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The following is a description on how I currently make my Pemmi-Pucks
I have been asked to provide my short list of equipment that I use. They are as follows:
Food processor: Ninja Master Prep
Scales: Salter (no model no.) One 5KG max scale and one 10KG max scale
Dehydrators: Excalibur Model no. 3900. I use the metal trays which are an option.
Foodsaver V3440 Vacuum Sealer
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The first step is getting my meat from the butcher. I currently get 16 KG of Buffalo meat from him (usually eye of round) which makes 4 loads in the dehydrator. I also get 5 KG of Buffalo fat which I get the butcher to grind for me which makes rendering of the fat easier.
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I place the meat on the dehydrator trays. I do not currently place the meat that far apart. I cover the entire tray with meat if possible
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A view of my 2 dehydrators setup in my basement. I have an exhaust fan which takes most of the drying smell . I leave the meat drying for 3-1/2 days at a temperature of 35C (95F)
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I remove the dried meat from the dehydrator and place it in a bowl. I will let it sit for a day until I start the grinding process.
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The next day I start to grind the dried meat. I break the meat into smaller pieces and put them into my Ninja. I grind until it has an even look to it. If I want to make a finer style i would also put the dried meat from the Ninja into my Vitamix and grind it down further into a powder. (too time consuming)
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This is a look at the dried meat after being ground up using the Ninja and now in a glass bowl. Now I'm ready for the fat.
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This is how the fat looks while it is rendering. This process can take up to 8 hours due to the fact I do not want the temp to go above 121C (250F). I try to stay safe at 110C (230F)
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Once the fat has stopped boiling I pour the fat through paper towels to catch all the cracklings and I wind up with nice rendered fat in a bowl
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I usually render my fat ahead of time. This is the fat that I will reheat up to make my pemmi-pucks. I will reheat this fat to a temp around but not above 49C (120F). You will notice that the fat has a yellowy look to it. The amount of yellow will change during the year depending on how much grass the animal has eaten. More in the summer less in the winter
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The fat has been reheated to the required temp and it's now time to make the pemmi-pucks. If the temp of the fat is higher than 65.5C (150F) you will have more time to do the loading of the muffin cups. But due to the higher temp when the pemmi-pucks cool you will see a layer of fat on the top which looks like glazing. With the lower temp you need to work faster but you will have less of a glaze on the top of the pemmi-pucks.
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I start by getting all my muffin cups layed out in the trays. I have 6 trays and doing this before hand lets me not waste any time. Update Dec 5, 2010: I have started using Parchment baking cups. They seem to not soak up the fat like the paper cups do.
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My current mix ratio of fat to meat is 50/50. This is a look at the mixed liquid pemmican ready to be spooned into each muffin cup
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All done loading the muffin cups with pemmican and am now waiting for them to cool. Each Pemmi-Puck will weigh at least 50 gms
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Once cooled I put 1/2 KG or 10 Pemmi-Pucks into a vac-pack and store them away until they are ready to be eaten. I put them in a kitchen shelf since they do not need to be refridgerated.
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The final product. A Pemmi-Puck
I should add that I DO NOT add anything else to my Pemmi-Pucks. It is strictly the meat and the fat.