How to make Biltong (my way)

Biltong is a style of dried meat

This recipe is derived from a number of different recipes that I found on the web and some hints and tips that were passed down the generations of my wife's side of the family.

Ingredients:

Rock salt
Apple Cider Vinegar

Biltong Spice:
per kilo of meat
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup of coriander (cilantro) seeds (dry fry then blend them to a powder)
1 teaspoon of blended pepper corns
Optional (Ground dried chilli to taste)

I pre-make the biltong spice and freeze large batches of it. It's important to heat up the coriander before you blend it all together.

As far as I know you can use any meat, with the exception of pork. Apparently pork goes rancid rather than curing. You can even use fish, though I have never tried.

I like to use a cut of silverside, or top side beef. The long straight grain of the meat makes it easy to cut into strips and hang, plus its fairly inexpensive. The downside is, silverside has little fat which some people like in their biltong.

Make sure your surfaces, knives and hands are clean, this meat is going to hang raw for a long period so we want to minimise any type of contamination.

I've purchased around 3 kilos of silverside, theres another piece in the fridge.

Cut the meat into 1-2 inch think strips along the grain

Lay the meat on a bed of rock salt and cover it with more salt. I use mostly rock salt and sometimes sprinkle a fine coat of table salt.

Let the meat salt for 2-3 hours in the fridge covered with cling wrap. You can vary the saltiness by reducing or increasing this time. A large amount of moisture will come out of the meat so make sure your tray wont leak.

Scrape off all salt with knife (do not wash)
Submerge the meat in apple cider Vinegar for a minute.
Optional (mix the vinegar with some Worcestershire sauce or your favourite spicy sauce)










Take out the meat and roll it in the biltong spice







Hang the meat in your drying cupboard with 60 watt globe and 12cm case fan. There are plenty of instructions on the web about how to build one of these boxes. Mine differs slightly from most in that I have a small computer fan circulating air through the box, I find that this allows me to fit more meat into a smaller area and dry it quicker. Die hard biltong makers prefer to let the meat dry slower as it has a better taste, a luxury that I with my limited space cannot afford.

The meat is usually ready in 4-8 days depending on the size of the cut and the drying chamber.

Hints and tips:
Humidity and mould are your enemy. If your meat starts to get small white dots on it (mould) you have two options.
1. Throw the meat out and review your drying area
2. Brush the meat with cider vinegar to kill the fungus
I've only had this happen once when I tried to make biltong in the middle of winter in our laundry whilst frequently using the clothes dryer.

Don't crowd your meat whilst its drying. The only reason I get away with 3 kilos is such a small space is due to the small PC fan. More meat equals more moisture, more moisture equals fungus.

You can freeze biltong for storage. I usually make bulk 3+ kilo amounts and then freeze it in separate bags.