Hell Fire Stew
Ingredients:
- Hardtack*
- Water
- 1 Square of Pimihkan
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions:
- Crush the hardtack so that at least some of it is in fine crumbs. To do this, stick the hardtack in a bag and hit it with whatever blunt instrument you have on hand.
- In a bowl, pour some water over the crushed hardtack and let it sit for a few minutes until it soaks up the water and softens a bit.
- Heat the Pimihkan in a large skillet and add the soaked hardtack. Sprinkle it with a little salt and pepper and stir it around until it browns, a couple of minutes.
- Once the hell fire stew has browned, serve it forth.
Lobscouse
Ingredients:
- 2 thick slices corned beef*, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 slices salt pork or fatty bacon**, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 medium onions, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 6 medium yellow potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 2 pieces of hardtack
Instructions:
- Soak the corned beef in water for a couple of hours to draw out some of the salt. If you’re using salt pork, soak that as well.
- Fry the bacon or salt pork in a large pot over high heat until most of the fat has melted. Add the sliced onion and stir so that the onions are evenly coated in the fat. Reduce the heat and fry the onions until they are lightly browned, about 7 to 8 minutes.
- Drain the corned beef and add it to the pot along with the potatoes. Add just enough water to cover everything. Stir in the pepper. If you’re using fresh beef instead of corned, add a couple of teaspoons of salt now (you can add some salt if you’re using corned beef, but you probably don’t need to). Bring the lobscouse to a simmer, then cover and let it cook for 45 minutes.
- Put the hardtack into a bag and beat them with a mallet or hammer to break them up into small pieces. Really give it what for. The smaller the pieces are, the better.
- Stir the broken hardtack into the lobscouse. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt or pepper if desired. If you’d like the stew to be thicker, mix 1 tablespoon of flour into a little cold water, then stir that into the stew. Cook for another few minutes, then serve it.
Here’s a more detailed look at how hardtack can be used in meals:
- Soaking: Hardtack can be softened by soaking it in liquids such as coffee, water, or even brine.
- Adding to stews: It can be crumbled and added to stews and soups, where it will absorb the liquid and become tender, as in “lobscouse”.
- Frying: Hardtack can be soaked in water and then fried in bacon fat or lard, creating a dish called “skillygalee”.
- Used as a thickening agent: It can be ground up or crumbled and used to thicken soups or make a type of mush or pudding.
- Mix with other ingredients: Soldiers sometimes mixed hardtack with items like condensed milk purchased from sutlers.
- Used as a side dish: Hardtack can be enjoyed as a side dish with hearty soups, chowders, and stews.
- Used as a base for other dishes: Hardtack can be used as a base for dishes like “Johnny Cake,” where it’s crushed and mixed with other ingredients before baking.
Rubaboo: Pemmican Stew
Ingredients:
- 2 Squares of Pemmican
- 1/2 cup (60 g) flour (Can substitute Hard Tack if necessary)
- 2 onions, diced
- 1 quart (1 L) water
- 2 cups chopped potatoes, about 2 to 3 potatoes
- Herbs, whatever you like
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
- Break the pemmican into small pieces, then put them in a pot over medium-high heat. Stir it around until you can smell it cooking.
- Add the onions and stir to coat them with the melted fat and cook for about 5 minutes until they’re lightly browned. Add the flour and stir until everything is evenly coated. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Stir in the water. For a thinner stew, you can add more water. This recipe makes a nice, thick stew. Add the potatoes and any herbs, salt, and pepper that you want to throw in. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
- When the stew has thickened and the potatoes are nice and tender, serve it forth. Enjoy it with a cup of tea and some arctic winds for extra authenticity.
credit: https://www.tastinghistory.com/recipes/rubabooboo
This is a classic use of pemmican. You can break the pemmican into pieces, put them in a pot with water and flour, and stir until the fat melts and you can smell it cooking.
You can then add ingredients like wild onions or potatoes, herbs, salt, and pepper.
Rechaud: Pemmican Hash
Ingredients:
- 2 squares of pemmican
- Chopped onion
- Chopped peppers
- Cubed potatoes
- Garlic
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions:
1: Chop or grate pemmican into the a skillet. Heat the skillet to medium heat until the fat begins to melt. Stir in your other ingredients and brown everything until vegetable soften. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.
Stir-fry:
You can pan-fry pemmican and add local vegetables to create a stir-fry.
Soup base:
You can use pemmican as a base for soups, adding water, flour or hard tack and desired vegetables along with bouillon. Many people have used pemmican, bouillon, freeze dried vegetable, flour and water.
Pizza topping:
One user used pemmican as a pizza topping on bannock bread with dried tomato paste for sauce and melted cheese.
