Once the meat is ready remove the hooks. Start by removing excess fat. 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. Thanks for dropping by, Ive been passionate about meat curing for decades. What youre looking for is cool conditions with good airflow. a Bad initial product won't turn out nice. But yes I would say oxidation, smell it and try using your senses, does it have any off smell (our evolutionary noses are quite useful), Fresh frozen meat that is thawed and then cured, I personally have had no problems with as long as it was fresh (so you have to get your source to acknowledge this), I know recipes dont have (pink) curing salt, but I prefer to use it, not just for color but also the other obvious safety reasons. Adding heat nullifies the process, because then you are making jerky, not biltong. The Nepalese then pound it into powder and fry it with vegetables. It is eaten in great quantities here, but its popularity is only now starting to spread around the world. Case hardening happens when the outside of the biltong dries very fast, but the inside of the biltong strip remains raw meat. Well just an update since this is my third attempt which I followed to a Tee. Ive been using this recipe for the past 4 years. If I cut it thin (1/4) it can be ready within 36 hours. Nine times out of ten, the answer will be its fine and to leave it and check on it tomorrow. It was my 1st time ever making biltong. Put it in an air-conditioned room. Try a small batch first and keep an eye on it :) 4 Reply ethnastydizasty 4 yr. ago I'm also in the PNW (Vancouver, Canada) and I just finished building a new box. I thought it just generated heat. The length of the strips will depend on the height of your dryer as the meat must not touch the tray at the bottom. Apr 1, 2023 by ASK SOUTH AFRICA. Biltong making at home - A Quick Introduction - Meately Roughly 20cm in length, and 1cm thickness is ideal. Is a light bulb mandatory in humid climates? : Biltong - Reddit Hanging and curing naturally in 10-14 days is best, this is why the snack is typically made in the winter where the air is cool and the humidity low. Making biltong Next Biltong (spiced dried meat) is a South African delicacy. and our Government go in and kill deer yet we cant. I recommend brown vinegar for the best flavour, with cider vinegar coming in a close second. Place several (about 7) wooden rods (C) inside the box about 2 inches from the top. 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. Biltong is an air-dried meat snack that originates from South Africa. Im lucky enough to harvest quality meat from the wild. Raw beef inoculated with 4-strain cocktails of either E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, or Staphylococcus aureus, and processed with a standard biltong process, were shown to incur a >5-log reduction . 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. Pat thoroughly dry with kitchen paper towel and hang the strips in the Biltong Maker. Some like theirs tough like old leather. Biltong traditionally did not include sugar at all and the preservation is mainly achieved by the addition of vinegar. Temperature and Humidity for Meat Curing Chamber Ive made it about a dozen times, and it always turns out good. Making Biltong - The Best Smoking Meat Forum On Earth! Hang your meat in a biltong box or other dry-air well-ventilated area away from pests, insects or animals. In principle, biltong is made by marinading, spicing, and airdrying strips of meat. 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. Back in the days when refrigerators werent a thing, the pioneers needed a way to preserve their meat. Controller is working correctly and switching when it should. This will be the first curing recipe I will try, but I will be using a refrigerator dedicated to this and I will keep it around 12 Celsius, with a fan inside and a device to monitor humidity. Thank you very much for sharing it. After youve cut the biltong slabs, dry all the moisture off with towels. With generation after generation using roughly the same method and ingredients to make it. Most mould problems are caused by improper drying procedures. Sadly the extremely high temps and humidity in my country for all but a few weeks of the year make it hard to make biltong. 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! Adding sugar brown sugar, for example may sweeten the taste but it also brings you closer to beef jerky than to South African biltong. Yes you could do that or you could grind the chilli flakes a bit and add more. Shops that sell biltong will often hang it and leave it out, and these are ample storage conditionsjust try to make sure none of the pieces are touching. But its good to just go over the basics, first off the quality of the meat. Low humidity for biltong is anything below 50%. MAC is good if you're looking for good price/quality. Do a speed test on our app and win R5,000, https://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/613014-The-Official-Biltong-Enthusiasts-Thread. Too much sugar is really unpleasant thoughyoure walking dangerously close to beef jerky territory and Id really recommend against it. This is something that just needs testing to get some balance generally. When slicing to serve or eat, cut across the grain. Once dry, these biltong slabs are sliced and eaten. It will last longer if it is vacuum sealed. 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. Bicarb has a pretty unpleasant taste, so its important to keep the quantity low. Perfect recipe. I had this probably with a large commercial fridge, too much power! The most important thing to remember when choosing meat is the quality and fat marbling. 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. 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. If there is too much air flow around your biltong, the outside can firm up really quickly, leaving the middle soft. The longer you leave it in the wet cure the more the wet cure flavour will be there in the end product. So make sure you meet slabs are dry before rubbing them with the spice mix. Then you're in for a treat. Combine all the spices and sprinkle into the meat. Be careful when drying and storing your biltong so that it does not spoil. Dankie! We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Leave it too long and youll have some tooth-bustingly tough biltong on your hands. by Runder Biltong February 26, 2022. My Aussie and ZA mates all love it. Since the saturation vapor pressure of water decreases with decreasing temperature, the water in the air condenses on the surface, separating the water from the air. So without further ado, heres my tried and tested biltong recipe. Note that biltong treated (in humid areas) with saltpeter and baking soda for mold will have a much redder final color but should not be moist inside. Better to try smaller pieces in a fridge, I wrote about this here. Your house seems like the place to be) Thanks! plugged into a temperature controller? The packing date was mid February, so I also wasnt sure if the long time in the freezer would negatively affect the curing process? Limited Time 50% OFF. I will do it again for sure!! 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. I'm looking to start making my own, and I live in an area that's over 90% humidity for. Salt and vinegar both act as detergents against bad bacteria by displacing water and lowering the Ph level. Great instructions and simple well balanced ingredients. Required fields are marked *. 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!). His wife refused to have any. You want to see the different spices. Here is a quick synopsis on how to make biltong. Some people would never consider eating biltong without this fat; others prefer to cut off before the biltong is made. The main seasonings are coriander, sugar, salt, pepper and vinegar. Biltong can also be made from: Chicken, simply referred to as chicken biltong. The best methods to extend that time are to vacuum seal it or keep in a fridge. It should be mostly powder, with a few pieces of seed shells left in. As a babe in the woods when It comes to curing (iv only made hams, bacons, and pancetta) having someone share the lessons they have learnt is much appreciated. Now I truly appreciate other people are learning from this blog which summarizes what I have learned. 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. Can i exclude the sugar from the the recipe or replace with a sugar alternative? You want to be able to identify the different spices. When ready, take it off the hooks, chop up a biltong slab and enjoy. This case hardening can happen if the humidity is way too low or if theres a gale force blowing onto the biltong. My local butcher goes way overboard with salt on their biltong. How To Make A Biltong Box | SA-Austin.com Thoroughly wash and dry your hands, and squeeze the flattest sides of the meat in with your fingers. Once you have the art of making biltong honed, then maybe you want to start using some of the meat from hunting expeditions. Increase the airflow and decrease the humidity to prevent another bout of mould. See the post for an in-depth explanation of the processes involved. (Photo by V. Edgar). Here is simple cheap sensor pack to check temperatures around the home. Thank you. Total cycle during the swing it about the same time as when its stable in-range. Cheers T. Ive been wanting to find out if my crawlspace (no actual crawling required) is suitable for hanging and curing meats. 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. If conditions are particulary humid or hot, theres a chance you might experience this problem. Its important to know that biltong is not smoked meat it is air-dried. Biltong pronounced bill-tong is air dried, and although you can use a dehydrator, most South Africans use a biltong box, as it makes drying the meat easier and more hygienic. Skies will clear making way for a sunny and dry day. Thats why I decided to try curing meat at home. 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. 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. The airflow is just enough to draw away moisture, but not too fast so as to avoid over drying the outside of the meat. We, South Africans, save the sweetness for desserts and we do have some super-sweet ones like koeksisters something like a doughnut thats plaited, deep fried, then dunked in a cold lemony syrup; or malva pudding a soft pudding thats given a sauce that soaks through made from cream, butter, and sugar. Some dry biltong in a dehydratorand some people use a DIY biltong dehydrator or "biltong box" as it's often called. After so many failed previous attempts, finally your recipe worked beautifully for meits like being back in south Africa again, Love it. Biltong made from beef or venison is the most popular. Malt vinegar is what is used in foreign countries perhaps where they cannot find Spirit vinegar. When you grind the spices, it releases the compounds that give them the flavor. 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. Nowadays with the plug-and-play controllers for fridges, it makes it super simple, if you use a standard old frost free fridge. You got me addicted to making my own biltong. Fixed that for you. Then proceed as you would with Biltong! Airflow and how consistent the moisture is in the environment is key to any dry curing project, but it can work in many scenarios. You still need a little air movement, but the slower it dries, the more even the moisture gradient will be from inside to out. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The reason for this plastic covering is that vinegar reacts with metal, so you dont want this affecting the taste of your meat. This affects the drying as the humidity and temperature play a role when drying biltong at home". Once cooled, blitz the spices in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar until nicely broken up but not too fine. Dry in a well ventilated low humidity environment to ensure proper curing. I've made biltong without trouble in the UK without issue. It may not display this or other websites correctly. ), and too much salt can leave a burning sensation, so many recipes call for the salt to be washed off with a water/vinegar solution. Your email address will not be published. Thank you so very much. 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. 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. It just needs to be somewhere in the range of humidity approximately and temperature above. This is what my grandfather did, and I suspect the early pioneers too. Brown sugar has a caramel and molasses flavour that adds complexity to the meat, without masking it. Now, these are my dry curing conditions, although I have spoken to award-winning biltong makers internationally. Cut the meat along the grain into strips roughly an inch thick and around 8 to 10 inches long. I ended up doing this without the pink salt and it is a great recipe. If you want to change the flavors up a little, create a mixture of 60% vinegar 40% Worcestershire sauce and use this for the marinade in the biltong recipe. Throw the marinade out or use it to marinade other meats. Toast the spices, apart from the peppercorns, in a dry pan until fragrant and giving off a bit of smoke. If you like quite a dry biltong then the venison is really good. Over the years, many ways have become available for people to make cured meats at home or in tight spaces. You are right. I have a home made biltong cabinet with he fan and 40watt light bulb. Use Kosher or natural untreated coarse salt. Worked well. If the airflow is too strong, it will dry the outside of the meat, and the inside wont cure properly. In New Zealand's humid climate a biltong maker (a box containing a light bulb and fan) is usually necessary, whereas in South Africa's dry climate the meat is commonly dried outside in the shade. Buy good quality beef. 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 recently found out you can equilibrium percentage calculate your pickling of vegetables! By their operation, dehumidifiers extract water from the conditioned air. Bicarbonate of soda is only used when the meat you choose will be tough to chew on. Then just lay the cured and spiced thin pieces out on a wire rack in the oven. Considering that we no longer tie biltong slabs up outside on trees, the best source of this is from a fan. This biltong recipe is easy and all it takes is a little patience as the biltong dries. The ideal climate is warm (not hot), dry, with steady reliable balanced airflow. Don't store in craft bags as the meat will keep drying out. But I havent tried it and I cant say Ive heard any great outcomes if youre looking at longer-term dry curing for months. Your email address will not be published. For this, you will need a spray bottle for food. Right now it averages 30 to 40 degrees Celsius with humidity around 80% plus. Biltong - Salty Ginger Your tutorial is very good and your recipe looks amazing. There's a lengthy thread on biltong making. 4 Pounds of beef - cut into 1-inch-thick strips that can be of any length. Never come across biltong done with balsamic vinegar before. Once you have tasted biltong, youll be a fan of this spiced dried meat that South Africans have made famous around the world. Many home biltong makers add a lot of ingredients to their biltong, thinking that adding more will lead to a better result, but in reality theyre muddying the clarity of the flavour and masking the star of the showgood quality meat! Play with the biltong spice recipe until you find what you like. Thank you Charlie I have sourced 5kg of topside for the next batch and I agree fennel is awesome just got to be careful about my salt intake as I now make a lot of billtong cold smoked salmon and kimchi. The bicarb acts as a meat tenderizer. Its really hard to guess whats going on without seeing it. Its such a delicious dried meat snack and you can make quite a lot of biltong in one go. I have an Anova Precision Oven which can dehydrate meat at that exact temperature and humidity. The sugar helps with drying through osmosis, latching onto the water molecules and wicking them away. It kills bacteria on the outside of the meat, and helps to draw moisture out. Be sure to get it all or its likely to spread again. If youre impatient and cant wait for your biltong to dry, plan ahead and cut some thinner pieces to hang with the restthese will keep you going while you wait for the thicker stuff to be ready. However, the best solution to prevent case hardening from occurring is to change your drying setup to reduce air flow. The air fryer will give a harder dryer piece of meat in 4 to 6 hours. Only issue is it got so dry it wasn't that appealing to eat as is and I ended up making biltong stew with it. Biltong is not sweet or rubbery like jerky. It should be mostly powder, with a few pieces of seed shells left in. I live in Alaska and our house and garage stay about 66F. Biltong spice is a mixture of toasted, crushed coriander seed, cracked black pepper, flaked or coarse salt, and brown sugar. So some rewiring was done, which only turned on the fan when the compressor was on. Choose a box with dimensions of about 60.7 60.7 91.4 cm (1.99 1.99 3.00 ft). Would a box with heat source be the best way to go to make biltong for us up here or can it be done with this colder temp? 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. I've just made my first batch and it's fantastic! You can loosely cover the meat with a muslin cloth to prevent any flies from getting to it. Since there was always a little bit of pressure going through the chamber, it was always coming out the hole. Put a small meat hook or paperclip through the meat with a label attached to it. Im getting into charcuterie. Try to create these conditions in whatever way you see fit. Then you can decide what you will do with the rest of your meat. Biltong was originally created by Dutch pioneers in South Africa, Voortrekkers, who needed reliable food sources on their long treks across the continent. Place the 100 watt bulb in the center of section A. Lie the meat down in a flat glass container (you don't want to use metal because the vinegar might react with it), then place this glass container in the refrigerator. This can be challenging in Africa, where the temperature can get up to 40C in summer. 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. Most South Africans have a biltong slicer, which makes the job easier. Would love to try this. Whole muscle dry curing is also easier then salami, less air is exposed to meat surfaces which could have potentially bad bacteria get into it. One of the obstacles to making good biltong is mold. white powdery mold (Some folks do like to spray the meat surface in encourage this growth). Rhymes too. Biltong needs a fresh air supply to wick the moisture off the meat and dehydrates it. Stand the box upright and open the flaps on top. Tanja, I live in Colorado (low humidity) and just hang my biltong in the garage with a fan blowing it. 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? So youve looked into the temperature and humidity conditions you need. 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. Best recipe, and love the weight tool you added. The main aim of all of these is to create dry warm circulating air so that the biltong dries correctly and efficiently. Once youve got the coriander seeds ground, coarsely grind your black peppercorns and add them to the mix. The following are the most common causes of mould and include some tips on how to prevent it: Mould is more likely to occur during hot and humid summer periods, especially at coastal areas unless you put the Biltong Maker in an air-conditioned room. By far the best biltong I have ever tried! 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. Everyone's happy. If you dont, the first option is to vacuum pack the biltong and store it in the fridge for one week to one month, depending on severity. There are other spices you can add, but these four make the foundation of the biltong spice mix. go old school.look up south African biltong. Trial and error is the way! Once all your meat slab pieces are hooked up, hang them in the drying area. I keep mine forever in a freezer vacuum sealed. But what I love of the weight ratio youve added in. It's the most accurate way of measuring. Biltong is best done at around 21C .Air dried Mongolian beef use a higher temp to dry with heat . If you want trim the fat a bit or leave it on. 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.