Biltong

[AndrewQLD]

This is my first attempt at air drying meat, the recipe and method I have used is available on this site Biltong
And I have to say it tastes great.

I used topside roast sliced into 1 cm strips
2 kg lean roasting beef.(Silverside, Topside or such)(London Broil)
125 gram rock salt (Not sea salt or table salt)
25 ml brown sugar.
5 ml bicarbonate of soda.
2.5 ml coarsely ground black pepper.
12.5 gram coarsely ground coriander seeds.
200 ml vinegar mixed with 50ml Worcestershire sauce.
1 litre warm water.

Method
Cut meat into strips of approximately 1cm thick.
Mix together all dry ingredients.
Rub dry spice mixture into the meat.
Layer meat in bowl with the thicker pieces at the bottom,
sprinkling a little vinegar mixture over each layer.
Leave in cool place for 24 hours.
Remove meat, strain the vinegar mix and add a litre of warm water to the mix.
Dip the meat into the vinegar/water mix and rub off any salt and spices that still cling.
Squeeze meat dry with hands or dry with paper towel.
Skewer meat and hang.

If any one is interested I will post the instructions to make the drying box.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[mark_m]

If any one is interested I will post the instructions to make the drying box.

Cheers
Andrew
[/quote]

Andrew,
I'd be interested to see a copy of the instructions if you're still happy to post.
Cheers,
Mark

 

[InCider]

I can't believe I missed this thread Andrew. Biltong is AG, Jerky is K&K! :icon_drool2:

Sean

 

[AndrewQLD]

If any one is interested I will post the instructions to make the drying box.

Cheers
Andrew


Andrew,
I'd be interested to see a copy of the instructions if you're still happy to post.
Cheers,
Mark

This site here has some pictures and measurements of a really good biltong box you can make.
The air holes should have some flyscreen glued over them on the inside.

This one here is also a good design.

I added legs to mine to keep it off the ground and instead of a door on the side mine has a lid. I made my box W300 x L300 x H900 but I'll be upgrading soon to a larger one as 2 kilo of biltong disappears in under a week here, my kids love it.

Here is an excellent site with some great recipes.

Hope that gets you started.

Andrew

 

[AndrewQLD]

Made another batch today, there's 1kilo of meat drying in the box.
I spiced them up with chillie and Cajun and left some plain.



I'll post a pic of the final product in a day or two.

 

[Sprungmonkey]

Chilli and cajan ones sound awsome.

I have made some before at work (Smallgoods company) and chilli biltong was very nice indeed. Nice with a few beers to wash it down

Nice work andrew .

 

[NRB]

Do you not have to cut off all the fat to prevent it from going rancid?

 

[AndrewQLD]

Do you not have to cut off all the fat to prevent it from going rancid?

It depends on how lean you want it, the fat actually dries out as well as the meat and has a fantastic flavour. I haven't had any turn rancid.

1 kilo of cured meat hung to dry left me with 550g of dried meat after 2 days in the dryer. The trouble with this stuff is kids love it and it disappears pretty quickly out of the fridge.

 

[Pumpy]

Andrew your the Jamie Oliver of AHB.

in the event of a National Disaster ,you will happily sit at home with a Fine brewed beer and some Homemade Crusty bread with Homemade Stilton cheese and some Beef Jerky what else could a man want in the world .

Oh I forgot the sausages !!!

Pumpy

 

[goatherder]

AndrewQLD, I've read somewhere here that there is a risk when drying meat at cool temps. Does this apply to your technique or does the 24hrs in vinegar take care of "cooking" the meat?

 

[AndrewQLD]

AndrewQLD, I've read somewhere here that there is a risk when drying meat at cool temps. Does this apply to your technique or does the 24hrs in vinegar take care of "cooking" the meat?

I think there's a risk when producing any food product, including beer . However there are steps you can take to dramatically reduce those risks to an acceptable level.

Cleanliness
Sanitation
Following procedures
Quality ingredients
Good airflow when drying
The salting and brining steps are most important to avoid spoilage
And refrigerating the final product.

Natural air drying and curing of meat products has been happening for thousands of years, and yes I am sure there were some stuff ups along the way and it is definately not an exact/perfect science. But with care and attention the risks are very low.


And Pumpy, you forgot the pickled onoins :lol:

Andrew

 

[halminator]

Does the wood that the box is made out of matter??

I've got an old kitchen cupboard from a renovation that I'm thinking of using. You know the white melamine stuff. would this work, or does it have to be wood?

 

[bradsbrew]

This is my first attempt at air drying meat, the recipe and method I have used is available on this site Biltong
And I have to say it tastes great.

I used topside roast sliced into 1 cm strips
2 kg lean roasting beef.(Silverside, Topside or such)(London Broil)
125 gram rock salt (Not sea salt or table salt)
25 ml brown sugar.
5 ml bicarbonate of soda.
2.5 ml coarsely ground black pepper.
12.5 gram coarsely ground coriander seeds.
200 ml vinegar mixed with 50ml Worcestershire sauce.
1 litre warm water.

Method
Cut meat into strips of approximately 1cm thick.
Mix together all dry ingredients.
Rub dry spice mixture into the meat.
Layer meat in bowl with the thicker pieces at the bottom,
sprinkling a little vinegar mixture over each layer.
Leave in cool place for 24 hours.
Remove meat, strain the vinegar mix and add a litre of warm water to the mix.
Dip the meat into the vinegar/water mix and rub off any salt and spices that still cling.
Squeeze meat dry with hands or dry with paper towel.
Skewer meat and hang.

If any one is interested I will post the instructions to make the drying box.

Cheers
Andrew

Hi Andrew, Man this sounds tops, couple of questions?

Would you get a better product using other cuts eg rib or rump, or is the topside or silver side cuts the most ideal?

I have a perfect box for this which is also a top hinged one that I will add legs to and utilise an old lamp to the base.
Are there any negatives in putting a viewing glass window in the face side so I can watch.
Would fitting a small exhaust fan to my box be a good idea.

By the way my wife hates this forum even more now :super:

 

[AndrewQLD]

It's that time of year again and I've dragged out the Biltong drying box, 2 kilo of topside is marinating over night.

Found some spice mix from SpringBok Foods
40g of spice, 20ml vinegar, 20 ml soy sauce for 1 kilo meat. The spice mix looked and smelt great, coriander :icon_drool2:

I'll post some pics of the finished product in a few days.

Andrew

 

[browndog]

It's that time of year again and I've dragged out the Biltong drying box, 2 kilo of topside is marinating over night.

Found some spice mix from SpringBok Foods
40g of spice, 20ml vinegar, 20 ml soy sauce for 1 kilo meat. The spice mix looked and smelt great, coriander :icon_drool2:

I'll post some pics of the finished product in a few days.

Andrew

Better save some of that for the xmas swap Andrew :icon_drool2:

cheers

BRowndog

 

[AndrewQLD]

Hi Andrew, Man this sounds tops, couple of questions?

Would you get a better product using other cuts eg rib or rump, or is the topside or silver side cuts the most ideal?

I have a perfect box for this which is also a top hinged one that I will add legs to and utilise an old lamp to the base.
Are there any negatives in putting a viewing glass window in the face side so I can watch.
Would fitting a small exhaust fan to my box be a good idea.

By the way my wife hates this forum even more now :super:

To be honest Brad, I just get whatever is the best quality meat at the best price, in other words, whatever is on special. The Bil in Biltong means Butt so I would assume rump might be their preferred cut but topside works very well.

As far as the box is concerned a viewing panel sounds great ( but not required) and if you plan to use an exhaust fan you won't need the light, the light is used in the bottom of the box to get an air flow going from the warm air rising. Put the fan in the lid of the box so it extracts the air but make sure you use some fly screen so no bugs get in, it's all about airflow and low humidity with biltong.
Wives pffft


Tony, I'll try to make sure I have some to bring down.

Andrew

 

[QldKev]

Good idea Andrew! I haven't made a batch for months..

Out of interest I use the budget rump @ $4.99kg that comes in the cryovac bags. It comes out excellent.

QldKev

 

[gregs]

Hey Ive been doing this for over ten years now and it's great to see other people are enjoying dryed meats. My recipe is 40% balsomic vinigar 60% soy sauce the for every 1 litre of mix add 6 heaped table spoons of brown sugar and 1 level tea spoon of scorbic acid ( from health food store this acts as a cure) mix it all together . The beaf I use is rump cut into chunky strips then completly covered in the liquid mix. Cover so as air tight and in the fridge for a week. Then remove the meat and spong dry with pressure and paper cloths and dry with the use of a food dehydrator on a low setting for up to 20 hours. Tasts great.

 

[browndog]

Hey Ive been doing this for over ten years now and it's great to see other people are enjoying dryed meats. My recipe is 40% balsomic vinigar 60% soy sauce the for every 1 litre of mix add 6 heaped table spoons of brown sugar and 1 level tea spoon of scorbic acid ( from health food store this acts as a cure) mix it all together . The beaf I use is rump cut into chunky strips then completly covered in the liquid mix. Cover so as air tight and in the fridge for a week. Then remove the meat and spong dry with pressure and paper cloths and dry with the use of a food dehydrator on a low setting for up to 20 hours. Tasts great.

Sounds very interesting Greg, I may have to give this one a go (with a bit of chilli added though)

cheers

Browndog