pem·mi·can also pem·i·can 
(pĕmĭ-kən)
(pĕmĭ-kən)n.
1. A food prepared by Native Americans from lean dried strips of meat pounded into paste, mixed with fat and berries, and pressed into small cakes.
2. A food made chiefly from beef, dried fruit, and suet, used as emergency rations.
[Cree pimihkān, from pimihkēw, he makes grease, makes pemmican, from Proto-Algonquian *pemihkēwa : *pemyi, grease + *-ehkē-, to make, gather.]