There are other spices you can add, but these four make the foundation of the biltong spice mix. I then sealed it and placed a HEPA filter over it. These coated slabs are then marinated in vinegar for a few hours, then air-dried for several days until dry. but it was very good. Rub a little salt on the cut ends to protect them. For me, 2 hours is good for maximum beefiness while the cure does its job. Test the readiness of your biltong every couple of days by squeezing the sides together with clean fingers. It's the most accurate way of measuring. Later that night, he was vomiting, and had diarrhea so badly he collapsed his wife had to call the ambulance and he was rushed to hospital and placed in intensive care, only to be released from the hospital ten days later. The trick is just getting it done. The best materials for humid climates are engineered hardwood, spray foam insulation, clay or lime plasters, proper windows and ventilation, waterproof paint, and sealants. Its called Sukuthi and is normally made out of water buffalo or goat. Cant wait ! This biltong recipe is easy and all it takes is a little patience as the biltong dries. The biltong in these pictures was made by an ex-South African / Zimbabwean couple living in Phoenix, Arizona, who missed their favorite snack in the US, and have perfected their way of doing it which I am going to share with you. I prefer brown, but white, balsamic, or even cider will also work. If not why not and if you do how much and how would you put it into the process. Some recipes call for several stages of curing and washing off spices, reapplying them, etcthis is not necessary. Any advice on how to infuse a bit more chili flavour into the meat for a bit of extra kick. For me the best biltong has got to have a nice layer of fat on it, but if you want you can trim the fat as much as you like or choose a lean cut like eye of round. Oh, I also added an extra function to the recipe that allows you to change quantities based on meat weight dont say I dont spoil you! Make sure your meat is fresh and blood-free. Bicarbonate of soda is only used when the meat you choose will be tough to chew on. Have just bought 6.4 kg of topside and am ready to go again this time I will not hand it out maybe a little bit because it had a 100% approval which I thank charlie but it cost me 100 dollars to buy. You should aim for 40% - 50% moisture loss for a wet or medium cure biltong and up to 70% for a hard cure dryer biltong. With a Home Biltong Maker is as easy as 1-2-3! Keeping below 24C in the initial phases stops the fats from going rancid. and if you get a little mould wash with vinegar and it is fine. If you are hanging the meat in a room with a fan it may take up to 10 days to dry. For most people, a balcony with a fan blowing over the meat would be the easiest. Rely on airflow. Although heat doesnt add to the quality of the product, it can be used to increase air circulation around the meat, by means of a temperature gradient (heat rises!). Now I am going to expand to Biltonghad my first taste and loved it. As I dont yet have a dehumidifier I have been controlling the humidity through having the fridge plugged into the humidity controller to try and maintain an average of 75% RH. Don't cut the slices too thick or they will take too long to dry. Do not point a fan directly at the meat (to avoid case hardening). Texture-wise biltong is more similar to bresaola when made correctly and beef jerky is more of a leathery sometimes wet and chewy consistency. Combine all the spices and sprinkle into the meat. You can buy ready made biltong boxes, or make your own. Everything is easy to understand and clear. it needs much thinner cuts, no more than 1cm. This should take around a week but start monitoring it after 4 days. Humidity comes back with temp but sometimes overshoots and crawls back down as dehumidifier comes on. I have a question on a 4.5 lb Pork shoulder that Im attempting to cure into Spalla. Remove the meat from the container and pat dry with kitchen towels, taking care not to remove too much of the spice. I have compiled a recipe book as we speak, which will be available soon, it will include what I have learned around meat curing across many different countries as well. Step #2: cut the holes for the fan and the dehumidifier. (This is a little less than you would typically use, but youre applying it directly with the biltong spice). You got me addicted to making my own biltong. When cutting the meat to prepare, cut along the grain of the meat. Make sure to work clean to minimise the risk of contamination or bad bacteria. Wet stones and ceramic steels. I recommend brown vinegar for the best flavour, with cider vinegar coming in a close second. (Other ingredients you can play around with when making biltong are chilli flakes, garlic powder, and fruit chutney). Biltong can also be made from: Chicken, simply referred to as chicken biltong. You can always just test the environment like out the back, in the garage or some other place protected from pests with a bit of airflow. Biltong is a type of dried meat typically made from beef, but also from game meat such as venison, ostrich, kudu, and eland (to name a few). With generation after generation using roughly the same method and ingredients to make it. Making biltong in a dehydrator - Follow steps 1-6, taking into consideration how thick the meat can be in the . This was specific to my curing chamber since it was designed to have a fan continuously operating even when the compressor wasnt on (it was a drinks fridge). 1 Tablespoon of finely ground black pepper. I may earn a tiny commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Im lucky enough to harvest quality meat from the wild. Thats really all you need to make it. You can also do this in a fridge, but make sure the fridge is spotlessly clean and the meat does not touch anything. I however eat it like Biltong This is my version: Cut topside or silverside into 2 cm wide strips and marinade in salt, curry powder and lemon juice for 24 hrs. The third day of Jazz Fest looks to be a gorgeous one. With that said if you want an extra guarantee for safe meat then use it by all means. Great instructions and simple well balanced ingredients. Got one of those cheap BiltongKing makers or some such from Game ages ago. Concrete can be used in humid climates, but excellent humidity control needs to be established as well. A combination of good airflow, moderate temperature and low humidity are the key to successful biltong making. Leave some fat for extra flavour, as you like it. I've just made my first batch and it's fantastic! Thank you very much for sharing it. beef silverside or topside 4 tablespoons salt 8 tablespoons coriander 4 tablespoons black peppercorns 1 tablespoon ground cumin optional 10 ounces balsamic vinegar Worcestershire sauce Instructions Cut the meat along the grain into strips roughly an inch thick and around 8 to 10 inches long. Used your recipe with some wildebeest, and the only change was adding some allspice berries to the dry herb mix. If youve made two or three slabs with this biltong recipe, storing them in a brown paper bag in the fridge should be fine. His wife refused to have any. A Wind Advisory has been issued through Sunday morning. Getting it right is down to trial and error. Repeat the layers until the thin strips are on top, and add a final dressing of salt. This might apply to some venison meat or beef cuts not on the prescribed biltong recipe list. After 3 hours simply wipe off the salt but. Ive since upgraded to an old fridge with the mechanics removed, holes in the bottom, and a fan drawing air past the meat. This comes down to personal preference. Then you're in for a treat. When it comes to slicing biltong remember that it is quite tough, and the knife can slip easily. Cheers T. Ive been wanting to find out if my crawlspace (no actual crawling required) is suitable for hanging and curing meats. The other option if youre new to the whole idea of dry curing meat, is to just use your normal kitchen fridge. . My South African friends say Biltong is superior to Jerky in every way and if that is true, I can't wait to try this. Hi Andew looks lekker my last batch using another recipe (my first) was too salty 1.4 tbsp per kilo for 24 hrs. 2) Is it ok to do this without the lightbulb? Warning this recipe may lead to the purchase of a biltong slicer. But what I love of the weight ratio youve added in. Try to keep as much of the spice on the meat as possible. He said it never got below 77F/25C at any time of the year, day or night! I actually tried growing some gray oyster mushrooms in the chamber and it didnt work because they need such a significant amount of oxygen and airflow. Like most other cured meats it's easy to adjust the flavourings and ingredients used. The word biltong comes from the combination of the Dutch words bil which means buttock and tong which means tongue or strip. After so many failed previous attempts, finally your recipe worked beautifully for meits like being back in south Africa again, Love it. Limited Time 50% OFF. My favorite is apple cider vinegar. by Runder Biltong February 26, 2022. My dads buddy from South Africa used to make it using this pre-mix spice and it was unbelievable. Make a biltong box from a cardboard box to save money. Howdy, I prefer 11-13C all the time, since bacteria grows exponentially the hotter it gets. Ultimately, I feel like what I need to do is get daily readings of min/max temp and humidity over the course of a year or so to determine whether it stays in the curing temp and humidity ranges. The recipes for the classic recipe is dead simple salt, coriander, and malt vinegar. Try to create these conditions in whatever way you see fit. They did this either by curing or dehydrating their meat. I have one question this batch had lost a little bit of the Worcester sauce and vinegar flavour as I added bi-carb of soda to the mix. I never like the pre-mix because they add some flavouring too, but that's just me. The ideal temperature and drying time for biltong is 22C to 24C for the first 24 hours and thereafter at 30C to 33C for two days. Add the meat to the wet cure and let it sit for another 2 hours flipping twice to make sure it's evenly covered in the liquid. The Worcestershire sauce just adds depth of flavor to the biltong. Salami is definitely the advanced category of using a curing chamber. Someone much more electrically minded than myself, a friend who is an electrical engineer pointed out that it could be moisture attaching to the condenses. In the temperate environments that I've lived in, the moisture is always higher at night time and this is also useful since you can want the higher levels of humidity when you cold smoking. Its just a bit hit or miss and can be frustrating when its inconsistent, but its done this way in homes all across Italy or other places across the world. Worked well. Contact13 Chester Terrace Westville, South Africa, Choosing the best beef to use for biltong, Optional: Additions of Bicarbonate of Soda, Grilled Biltong Steak You Can Make Tonight [Full Recipe], Biltong Slicers How To Cut Your Biltong, Tips for Drying Biltong in a Biltong Box: Ideal Conditions and Testing for Dryness, How Long Does Charcoal Last Estimating What You Need, Best Charcoal Chimney Starter: The Only 3 You Should Consider, 4 Insanely Easy Ways To Use Wood Pellets On a Charcoal Grill, Venison Biltong Recipe: Make Delicious Wild Game Biltong, The Right Biltong Box Temperature For Drying, 77 of the Best Recipes to Try with Biltong, Biltong Vinegar: 7 Delicious Vinegar Options for Biltong. If you pick the right meat, you wont need to use bicarb at all. Some recipes call for balsamic or cider vinegar. Spray every part of the meat liberally. Ive been making my own for a few years, gradually tweaking the recipe and feeding it to people with a how is it, honestly?, and plenty of willing feedback. Airflow and how consistent the moisture is in the environment is key to any dry curing project, but it can work in many scenarios. Then you can decide what you will do with the rest of your meat. I only have whole muscle meats hanging in there at the moment : lamb pancetta arrotolata, bresaola and beef bacon. Are there any issues you have to pay special attention to when making biltong in a humid climate? Oui, vive la France ! This is so we can hang it up and track the moisture loss by weighing it. Ive had similar things with chambers, but when the compressor is drying things out too much it does tend to get the dreaded case hardening (which can be remedied by vapacing for 2-3 weeks in fridge). My Aussie and ZA mates all love it. My attempt at making a character sheet She's either always annoyed at any inconvenience or always awkward to see people also has frizzy hair problems thanks to the extremely hot & humid weather in the (I know all too well ) gonna practice some more . Step #3: cut the holes for the dowel sticks. In fact, if you have other members in your household, its not unusual to have half your biltong missing by the time its ready . If youve ever tried biltong, youll know exactly what I meannone of that sugary, rubbery stuff-it-in-a-dehydrator rubbish here, please! Step #1: draw templates for cutting. Rhymes too. It's now ready to slice thinly with a sharp knife. Do this in a well-ventilated kitchen. For this recipe we will be using beef as anyone can get their hands on some at the local butcher or supermarket. 2 Tablespoons of roasted coriander seeds - you can crush these or chop a bit to release the favors. If you want to see how it's done, jump to the video in the recipe using the above button. This fat can add a considerable amount of flavor to your biltong. Make sure to work very clean to avoid any bad bacteria creeping it. Thank you very much. One question I would like to ask is how do you make chutney biltong flavour. The sugar helps with drying through osmosis, latching onto the water molecules and wicking them away. The recipe for the biltong spice can be found below and this can be made at the same time. Best wishes. As long as I handle the meat in a hygienic way, avoiding any cross-contamination and refrigerated it then I use it either fresh or frozen. My answer? You need a coolish temperature (less than 86 F / 30 C), and sufficient airflow for the best quality biltong. Your house seems like the place to be) Thanks! This case hardening can happen if the humidity is way too low or if theres a gale force blowing onto the biltong. Although biltong is often made with a pure vinegar marinade, the addition of Worcestershire sauce is often used as well. This time can be shorter or longer depending on the thickness of the meat, the humidity of the environment, the wind flow around the biltong, the temperature, and lastly, how you prefer your biltong, slightly wet or dry. From costly handmade stuff that is not practical to my favourite 20 dollar knives with no branding. I live in Denmark and have decided to build my own box. You still need a little air movement, but the slower it dries, the more even the moisture gradient will be from inside to out. You can do your own research on pink curing salt otherwise known as sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate mixes with regular salt, I still use it as a form of protection just to make sure the meat is safe. An ultrasonic humidifier is the best way to go because you end up pumping out a fine mist and hopefully, there is some kind of filtration going on inside the humidifier. The biltong can avoid case hardening by ensuring that the humidity is moderate to low and the air movement is not pointed directly at the biltong meat. Cool, is, of course by South African standards, anything around 18 to 25C. But I havent tried it and I cant say Ive heard any great outcomes if youre looking at longer-term dry curing for months. Hi Charle, what do you use to sharpen your knives and what knoves to you use? Good. I've used it in the past but try and use as little curing salt in my food as possible. There are a couple of ways to apply this vinegar, such as dribbling it through the hand. Ive been using malt vinegar. Bicarb has a pretty unpleasant taste, so its important to keep the quantity low. It was also typically made in the winter months when the colder temperatures would reduce the risk of mold. It really does depend on the environment you live in, you could be anywhere in the world wide web so you may have a more suitable environment when it comes to the humidity or you may not. All the best, TOm. Biltong needs a fresh air supply to wick the moisture off the meat and dehydrates it. The right amount of fat to keep on your meat for biltong is contentious, and quite honestly, it comes down to personal taste. Instructions. It will continue to dry slowly, but it will also keep for a long time this way. Its perfectly fine and very common to dry out jerky which has been in a dehydrator. Biltong quite often is 1 thick. Its easy to over-salt biltong, making it almost unbearable to eat in bigger quantities (lets face it, whos going to only eat a little biltong? Weigh the meat individually and place a label onto a stainless steel or paper clip or meat hook and then the paper clip or meat hook through the meat. Ive used cider vinegar a lot, purely because I have a large batch I made at home. MAC is good if you're looking for good price/quality. You want to be able to identify the different spices. Temp stays right in range. I thought it just generated heat. Step #5: glue the fan. (You can see this on the dehydrator biltong recipe). The idea is to retain the flavor of the beef by removing the majority of the moisture evenly. Place the meat in a mixture of salt, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar making sure each part of the meat is moistened in the mix you can set the meat aside to marinade in the fridge for between half an hour to an hour. These methods rely on drawing air across a cold surface. Don't blitz it too fine. The tray helps to deal with the mess. Was wondering if you could give me ingredient amounts for a 2kg silverside. Making biltong Next Biltong (spiced dried meat) is a South African delicacy. It should lose at least 40% - 50% moisture before it's ready. Can you please advise. South Africans can get fussy about the way it is sliced too so bringing out the slicer and cutting according to guest preferences also makes something of a talking point at a gathering! That said, its fairly forgiving and a day or two over wont do too much harm. My local butcher goes way overboard with salt on their biltong. Best for hot smoking, head to do cold smoking at under 86F/30C! Trouble is, it's getting more difficult to find incandescent bulbs. Another really easy way to make biltong sticks (thinner, dry pieces) is to put oven on lowest temp (170 F in USA) and leave the door open a crack to let warm air escape. Step #6: attach the dehumidifier. Low humidity for biltong is anything below 50%. To this day it's enjoyed in excessive quantities as it's such an addictive snack. Copyright 2023 NewLifeOnAHomestead.com - All rights reserved. When I took the shoulder out of the bag to hang, it had a slightly greyish tinge to it. The main seasonings are coriander, sugar, salt, pepper and vinegar. It's cured meat which has its origins in much the same way as many other famous cured types of meat. It's 3 hours salting and 2 hours marinating. Once you have the art of making biltong honed, then maybe you want to start using some of the meat from hunting expeditions. However, the best solution to prevent case hardening from occurring is to change your drying setup to reduce air flow. 3) When I make the bigger cabinet should I have: a: Just a fan, b: Just a lightbulb, c: both fan & lightbulb? Certainly would disqualify it as authentic . If it swings like 10%, no problem. With an acidity of at least 10%. While the meat is salting mix together all the wet cure ingredients. Once cooled, blitz the spices in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar until nicely broken up but not too fine. Happy you like! Cover the meat completely in spices making sure to get it into every nook and cranny. The salt is an excellent flavour enhancer and should definitely be includedjust a little less to avoid the need for washing. Remove the thinner strips at the top and dip them quickly in hot water. Biltong curing consists of salting the meat and then giving it a dredge in a marinade or vinegar solution. Ive added liquid smoke to my brine in the past. Traditionally, brown vinegar has been used to make biltong. You can loosely cover the meat with a muslin cloth to prevent any flies from getting to it. Absolutely brilliant!!! penicillin a.k.a. Travel writing, recipe development as well as writing about homesteading matters, camping, health, children, medical matters, press releases and copywriting keep me busy. It makes an amazing summer snack platter when served with drowors, marinated olives, Parmesan sables, spiced nuts, pea and mint dip and freshly baked sourdough bread. And perhaps this contributed to the greyish tinge/oxidation? Toast the spices, apart from the peppercorns, in a dry pan until fragrant and giving off a bit of smoke. Use a sharp knife or biltong slicer to slice it. Coat the meat in the spice mix making sure to get it into every nook and cranny. I'm really big on prep, usually going from the end forward then back from beginning to end. The packing date was mid February, so I also wasnt sure if the long time in the freezer would negatively affect the curing process? This is especially necessary in countries /areas with high humidity to prevent mould and spoilage. My dad used to do that but I remain unconvinced that it actually does much of anything beyond raise the temp by a degree or two. I offsetting a lid to the compressor, which was just next to the fan in the compressor. Awesome. The vinegar tenderizes the meat, preserves the meat by killing off any microbes, and balances the salt. We looked at how to pick the best meat so let's check out the rest of the ingredients. This biltong recipe will teach you how to make biltong the traditional South African way. For the finest cuts, fillet, sirloin, or steaks cut from the hip, such as topside or silverside, are used. So youve looked into the temperature and humidity conditions you need. Tom, gem of a site and already great help as I begin my own dry-cured meat hobby. I did a fair bit of experimentation around this, so I wrote a guide about how to cure meat in your kitchen fridge I got consistent results. Leave for 12 hours. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Temperature and Humidity for Meat Curing Chamber, Want to Make Charcuterie at Home? Could you use a freeze dryer to make this? Using a sharp knife, following the grain of the meat, cut into 1 inch (2.5cm) thick lengths and place in a non-metallic container. Works as well as any classic flavour combination. Thanks again. The bicarb acts as a meat tenderizer. What Ive seen with temperature control and different curing chambers is that the compressor or whatever form of cooling is used may create more or less moisture as well as impacting the humidifier or dehumidifier. But have never seen anyone in south africa use this. Its just too delicious! I can't wait to try your process in that device. Freezing is a good option as it can last for up to 12 months in a freezer, but will last a few days in the fridge in a paper bag or in a glass jar. Traditional biltong is made by slicing large strips of beef and coating them with a mixture of crushed coriander seeds, cracked pepper, salt, and brown sugar. Once the meat is ready remove the hooks. Look for meat that is ultra-fresh and has a bit of fat running through the meat. When you live in a city or a humid climate, you can use one of the following proven and tested methods. There are a lot of creative, almost ceremonial devices oncutting biltong, but I think nothing beats a good, sharp knife. Biltong from the land of the Gurkhas! In general, biltong should last for at least 4-6 days before being at risk of developing mold.
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