DIY Biltong...

[hunnymonster]

As others appear to be interested and I've learned some stuff over the last week or two, I'll collect my Biltong posts & thoughts here....

My source tells me that the keys to good biltong are good meat and not drying too aggressively. FWIW - I'm building a slightly upgraded version (for the European market - no dowelling, using 8mm aluminium tubing and it has a removable aluminium drip tray in the bottom for easier cleaning) of this one from Popular Mechanics (SA edition)... I used an Ikea "Samla" 65 litre box and also added an Ikea Dimma (to add some heat/ventilation control). Top tip - when hanging your meat in the box, make sure that you don't hang meat over the bulb - meat juices dripping on a hot bulb aren't conducive to a fragrant home life.

On the method front - on my source's recommendation I started out with a commercial spice mix (just need white (aka spirit aka distilled) vinegar and beef to get going then). Any vinegar is good, but most people appear to recommend either the white or a cider vinegar rather than malt.

Freddy Hirsch is his spice recommendation from home - so that's what I went with - I see it on sale in Oz here, there & everywhere and probably many more places.

His method (remember this isn't rocket science - this is what simple Dutch farmers did back in the day... but without fancy drying boxes)

So, you need a drying box. Very sophisticated you will need a closed box with a fan at the top and vents at the base to move air through it and a 40 to 60 watt light bulb to provide a bit of warmth.

Attached flash one (insert picture of a Mellerware - Biltong King Food Dehydrator - BK002 here) or one can simply use a cardboard box, bedside lamp and small fan.

Then get a good rump (do not used corned meat) I just buy cut rump steaks makes it easy to keep a steady flow. Crappy meat = crappy biltong

Fill a shallow dish with white vinegar place the meat in for a few seconds then turn over and leave for a few more seconds. Remove and place in or sprinkle over seasoning (I buy a spice mix from safer shop) then place in a sealed container for 2-4 hours pouring out fluids here and there (prevents fluids ending up at the bottom of your drying box).

Then hang in your flash or not so flash box for 2-4 days (longer for thick or dry).

Due to my own inattention I've not completed my dryer yet (the 75mm hole cutter I thought I owned turns out to be 65mm and doesn't allow the fan to push air into the box, so construction delayed to acquire that hole cutting solution - I went for a turbocharged input with a non-turbo exhaust rather than a normally-aspirated input and turbo exhaust or a bi-turbo arrangement )

Otherwise - the basic recipes can be found all over the place, wherever SAfers congregate and of course you can experiment with the spices you add... simple google search for "biltong recipe" turns up dozens - all variants on the same basics... vinegar dip, salt cure, optional spices, hang to dry.

Scuse the crappy phone picture...

but there it is, 50 hours in.

You can see the reflection of the (heater) bulb in the side wall and on the floor of the box, the 'drip' tray that appears mostly to have caught falling coriander husks...

And a top down shot...

Research batch 1 (rump steak based) is now completed the drying process. I shall be acquiring a topside/silverside joint later to continue the research.

I think I was a bit light on the spice on batch 1 - So batch 2 (1.8kg of top rump joint, sliced into manageable chunks) in on Friday morning... Spiced it like I stole it. Not much left of research batch 1... I may have eaten most of it when I got back from my 50k bike ride, washed down with some isotonic recovery drink (aka locally craft brewed beer).

Should be just about ready - will take it out this evening and test.

Things to try on the radar - I shall try the next batch (or at least part of it) with a home-mix spice batch... also I have a bottle of liquid smoke (can't decide how to incorporate that into the process yet) - there's no "Biltong Authority" to say you must do it in a particular way with particular ingredients - so anything goes (and it probably will).

 

[hunnymonster]

Here's batch 2 just now.

As you can see, bit fuller in there today.

 

[eggbert]

I am sorely tempted at having a go at one of these, my worries are humidity and temperature - might get too hot up here, or be too humid to dry out thoroughly.

 

[hunnymonster]

Well... So long as the air is moving it should never be significantly more humid inside the dryer than outside (air containing the extra moisture from the drying meat is being exhausted and new air inducted) so you're then left with the input humidity and ambient temperature as the key variables...

I did see a plan for a two-part solar dryer - a collector box (black to absorb maximum heat) connected via an umbilical conduit - flexible if you like to allow optimal/adjustable sunlight gathering to the bottom of a second box with the drying racking in - exhausted at the opposite edge (input lower front, output upper rear) for maximum efficiency of drying effect. You might need to supplement the exhaust by means of a fan - but its an art not a science.

Given I'm in the sunniest part of Scotland (stop laughing at the back) solar isn't a goer here - perhaps a hydro powered dehydrator is what I need... Or maybe on balance the PopMech box is just the ticket.

Give it a try and see... I was reluctant to lob 2kg in on first run... Mostly because I'm a tightwad but also because I'd rather only deal with 2-300g of rancid meat than 2kg of it.

One other thing (and perhaps I'm overthinking it...) I reposition mine during the process...

Initially the 4 skewers (ABCD) are aligned N/S on day 1...
Day 2 I spin them to be S/N and move the central pair to the edges (BADC)
Day 3 I swap them central/edge (ABCD) keep them S/N aligned
Day 4 spin them back to be N/S aligned again - back to their original positions in fact.

 

[JugV2]

Scotland...sun...oh dear. My grandparents are Scottish (Dempsters from the north) and I don't recall them mentioning sun once.

This looks fantastic and as one of the people encouraging you to do a whole thread, I love what you have done so far.

 

[hunnymonster]

Scotland...sun...oh dear. My grandparents are Scottish (Dempsters from the north) and I don't recall them mentioning sun once.

Oddly I left the house at 0615 this morning on a bike ride into what can only be described as "extremely low cloud" (it's weird stuff, it's not actually raining but you get soaked to the skin more or less instantly and waterproof clothing is useless against it) - by 0645 I was in bright sunshine (and drying nicely)... back in time for brekkie at 0745. Mercury never climbed above 8C though

 

[hunnymonster]

So it's done... 738g of (probably) overdried biltong (from 1801g input topside beef) - theoretically should keep for about a decade.

Tastes good - quite a hard product but in true Heathkit style (younger viewers please ask your grandad about Heathkit) I'm proud to say "I built it myself"

 

[JugV2]

So it's done... 738g of (probably) overdried biltong (from 1801g input topside beef) - theoretically should keep for about a decade.

Tastes good - quite a hard product but in true Heathkit style (younger viewers please ask your grandad about Heathkit) I'm proud to say "I built it myself"

I grew up in Tassie and played sports on Saturday mornings in almost exactly the weather you described on your previous post. It's like a low hanging mist that just permeates you entirely.

Heathkit - now I recall the grandfather mentioning something about this - DIY electronics or something? Post WW2?

 

[hunnymonster]

Yeah - American home electronics construction kits... Always wildly overpriced in Europe (and of course 120V power supplies) compared to the equivalent Velleman kits.

 

[glenos]

I grew up in Tassie and played sports on Saturday mornings in almost exactly the weather you described on your previous post. It's like a low hanging mist that just permeates you entirely.

This is your punishment for living North of Oatlands, in Hobart it is always bright and sunny through winter, except for when it is pissing with rain and freezing cold.

 

[Bles]

I know this is an old post but I couldn’t help smiling when reading through this post. I assume the source the author referred to is also a South African. Honestly, I’m impressed but there are definitely easier and cheaper ways in drying biltong without breaking the bank. We used to hang our biltong in the garage with newspaper laid out on the floor for the dripping and a house hold fan blowing over the meat. Silver-side work great for biltong and although the people also fancy buying spices from Freddy Hirsch and Crown International nothing beat some old school spices.

A typical recipe I use is as follow:

For every 1 kg biltong I mix the following spices:

18 gram salt

2 gram black pepper

1 gram brown sugar

4 gram coriander coarse

Sprinkle biltong with spice mix and brown vinegar alternatively …

Let it rest for 12 hours and mix well again, let it rest for another 12 hours and hang in well ventilated room or in front of the fan.

Biltong is on its best when the inside is still soft, moist and red in colour with a hard brown coat on the outside. To prevent it from further drying wrap the biltong in foil or cling wrap but ensure all the air is taken out and place in a freezer for as long as you like. When you want some biltong, take them out and defrost overnight and leave for another hour at room temperature and you’re ready to enjoy your biltong.

My 2 cents for what it’s worth.