Below are some other South African classics and dishes I love to prepare as well as a few other forms of curing and fermentation. I dont like to throw away good spices, so I coat once, leave to cure in the fridge, pat dry, then hang with no additional stages. I got contacted by a man in East Africa, he was keen on dry-curing meat he definitely needs to build something suitable. In the early days, when there were no fridges to store fresh meat, and once a steer had been slaughtered or an antelope had been shot, people had to preserve the meat by air drying it. If you need more information on how to store your biltong after you have made it, you can check out these ideas here. It it too high ? The recipes for the classic recipe is dead simple salt, coriander, and malt vinegar. Like most other cured meats it's easy to adjust the flavourings and ingredients used. While the meat is marinating, toast the coriander seeds, fennel seeds and chilli flakes in a dry pan on medium heat. These methods rely on drawing air across a cold surface. There is a reddit r/biltong for any questions and recipes you may have. If your approx. It kills bacteria on the outside of the meat, and helps to draw moisture out. What humidity should biltong be? 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. Remove the meat from the container and pat dry with kitchen towels, taking care not to remove too much of the spice. There are affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. Find it, it will be worth the effort. If you suspect that case hardening is your problem, I recommend cutting through the end of the meat and checking it. So dont leave a whack on expecting it to disappear as the meat does. Use a sharp knife or biltong slicer to slice it. Try to create these conditions in whatever way you see fit. Hopefully Ill be able to find that in some store. As soon as you spot mould wipe it off with vinegar making sure to get all of it. Truthfully, it beats jerky by a mile. If conditions are particulary humid or hot, theres a chance you might experience this problem. Trouble is, it's getting more difficult to find incandescent bulbs. I cant give accurate advice on how long to store it this way, but I think its safe to say that no sane person is going to leave biltong uneaten for more than a few days. Dry in a well ventilated low humidity environment to ensure proper curing. Toast the spices, apart from the peppercorns, in a dry pan until fragrant and giving off a bit of smoke. One can get extremely creative with this so here are a few ideas. Good airflow will help to avoid such catastrophes in future. My dads buddy from South Africa used to make it using this pre-mix spice and it was unbelievable. Was it tasty or did you run into any problems with your biltong recipe, let me know in the comments below how yours turned out? Mold can look like its only on the surface but often the threads in the mold may have penetrated the food to a deeper level. I then sealed it and placed a HEPA filter over it. I Hunt, Fish, Forage, Buy, Butcher (Wannabe Norcini), Make, Savor (Im not a Saviour), and love curing and smoking meat. The top of this article goes through all the best beef cuts for making biltong. Step #2: cut the holes for the fan and the dehumidifier. A Link to this webpage was sent to me by a friend in South Africa and it looks delicious. This is a great recipe but being the experimental person that I am I am considering two-hour smoke I do bacon and Pancetta for 8 hrs and its great. Make sure your wet meat is sprinkled everywhere with vinegar and salt and then marinate for at least 12 hours in the refrigerator so it can penetrate. It should be mostly powder, with a few pieces of seed shells left in. My local butcher goes way overboard with salt on their biltong. Once you have tasted biltong, youll be a fan of this spiced dried meat that South Africans have made famous around the world. 4) Whats your biltong chamber look like? I keep mine forever in a freezer vacuum sealed. It's very simple to make, takes much less time than other cured meats and is the perfect snack for many occasions. I dont think a modern dehydrator cuts it. 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. 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. Hi Tom, I recently discovered your website and its a real treasure trove of information. Rhymes too. So is the the greyish tinge/oxidation okay? But I havent tried it and I cant say Ive heard any great outcomes if youre looking at longer-term dry curing for months. Pick one side of the meat slab and slide the meat hook through. Rub a little salt on the cut ends to protect them. Im still on the learning curve with biltong but this recipe is giving me the best results. Thank you very much. A Note on Humidity and Mould. Great instructions and simple well balanced ingredients. Vacuum seal tight and store in the fridge or freezer. Play with the biltong spice recipe until you find what you like. I recommend leaving it on. Hi Andew looks lekker my last batch using another recipe (my first) was too salty 1.4 tbsp per kilo for 24 hrs. In general, FSIS recommends achieving a minimum internal meat temperature of 145F (~63C) held for 4 minutes, and a 1 hour hold at RH90% to ensure sufficient delivery of thermal energy to the surface. Once you have the art of making biltong honed, then maybe you want to start using some of the meat from hunting expeditions. You got me addicted to making my own biltong. Some visitors even buy the biltong box kits when they visit, which they can assemble at home. Nice basic recipe as used by my family for many years. Getting it right is down to trial and error. It all depends on the type of dryer and thickness of the meat as to how soon your meat is ready. This time-temperature lethality process targets a 5-log reduction in the most thermally resistant pathogen, Salmonella spp. Do a speed test on our app and win R5,000, https://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/613014-The-Official-Biltong-Enthusiasts-Thread. You can air dry the biltong, but it will take longer and you need the right weather, whereas a commercial biltong maker or dehydrator will have a built-in fan for continuous airflow to speed up the process, as well as a light fitting which will prevent the growth of mold, and also help reduce moisture. Now I truly appreciate other people are learning from this blog which summarizes what I have learned. The meat is then air-dried in a dry environment with very good airflow. Limited Time 50% OFF. If you are hanging the meat in a room with a fan it may take up to 10 days to dry. Now some recipes also dont have fermentation, so just make sure you are following a decent one. I do have a query regarding lower temperatures. This will help with the drying process, and ensure greater longevity of the final product. Choose a box with dimensions of about 60.7 60.7 91.4 cm (1.99 1.99 3.00 ft). Please dont rely on heat. Howdy, I prefer 11-13C all the time, since bacteria grows exponentially the hotter it gets. Make sure none of the pieces are touching. What youre looking for is cool conditions with good airflow. I have just set up a small curing chamber, 8 ft cu, from a refrigerator but am seeing some instability in my humidity control..confirmed by a recording temp/hum monitor. If you are drying your biltong in a biltong box, make sure that the biltong slabs are not longer than the hanging length you have in the biltong box. 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. In principle, biltong is made by marinading, spicing, and airdrying strips of meat. Although you can buy a pre-cut steak and hang that as a biltong slab, your best option is to buy a whole roast and cut the meat yourself into slabs. You can loosely cover the meat with a muslin cloth to prevent any flies from getting to it. One of the obstacles to making good biltong is mold. 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 best methods to extend that time are to vacuum seal it or keep in a fridge. Remember Parma Ham is in controlled environment for 3 months, then often its just hanging around in a building with the windows open, when it rains they close the windows! Some people like their biltong lean without any fat and some prefer the added flavor of a bit of fat on the biltong its up to you but you have to be more careful to ensure that the fat is properly dried. The air should preferably dry with good airflow. I believe eating and cooking well attributes majorly to a happy life. The golden standard for perfectly cured biltong is medium wet with lots of fat. Are there any issues you have to pay special attention to when making biltong in a humid climate? Step #5: glue the fan. As soon as the froth disappears remove the meat from the wet cure and pat it dry with a paper towel. Then just lay the cured and spiced thin pieces out on a wire rack in the oven. Ive been using malt vinegar. penicillin a.k.a. There are a lot of creative, almost ceremonial devices oncutting biltong, but I think nothing beats a good, sharp knife. Biltong is such a delicious snack you may not be able to keep it away from the family and visitors long enough to have to worry about preserving it alter all you can always make more! A friends husband thought if he cut the little moldy section off a piece of biltong hed left in the refrigerator for a while it would be fine. Make sure your airflow from the fan is getting all around the meat. This might seem a little odd, but it has scientific reasoning. Brown sugar has a caramel and molasses flavour that adds complexity to the meat, without masking it. Just remember the acid has been slightly neutralised in the mix so you need to add more vinegar if you want to make another batch of biltong. I had another wine cellar that was too small to hang the meat, I had to lay it so the pieces preciously mentioned have been curing in there at 13C for 2-3 weeks and I just transferred them to the 17C wine cellar to be hang. However, the exact process and recipe vary according to personal taste and the tools and . When you grind the spices, it releases the compounds that give them the flavor. This recipe looks fantastic, very new at all of this. Also, I purchased this shoulder a few months ago at the farmers market (sold frozen) and its been in the back of the freezer ever since. 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). Never come across biltong done with balsamic vinegar before. This site contains affiliate links. In a well ventilated, non-humid environment . Large chunks of fat can be a little unpleasant to deal with when eating biltong. 4 Pounds of beef - cut into 1-inch-thick strips that can be of any length. People who visit South Africa and are introduced to biltong always want to take some back to their home countries whether it is Scandinavia, France, Italy, or the UK just as long as they can get meat products through customs. You can go up to 6 hours before adding the baking soda if you're using it. The easiest ways to achieve the high humidity and high level of temperature is to have a humidifier and a heater of some sort in the curing chamber. The point of using the vinegar is to make sure any bacteria are neutralized. in the right zone of 10-20C, thats fine/ humidity not dry over 60%. Cold Cold smoke it for a short time like 30 minutes just to get a hint on it. When the weather is warm and humid, there is a chance that mould (white dots or furry dots) will appear on the meat. 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 you find that youve cut your biltong early and its wetter than youd like, use clean fingers to rub a little salt and vinegar on the exposed end and hang it back up. Step #6: attach the dehumidifier. So before I try your recipe I have a question, in the recipe for salting you say 2 hrs yet the video says 3 hrs and for curing recipe 2 hrs video 1 hrs. Quite - but dehumidifier heating. The other option if youre new to the whole idea of dry curing meat, is to just use your normal kitchen fridge. Plastic-covered paper clips make for a cheap solution. You should assume any link is an affiliate link. You can read it here. Four hours should be enough; however, I often leave the tray in the refrigerator overnight. Warning this recipe may lead to the purchase of a biltong slicer. Salt is essential to let the meat dry and cure properly. This recipe will still work for that but make sure to use 6% salt still. He said it never got below 77F/25C at any time of the year, day or night! Its not a traditional ingredient if were going full purist, but it balances the saltiness well. Airflow and how consistent the moisture is in the environment is key to any dry curing project, but it can work in many scenarios. Test the readiness of your biltong every couple of days by squeezing the sides together with clean fingers. And if it's on the wet side, it'll go rancid faster. The idea is to retain the flavor of the beef by removing the majority of the moisture evenly. Your house seems like the place to be) Thanks! Bicarbonate of soda is only used when the meat you choose will be tough to chew on. This should go some way towards fixing the problem. (Other ingredients you can play around with when making biltong are chilli flakes, garlic powder, and fruit chutney). This is why it is important to check on the progress of the biltong every single day. The third day of Jazz Fest looks to be a gorgeous one. Also dont use balsamic as this will alter the taste. If you want something a little more fancy, there are biltong cutters (a board with a hinged knife attached), biltong knives (traditional knives made for purpose), hand crank mechanical cutters, and at the high end, expensive elecric cutters, mostly used by butchers and biltong suppliers. Also, remove any gristle or sinew which once it is dried is pretty much inedible and you dont want that ruining your biltong snack. Its really hard to guess whats going on without seeing it. It is a baseline for you to start with. When I took the shoulder out of the bag to hang, it had a slightly greyish tinge to it. I made my first biltong by hanging it from a piece of wood jammed into a window frame beside a cool window, with a fan on low to circulate air. Cut with the grain of the meat and aim for thick slaps. And everywhere I go my camera goes too so many of the articles are illustrated with my own photos. Every biltong maker has their own preference on spice mix. This will be grain-fed beef. It will continue to dry slowly, but it will also keep for a long time this way. Start by removing excess fat. Although biltong is often made with a pure vinegar marinade, the addition of Worcestershire sauce is often used as well. Salt and vinegar both act as detergents against bad bacteria by displacing water and lowering the Ph level. Your tutorial is very good and your recipe looks amazing. There are a couple of ways to apply this vinegar, such as dribbling it through the hand. white powdery mold (Some folks do like to spray the meat surface in encourage this growth). Many DIY biltong makers will use a biltong box with a fan and a lightbulb in to create good air circulation. Let it marinate for 2 hours turning the meat a few times to ensure even marination. When slicing to serve or eat, cut across the grain. Temperature and Humidity for Meat Curing Chamber, Want to Make Charcuterie at Home? You can buy ready made biltong boxes, or make your own. Perfect for game days, high protein diets and anyone that enjoys great food. Once the meat has salted for 3 hours, rub off the salt but don't wash 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 . Biltong quite often is 1 thick. Especially biltong that can in most cases do without it. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The packing date was mid February, so I also wasnt sure if the long time in the freezer would negatively affect the curing process? 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. He did use 3/4 tablespoon of pink salt in his wet marinate.I'm going to try and add fennel. Place the thicker biltong strips at the bottom of an enamel container, cover with a layer of salt and then a layer of the spice mixture. I know we have amazing charcuterie, Im Muslim so no pork for me. There's a lengthy thread on biltong making. When starting off, I had the right temperature and humidity, but I learned unless I inoculated the curing chamber it may take a little while to build up some good bacteria a.k.a. It's cured meat which has its origins in much the same way as many other famous cured types of meat. As soon as the spices are nicely toasted, slightly smoky and fragrant, remove them from the pan and let them cool down completely. So make sure you meet slabs are dry before rubbing them with the spice mix. After a couple of university degrees, a teaching career in Art Education and English at secondary and tertiary level, a few years in journalism, the modelling and fashion industry, and a family followed. and moisture balance to make a success of biltong making. Hello I would like to try this recipe how does it work on elk or deer meat they might be to lean. Mold is the biggest killer of biltong, especially in humid climates. However, the best solution to prevent case hardening from occurring is to change your drying setup to reduce air flow. Now, these are my dry curing conditions, although I have spoken to award-winning biltong makers internationally. Your email address will not be published. Interesting 7 Deg could mean thinks drying slowly Also, beneficial bacteria (penicillin) prefers is a little warmer too 85 is doable, but when you have meat in there (which is 70% water), its going to probably be a wetter environment, initially. Biltong from the land of the Gurkhas! If youve made two or three slabs with this biltong recipe, storing them in a brown paper bag in the fridge should be fine. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. 4 1/2kg now drying. So I end up starting most dry curring at around 75 to 80% humidity for the first two or three days and then take it down to about 70% for most of the dry-cured projects I do like pancetta, braesola, Lonza or dry-cured and then cold smoked bacon. Once youve made the biltong spice mix, rub it onto both sides of the meat. Its important to know that biltong is not smoked meat it is air-dried. So here is a table summarizing the temperature and humidity ranges and then Ill go over a few tips relevant to the curing chamber and its environment. I double checked, but I am presuming you didnt use any nitrates/nitrites. If the airflow is too strong, it will dry the outside of the meat, and the inside wont cure properly. Sprinkle the vinegar on and rub everything in thoroughly whilst turning the meat with your hands. Place the meat and the cure in a fitting non-reactive food-safe plastic or ceramic container. I have a home made biltong cabinet with he fan and 40watt light bulb. Just make sure you have a little air flow, or the meat can gather mouldIm sorry to say this has happened to me in the past! . For most people, a balcony with a fan blowing over the meat would be the easiest. This is definitely one style and very popular. Was wondering if you could give me ingredient amounts for a 2kg silverside. Either way, both are tasty meat snacks with a very loyal global following even though they differ a lot. Do this in a clean plastic or non-reactive metal container where the meat fits snugly. Leave some fat for extra flavour, as you like it. I like to take 2 to 4 days to dry out biltong at around 28 to 35C, personal preference. Certainly would disqualify it as authentic . First, know your weather. I live in the United States and I want to try curing some different meats. Hi Tom, thanks for your very informative blog! Four hours should be enough; however, I often leave the tray in the refrigerator overnight. Its worth noting that the thicker you cut your initial beef cuts, the slower the drying process must be to avoid case hardening, so try cutting thinner next time. Hi Charle, what do you use to sharpen your knives and what knoves to you use? Just found out youre back and to save myself a major maths equation youve added a superb adding thingy. The key is to draw air around the meat without the airflow being too strong, to avoid case hardening, whereby the outside becomes overly tough, and the texture gradient falls off too quickly. Do you have any recommendations on gear that would collect those readings (ideally, digitally) and record them so that I can do a trend analysis? 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. There are air-drying nets available, so if you dont have an electric dryer you may simply want to hang the meat up with a fan directed toward the meat. Put a small meat hook or paperclip through the meat with a label attached to it. You can substitute the cumin in this recipe for paprika, and add in some dried chili if you prefer a spicier biltong, but the spices used here are the more traditional ones. Biltong is best done at around 21C .Air dried Mongolian beef use a higher temp to dry with heat . Wet stones and ceramic steels. The main aim of all of these is to create dry warm circulating air so that the biltong dries correctly and efficiently. When ready, take it off the hooks, chop up a biltong slab and enjoy. Your biltong will be ready once it's lost 50% of its weight. This should take around a week but start monitoring it after 4 days. It's best to look at weight or moisture loss rather than time to judge when it's done. 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. What youre looking for is a slow drying process with gentle airflow. Don't store in craft bags as the meat will keep drying out. It was my 1st time ever making biltong. Don't worry too much if you leave it longer in the wet cure. This comes down to personal preference. I can't wait to try your process in that device. Thoroughly wash and dry your hands, and squeeze the flattest sides of the meat in with your fingers. Put it in an air-conditioned room. 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. The best way is to vacuum seal it tight and let it sit in the fridge for 2 to 3 days to make sure the moisture evens out. (Non aged). Below is an in-depth explanation of everything surrounding the making of biltong. I have a question on a 4.5 lb Pork shoulder that Im attempting to cure into Spalla. Contrary to popular belief, heat is not required to make biltongneither does it make for a better product. I'd consider getting a commercial dehumidifiercause I've had biltong go mouldy before so the risk is real. 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. Malt vinegar is what is used in foreign countries perhaps where they cannot find Spirit vinegar. Prepare your own Biltong spices for use with this dehydrator biltong. Mix the coriander, black pepper, ground cumin, and salt. Thank you so very much. That said, its fairly forgiving and a day or two over wont do too much harm. Then proceed as you would with Biltong! and your blog is so amazing to lear about that. Ive been using this recipe for the past 4 years. And is the long time in the freezer okay? Simply brilliant, best recipe on line- Tastes just like home. About 17 minutes to read this article. By bookmarking these links you help support the upkeep of this site. 3) When I make the bigger cabinet should I have: a: Just a fan, b: Just a lightbulb, c: both fan & lightbulb? For this biltong recipe, we will spray the vinegar onto the meat. They did this either by curing or dehydrating their meat. If you like quite a dry biltong then the venison is really good. Cover the container and let your biltong cure for 24 hours in the fridge, turning and rubbing through the meat occasionally. Make sure the meat is covered in the biltong spice. If there is any give in the meat, theres still moisture in the middle. If you spot mould, wipe it off with vinegar and move the biltong to a dryer better-ventilated area. Always slice across the grain of the meat when eating it. Everyone's happy. This fat can add a considerable amount of flavor to your biltong. As a 28 yo French woman it was about time ! Don't use more than 1% Prague/pink salt to the weight of the meat. I know this probably doesnt make any sense, but remember that after the biltong has been dried, you will cut it a second time, and that time it will be against the grain. Biltong is not sweet or rubbery like jerky. This is something that just needs testing to get some balance generally. If you want to check out the options and a guide on building a curing chamber, here is a detailed page on all the setup. You are right. Thanks again. I've just made my first batch and it's fantastic! It was invented or happily came about because Dutch settlers needed a way to preserve fresh meat for their long travels exploring the rugged South African terrain. For the most basic type of jerky, you can use your kitchen oven with the door ajar open, and it will take a lot faster since jerky is only a thin cut of meat. This depends on the size of the meat and your method of drying. Not dehydrated. Thats why I decided to try curing meat at home. Store vacuum sealed or wrapped airtight in the fridge or freezer. I recently found out you can equilibrium percentage calculate your pickling of vegetables! Case hardening happens when the outside of the biltong dries very fast, but the inside of the biltong strip remains raw meat. You need to find the balance between quality and cost because in the drying process, youre going to lose some of the weight, and then per pound biltong can work out quite expensive but it is so worth it! Keeping below 24C in the initial phases stops the fats from going rancid. As a perfect example of this, the Italians make a beautiful beef product called Bresaola, which is very slowly air dried at cold temperatures, so as to achieve an even dryness and texture. 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. Geez people , biltong is air cured meat. Vinegar does a perfectly good job of sterilising the meat without mountains of salt. 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. Pat thoroughly dry with kitchen paper towel and hang the strips in the Biltong Maker. In the era of Parma where Parma Ham comes from, its next two areas of water which allows the generally higher level of moisture and humidity in the air to stop the outside drying (I just googled Parma, Italy whether. On average, biltong will take five days to dry.
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