Pemmican

Method

1. Trim 250 g of lean beef of every visible speck of fat, silverskin and sinew — fat left in the meat is what makes pemmican go rancid. Firm the meat in the freezer for 20 minutes, then slice it across the grain as thinly as you can manage, about 3 mm.
2. Lay the slices in a single layer on wire racks set over baking trays, not touching. Dry in the oven at 70C with the door propped open a finger's width for 8 hours, turning the slices once halfway, until they are dark, brittle and snap cleanly instead of bending. If any piece is still leathery, give it another hour.
3. Cool the dried meat completely on the racks — an hour on the counter — so no steam is trapped. Break it up and pound it in a mortar with 2 g of salt, or pulse it in short bursts in a food processor, until you have a dry, fluffy powder with no chewy shreds left. Traditionally it should be fine enough to feel like coarse flour.