Sprinkle the salt all over the meat including the sides. Try to avoid fatty cuts of beef as it is trickier to dry fatty meat without it spoiling. 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. Thanks for your time. The salt is an excellent flavour enhancer and should definitely be includedjust a little less to avoid the need for washing. Now with the current climate and setup I have this has the chamber averaging around 7deg C. My thinking is that this is preferable to when I had the fridge controlled by the temp controller to maintain ~12deg C, but RH was averaging 85%. Holidays and weekends have been spent in the great outdoors, hiking, fishing and diving all around the world. This is by far the best recipe I have ever used the salt content is perfect. It will froth as the acid reacts with the soda. Most mould problems are caused by improper drying procedures. The meat hooks you want to use here should be food grade and have a plastic covering. Im confident that this fool-hardy recipe sticks with the traditional roots of the dried meat, whilst adding a little refined finesseit does not disappoint. Let it marinate for 2 hours turning the meat a few times to ensure even marination. Rain will end tonight making way for a dry and sunny Sunday What you want is a good steady stream of air running past the meat, but not too strong. We looked at how to pick the best meat so let's check out the rest of the ingredients. If the airflow is too strong, it will dry the outside of the meat, and the inside wont cure properly. What youre looking for is a slow drying process with gentle airflow. The idea is to retain the flavor of the beef by removing the majority of the moisture evenly. having travelled to ZA 3 times over the years to hunt i am firmly obsessed with biltong and drywors. How to build the DIY homemade Biltong Box. As soon as you spot mould wipe it off with vinegar making sure to get all of it. Its the bomb!! 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. I know this is probably because of oxidation but I wasnt sure if this would negatively affect the curing process? I've made biltong without trouble in the UK without issue. Its called Sukuthi and is normally made out of water buffalo or goat. It's very simple to make, takes much less time than other cured meats and is the perfect snack for many occasions. When you live in a city or a humid climate, you can use one of the following proven and tested methods. Biltong is a savoury snack, not a desert! Four hours should be enough; however, I often leave the tray in the refrigerator overnight. If there is any give in the meat, theres still moisture in the middle. Hi Tom, I recently discovered your website and its a real treasure trove of information. The paper will allow excess moisture to continue leaving the meat, discouraging mould growth. Always use a sharp knife. Leave for 12 hours. Oui, vive la France ! Freezing is a good option as it can last for up to 12 months in a freezer, but will last a few days in the fridge in a paper bag or in a glass jar. I live in the PNW, so were rarely very hot or cold, and the basement of course mitigates that further. I live in Denmark and have decided to build my own box. Bicarbonate of soda is only used when the meat you choose will be tough to chew on. There are a lot of creative, almost ceremonial devices oncutting biltong, but I think nothing beats a good, sharp knife. Hang the meat in a well-ventilated, dry-air, warm environment(close to 30C or 86F) protected from insects and animals. I use an ex- wine barrel which doubles as a cold smoker and biltong maker. 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. Texture-wise biltong is more similar to bresaola when made correctly and beef jerky is more of a leathery sometimes wet and chewy consistency. If you need more information on how to store your biltong after you have made it, you can check out these ideas here. If youve ever tried cutting over-dried biltong, youll know how tough it can betough as old boots! If you dont have a curing chamber and youre just looking at hanging out some meat to cure such as simple dry-cured bacon with some cold smoke after or simple red meat braesola recipe. (This is a little less than you would typically use, but youre applying it directly with the biltong spice). Happy you like! When I took the shoulder out of the bag to hang, it had a slightly greyish tinge to it. Be careful when drying and storing your biltong so that it does not spoil. There is a dedicated a very important ingredient missing in the above recipe. Bicarb has a pretty unpleasant taste, so its important to keep the quantity low. The trick is just getting it done. I do not mind waiting 2 or 3 weeks. by Runder Biltong February 26, 2022. Whole muscle meat maybe, salami no thank you! Do not point a fan directly at the meat (to avoid case hardening). Its not unusual to have an entire slab missing by the time your biltong is ready. Well explained. AWESOME!!! Do not be light here; make sure that all the meat is covered in vinegar. This comes down to personal preference. Large chunks of fat can be a little unpleasant to deal with when eating biltong. Any mould left on will grow back. The best methods to extend that time are to vacuum seal it or keep in a fridge. My favorite is apple cider vinegar. Make sure the meat is covered in the biltong spice. These involve the cuts of beef from the top of the leg to the mid back or short loin. Below are some other South African classics and dishes I love to prepare as well as a few other forms of curing and fermentation. So without further ado, heres my tried and tested biltong recipe. Place several (about 7) wooden rods (C) inside the box about 2 inches from the top. Just dont overdo itbiting into a lump of peppercorn is not a pleasant experience! I believe eating and cooking well attributes majorly to a happy life. Biltong - Better Meat Preservation than Jerky - UrbanSurvivalShop.com (freezers can deteriorate smell/flavor so it depends how its frozen too (with air or without like with vacpac (which we do for harvest wild game generally), i friend had a wild young goat in the freezer for 2 yearswe roasted it up, it was amazing! Which comes from areas that are pretty much untouched. This is so we can hang it up and track the moisture loss by weighing it. cheers, Sounds like a good time is coming. Vinegar does a perfectly good job of sterilising the meat without mountains of salt. Check out the courses link at the top if you want a booklet on DIY curing chamber, my charcuterie course will be out later this year too! It kills bacteria on the outside of the meat, and helps to draw moisture out. As soon as the spices are nicely toasted, slightly smoky and fragrant, remove them from the pan and let them cool down completely. It was my 1st time ever making biltong. I have used it with great success with beef, kangaroo, fallow and red deer meat. Truthfully, it beats jerky by a mile. Pieces shouldn't be too thick Products to help with mold in humid weather? : r/Biltong - Reddit Hi John, Thanks for your kind words, really encouraging for me. For texture and flavour. 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. Also, remove any gristle or sinew which once it is dried is pretty much inedible and you dont want that ruining your biltong snack.