Buffalo meat was the mainstay of the Metis diet and lifestyle during the fur trade years, but the people also ate fish, antelope, moose, elk, rabbits, prairie chickens (grouse), ducks and geese. They picked berries and stored them in skin containers. Wild turnip was peeled and dried then pounded into flour. Many herbs were gathered for flavouring and medicinal purposes. Metis people utilized most of the same food goods as settlers. They used flour, sugar and other ingredients available from trading posts.

One food product that came from this time is Bannock. This type of bread was an adaptation of a traditional Scottish bread and Indian fry bread. The Metis once again combined their two cultures and produced a product that swept North America because of it portability on the trail, ease in cooking and ability to last a long time. This fast bread was cooked outdoors in a skillet over an open fire and today most people call it campfire bread. Bannock was very filling and became a staple dietary item of the fur trade. Some Metis called it "Gellette". Canadian Girl Guides and Scouts learn to make this bread as one of their badges. Bannock traditionally is cooked outdoors, but many Metis today bake it, fry it in a pan or in hot oil. Eaten with Saskatoon Berry jam and it is a treat indeed. Click here for recipes for Bannock.

Pemmican was the staple backbone food of the fur trade. Nations warred with each other over the Pemmican trade. Without a doubt, Metis People became the main purveyors of this food product and their lengthy buffalo hunts and lifestyle surrounded this trade. The Metis Nation's gross national product from the creation of Pemmican was larger than both the United States and Canada during this period in history. Pemmican was made by cutting buffalo meat into long thin strips that were hung to dry by the sun on racks made of willow. In later years the meat was dried with a small fire burning under the rack of meat, which was tended by the old women and children. If wood was not available for the fire then dried buffalo droppings (chips) were used. When the meat was dry it was pounded into a granular powder and put into hide bags. Hot buffalo fat was poured into the powder and mixed well. The bags were then sewn shut and pressed into flat bundles and left to cool. Click here for a recipe for pemmican. Sometimes wild berries were added to give it flavour. Pemmican was very nourishing, filling, highly nutritious and easy to transport on the trail. It kept for years without spoiling.

Dried buffalo meat or jerky was also widely produced. Click here for a jerky recipe.

The Metis planted gardens and raised livestock for food in their settlements and communities. Metis women always had tea ready and a pot of stew or soup on the fire. This hospitality was and is of huge importance in Metis communities: no one ever visits a Metis home without being offered hospitality.