious, sustaining, and easy to carry.
With these recipes you can make trail food that is delicious, nutritious, sustaining, and easy to carry.
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For easier transportability, roll up your sheet of fruit leader and cut it into sections.
For easier transportability, roll up your sheet of fruit leader and cut it into sections.
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To make fruit leather, spread applesauce thinly over a cookie sheet and dry it in your oven.
To make fruit leather, spread applesauce thinly over a cookie sheet and dry it in your oven.
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The author's version of pemmican consists of ground up peaches, apples, raisins, coconut, peanuts, and prunes mixed with margarine, peanut butter, and hone.
The author's version of pemmican consists of ground up peaches, apples, raisins, coconut, peanuts, and prunes mixed with margarine, peanut butter, and hone.
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You can add a coating of powdered sugar to pemmican if you like.
You can add a coating of powdered sugar to pemmican if you like.

When I spend a day outdoors–whether fishing, hunting, hiking, or (more likely) working around the homestead–I don’t always want to stop what I’m doing in order to head home to eat. To solve the problem, I studied some of the foods used by our pioneer (and native American) ancestors. As a result, I’m now able to eat on the go …and my trail food is better tasting and more wholesome than are most commercially available pack-a-long snacks.

In the old days, a woodsman or woman often had to eat whatever was available, and that sometimes didn’t amount to much! So such people learned to carry stashes of one or several trail foods with them, which they used to supplement the (frequently meager) edibles they were able to find, as well as to serve as full fare whenever necessary. The on-the-go goodies were lightweight and compact, and could be prepared before hitting the trail. They kept well and provided plenty of carbohydrates and protein for both quick and long-lasting energy.

My own “pocket pantry” is composed of approximations of those traditional snacks, as well as a couple of modern homemade trail foods. I hope you’ll find them as handy, easy to fix, and enjoyable as I do.

Jerky in Your Oven

You’d have to go some to come up with an edible that’s more firmly anchored in history than is jerky. Mountain folk, cowboys, and native Americans alike counted on this dried meat as a staple. However, if you’ve priced the commercially prepared version lately, you know that ten pounds of it would be close to an even swap for a pickup truck! Making jerky at home is much less expensive, but–if you have to buy the meat–still pretty costly. On the other hand, if you can use meat from your own livestock or (best of all, in my opinion) venison, you can make the trail/survival food for pennies.

  • Published on Sep 1, 1981
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