Today is National Bison Day and to celebrate we made some Oregon Trail bison jerky. If you’re looking for a unit study on Westward expansion or Westward Ho Unit Study grab my ideas.
If you are studying pioneers and westward expansion you’ll have fun with your kids making my Oregon Trail bison jerky.
Cooking is a great way to learn about the times and work some practical life skills into your lessons.
Westward expansion, wagon trains, pioneer life, wide open prairies, hopes of new and exciting lands full of game and promise- what a time it must have been.
It was also hard work, using what you could find, sicknesses on the trail, and eating whatever you could scare up.
I am still pretty sure I would happily don my bonnet and apron to load up in a wagon for that great adventure.
Oregon Trail Bison Jerky
One thing that was a staple for many on the Oregon Trail was bison.
A great way to preserve it was to turn it into jerky so it could be eaten longer.
Pioneers used the sun, wind, and smoke from carefully controlled fires to turn fresh meat into jerky.
The cooking method is very different today as well as the method of obtaining the bison.
However, it’s still fun to get as close as you can to what the pioneers on the Oregon Trail might have eaten.
What’s the Difference Between Buffalo and Bison
Aren’t they the same thing? They are not in fact.
Bison have large humps at the shoulders and bigger heads than buffalo do.
They also have beards and thick coats that they shed in warmer weather.
Cape and water buffalo are native to Africa and Asia. Bison can be found in North America and Europe.
Oregon Trail Hands-on Activities
- Make a cute No Sew Pioneer Rag Doll like children might have taken with them on their journey.
- Watch Sacagawea on Amazon prime for a different perspective on this time period.
- 10 Westward Expansion Hands-on History Activities
- Paint some Pioneer Peg Dolls to recreate your family on the Oregon Trail.
- 7 Educational Movies for Kids About Westward Expansion
- Free Westward Ho History Cards
- Print out this Westward Expansion map lesson.
- Explore the animals of the Wild West with a video that shares over two dozen of the animals that made up the westward area.
Grab these fun Westward Ho Coloring Pages to add to your fun Westward Expansion activities.
Next, look at these books.
Westward Expansion Books and Resources
Add in a few books and one gameboard to your study.
10 Westward Expansion Resources
Add in a few books and resources to bring the study of the Oregon Trail to life during the United States expansion of the west.
Your Life as a Pioneer on The Oregon Trail, has some funny illustrations and great information for this unit study.
Of course ALL the Little House Books are some of the best about pioneer life.
The Ingalls are the most famous pioneers and westward moving families.
A True Book: Westward Expansion takes readers on an amazing journey to a fascinating time in U.S. history when the country was experiencing dynamic change and expanding westward.
In this boxed set, choose your own trail and complete the journey to Oregon City with all four paperbacks in this exciting series! It's 1850 and your first goal is to get your family, covered wagon full of supplies, and oxen to Chimney Rock on time.
- It's a race to Willamette Valley as you join the wagon train and seek your fortune in the West!
Apples, ho! When Papa decides to pull up roots and move from Iowa to Oregon, he can’t bear to leave his precious apple trees behind. Or his peaches, plums, grapes, cherries, and pears. Oh, and he takes his family along too.
It is the summer of 1869, and trains, crews, and family are traveling together, riding America’s brand-new transcontinental railroad. These pages come alive with the details of the trip and the sounds, speed, and strength of the mighty locomotives; the work that keeps them moving; and the thrill of travel from plains to mountain to
ocean
Try your luck, and search for your fortune in California! Follow the joy and heartbreak of the '49ers during the California Gold Rush.
In 1853, the Larkin family loaded up their wagons and headed west in search of a new life. But how did they do it? What did they eat? How did they survive sickness, and attacks from cattle thieves? Drawing on diaries and letters, and illustrated with photographs of actual object from the past, Daily Life in a Covered Wagon explored what life was really like on the wagon trail.
Illustrations and simple rhyming text follow Mother, Father, and Baby John as they make the difficult journey by wagon to a new home across the Rocky Mountains in the fertile Sacramento Valley of California. By the creators of Gold Fever.
Additionally, here are a few tips about cooking with bison.
3 Tips on Cooking With Bison
Then a few final tips about bison before we begin.
- I found ground bison at both Walmart and Target. But if you can’t find it or would just don’t care for it you can follow the same recipe with ground beef, choose the lowest fat beef you can find like 90/10.
- If you think you will get more use out of it these jerky guns, it comes in handy for making your own out of all sorts of ground meat.
- Ground beef jerky is much more brittle than that made from muscle. So you will need to take more care when storing or your pieces will end up as crumbs.
Finally, let’s make Oregon Trail jerky.
How to Make Oregon Trail Jerky
Here is what you need:
- 1 pound ground bison
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon onion flakes
- ⅛ teaspoon ground red pepper flakes
First, preheat your oven to 200℉.
Spray a large baking sheet well with nonstick cooking spray.
Place all the ingredients in a large bowl.
Mix well with your hands to completely combine.
If you have a jerky gun load the ingredients.
Follow the directions for making flat or tubular jerky, otherwise follow along with the rest of my steps/
Place the mixture between two large sheets of parchment paper or waxed paper and roll out to about ⅛” thickness.
Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut into 1”x 4” to 5” strips.
Transfer carefully to a large pan using a knife or spatula to lift each piece from the parchment paper.
Leave a little space between each so that the air circulates and they are able to dry evenly.
Bake for 2 hours, then flip each piece carefully and bake for another 2 hours or until completely dry.
Store in an airtight jar for up to a month.
I served ours up to try in little pockets I made from waxed paper.
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