Fixed that for you. This is so that you can track the moisture loss and know when the meat is ready. Holidays and weekends have been spent in the great outdoors, hiking, fishing and diving all around the world. 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. 2) Is it ok to do this without the lightbulb? Rhymes too. Mold is the biggest killer of biltong, especially in humid climates. Hang your meat in a biltong box or other dry-air well-ventilated area away from pests, insects or animals. There are a couple of ways to apply this vinegar, such as dribbling it through the hand. The length of the strips will depend on the height of your dryer as the meat must not touch the tray at the bottom. Step #6: attach the dehumidifier. Make sure your airflow from the fan is getting all around the meat. Quite - but dehumidifier heating. It was also typically made in the winter months when the colder temperatures would reduce the risk of mold. Over the years, many ways have become available for people to make cured meats at home or in tight spaces. Please dont rely on heat. Keeping relative humidity in the box below 50% ensures consistent, quality results. It is vital to make safe to eat biltong. My local butcher goes way overboard with salt on their biltong. Biltong traditionally did not include sugar at all and the preservation is mainly achieved by the addition of vinegar. And everyone I know who knows how to make biltong live, and has always lived, in bone dry climates. Anything too extreme will create an extreme result. Try to create these conditions in whatever way you see fit. This doesn't need to be very strong, as that also runs the risk of drying the outer layers before the inside of the meat. penicillin a.k.a. 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. Great instructions and simple well balanced ingredients. If youve cut your biltong and want to store it, wrap it in a few paper bags and store it in the fridge. Using a sharp knife, following the grain of the meat, cut into 1 inch (2.5cm) thick lengths and place in a non-metallic container. My answer? If you are hanging the meat in a room with afanit may take up to 10 days to dry. Black pepper and beef are a pair made in heaven. Use a high wattage bulb so it's nice a hot, it helps dry the air out. Have tried others but always come back to this recipe by Charle. 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. Vacuum seal tight and store in the fridge or freezer. Lie the meat down in a flat glass container (you dont want to use metal because the vinegar might react with it), then place this glass container in the refrigerator. Biltong was typically made out of whatever a hunter could catch as that was what was available. Cold Cold smoke it for a short time like 30 minutes just to get a hint on it. I have used it with great success with beef, kangaroo, fallow and red deer meat. Rub a little salt on the cut ends to protect them. In the temperate environments that Ive 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. I then sealed it and placed a HEPA filter over it. Making Biltong in high humidity? : r/Biltong - Reddit I'm really big on prep, usually going from the end forward then back from beginning to end. If youre really savvy, you might vary the thickness of slices from thin to thick allow for consistent grazing over the drying process (highly recommended). Not sure it would move the needle much over here though. If you feel any give in the meat, its still wet inside. The process of making this traditional, deliciously meaty South African snack is simple, though getting it just right can be tricky. I will do it again for sure!! This is what my grandfather did, and I suspect the early pioneers too. I then drilled through the side and opened up an exit hole of about 3 x 3. After 3 hours simply wipe off the salt but. it needs much thinner cuts, no more than 1cm. WHAT AN AMAZING TREAT!!! Try to avoid grinding the peppercorns too fine if you want the best flavor. Cheers T. Ive been wanting to find out if my crawlspace (no actual crawling required) is suitable for hanging and curing meats. 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. So I go for longer slower biltong which takes 2-4 days. What is the ideal biltong drying temperature? - Meately I live in the United States and I want to try curing some different meats. So make sure you meet slabs are dry before rubbing them with the spice mix. You should assume any link is an affiliate link. Biltong making at home - A Quick Introduction - Meately And that is saltpeter. For this recipe we will be using beef as anyone can get their hands on some at the local butcher or supermarket. Will that work ok? Its not a traditional ingredient if were going full purist, but it balances the saltiness well. I salted for roughly 3 days in a ziplock bar in the refrigerator with a pan and 8 lb weight on top (as per Ruhlman and Polcyns Salumi). It's best to look at weight or moisture loss rather than time to judge when it's done. I'd love it if you could post a photo. and moisture balance to make a success of biltong making. I can't wait to try your process in that device. I have made some cured hams in the past and used Prague curing salt in the wet cure. Place the 100 watt bulb in the center of section A. Click here for the recipe. cheers, Sounds like a good time is coming. It should be mostly powder, with a few pieces of seed shells left in. Based on your DIY chamber booklet Ive almost got a complete setup hooked up over the past week, cant wait to see the results. 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. This will help with the drying process, and ensure greater longevity of the final product. You can use any vinegar for marinating your beef slices. Trial and error is the way! Apr 1, 2023 by ASK SOUTH AFRICA. A combination of good airflow, moderate temperature and low humidity are the key to successful biltong making. Dankie! If you spot mould, wipe it off with vinegar and move the biltong to a dryer better-ventilated area. Now and then I had some Louisiana Cajun Spice for a kick. 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. You can also do this in a fridge, but make sure the fridge is spotlessly clean and the meat does not touch anything. This will be grain-fed beef. Place the meat in a mixture of salt, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar making sure each part of the meat is moistened in the mix you can set the meat aside to marinade in the fridge for between half an hour to an hour. I've made biltong without trouble in the UK without issue. Charcuterie is indeed a French word but I have to say the Italians are the masters in that matter. Also, check out my page with an equilibrium curing calculator to make the calc easy! Temp stays right in range. Biltong from the land of the Gurkhas! Unfortunately its pretty hot in France and the actual temperature of the cellar is 17-18C/62,6-64,4F. Very useful information. Salami is definitely the advanced category of using a curing chamber. If you want it quick and don't want to wait too long put it in a box. Now that you know how to make biltong, let me know how yours turns out. (Photo by V. Edgar). This might seem a little odd, but it has scientific reasoning. Required fields are marked *. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Spray every part of the meat liberally. Put it in an air-conditioned room. having travelled to ZA 3 times over the years to hunt i am firmly obsessed with biltong and drywors. Room temperature in most houses is fine, but air flow can be a problem. You should aim for 40% - 50% moisture loss for a wet or medium cure biltong and up to 70% for a hard cure dryer biltong. I live in Denmark and have decided to build my own box. Do you need to increase the ventilation in your biltong box? This will ensure a succulent top-notch result. A Note on Humidity and Mould. Salt and vinegar both act as detergents against bad bacteria by displacing water and lowering the Ph level. If you need more information on how to store your biltong after you have made it, you can check out these ideas here. It should lose at least 40% - 50% moisture before it's ready. Roughly 20cm in length, and 1cm thickness is ideal. My wife cant stand biltong, never has, UNTIL NOW! but it was very good. The right amount of fat to keep on your meat for biltong is contentious, and quite honestly, it comes down to personal taste. Most mould problems are caused by improper drying procedures. It basically just follows the procedure but since it is common to have a fermentation stage having that higher temperature and higher humidity allows that pH and acidity to increase to create a hostile environment for bad bacteria. After youve cut the biltong slabs, dry all the moisture off with towels. Your email address will not be published. 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. Leave some fat for extra flavour, as you like it. 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. Toast the coriander seeds in a dry pan, then grind down in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. Check your biltong every day for mould. While the meat is salting mix together all the wet cure ingredients. Im getting into charcuterie. plugged into a temperature controller? If there is any topic you want to suggest feel free. Best for hot smoking, head to do cold smoking at under 86F/30C! If you like very smokey then go for longer but you will lose some of that pure meatiness a bit if you smoke it a lot. Biltong - Better Meat Preservation than Jerky - UrbanSurvivalShop.com In this guide, Im going to show you how to make it for yourself. Its all about the unique spice mix and salt and enjoying this snack with a cold lager. Fennel is the way forward. So without further ado, heres my tried and tested biltong recipe. Toast the coriander seeds in a dry pan, then grind down in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. 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. When asked about the best way to store biltong, Maxine says, "I recommend to not store it in the fridge if the biltong is in any form of packaging. If you need a recipe for biltong spice, click here: The best meat to use for biltong will always have a low amount of marbling and muscle sinew. Just dont overdo itbiting into a lump of peppercorn is not a pleasant experience! I actually tried growing some gray oyster mushrooms in the chamber and it didnt work because they need such a significant amount of oxygen and airflow. In fact, if you have other members in your household, its not unusual to have half your biltong missing by the time its ready . Simply brilliant, best recipe on line- Tastes just like home. Make a biltong box from a cardboard box to save money. Tom, gem of a site and already great help as I begin my own dry-cured meat hobby. How To Make A Biltong Box | SA-Austin.com It's cured meat which has its origins in much the same way as many other famous cured types of meat. Good. If you suspect that case hardening is your problem, I recommend cutting through the end of the meat and checking it. BILTONG MAKING INSTRUCTIONS - Biltong Makers Wet stones and ceramic steels. 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! Warning this recipe may lead to the purchase of a biltong slicer. 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 need a coolish temperature (less than 86 F / 30 C), and sufficient airflow for the best quality biltong. in the right zone of 10-20C, thats fine/ humidity not dry over 60%. 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. And is the long time in the freezer okay? She actually liked it and that was fantastic! Most South Africans have a biltong slicer, which makes the job easier. 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. 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 ended up doing this without the pink salt and it is a great recipe. Hi Andew looks lekker my last batch using another recipe (my first) was too salty 1.4 tbsp per kilo for 24 hrs. Four hours should be enough; however, I often leave the tray in the refrigerator overnight. Thank you! Below is an in-depth explanation of everything surrounding the making of biltong. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Then you disappeared and I cried. Here are the ingredients and equipment you will need to make biltong. Sprinkle the salt all over the meat including the sides. 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. (home of real chhhaaarcuuuterrrie!) Im still on the learning curve with biltong but this recipe is giving me the best results. When slicing to serve or eat, cut across the grain. Use less salt! It it too high ? As I did 6.4 kg of topside and at the last minute decided to not introduce any smoke on the grounds it should be kept original. Don't store in craft bags as the meat will keep drying out. If you want some suggestions on a couple of humidifiers I know do a great job, here is a page with a few recommendations for humidifiers. If youre using a good cut like silverside or toprump, you wont need it at all. You want to be able to identify the different spices. I recommend brown vinegar for the best flavour, with cider vinegar coming in a close second. I added a UV light to prevent mould forming (because I live in a very humid part of the world! Your biltong will be ready once it's lost 50% of its weight. Traditional favorites are brown vinegar, white vinegar, and apple cider vinegar. Sounds like you are on the right track! 01 May 2023 01:09:48 Hopefully, theyre dry enough to handle the hotter setting. BTW Charlie, have you ever used a pre-mix call Crown Mills now Crown National? Iodized salt has a chemical aftertaste. I had this probably with a large commercial fridge, too much power! Many folks do love it and that's cool too. Best for hot smoking, head to do cold smoking at under 86F/30C! There are many curing methods used for a variety of cured foods and the method used depends on the raw product and the desired final result. When the fan was blowing, that moisture got pushed into the chamber. Plastic-covered paper clips make for a cheap solution. Don't worry too much if you leave it longer in the wet cure. 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 use a 275 w Infra red lamp for heat connected to a inkbird temperature controller and a computer fan controlled by a light dimmer to give me the perfect environment. Let's discuss beef as it's the most widely used meat for making biltong. and your blog is so amazing to lear about that. Thoroughly wash and dry your hands, and squeeze the flattest sides of the meat in with your fingers. 4 1/2kg now drying. Travel writing, recipe development as well as writing about homesteading matters, camping, health, children, medical matters, press releases and copywriting keep me busy. Cut the meat into 3cm or 1,1-inch strips along the grain of the meat. It really has a recognisable flavour. Cover the container and let your biltong cure for 24 hours in the fridge, turning and rubbing through the meat occasionally. Biltong made from beef or venison is the most popular. It will last longer if it is vacuum sealed. Biltong is not sweet or rubbery like jerky. Like a lot of biltong lovers, I was introduced to this culinary treasure as a child, and the addiction has stuck. Biltong needs a fresh air supply to wick the moisture off the meat and dehydrates it. Homemade Biltong Recipe - How To Make Biltong - Karnivore South Africans can get fussy about the way it is sliced too so bringing out the slicer and cutting according to guest preferences also makes something of a talking point at a gathering! Four hours should be enough; however, I often leave the tray in the refrigerator overnight. White spirit vinegar is traditional (made from grape must). The reason for this plastic covering is that vinegar reacts with metal, so you dont want this affecting the taste of your meat. (Non aged). Ive used cider vinegar a lot, purely because I have a large batch I made at home. I followed all your instructions, to the tea! But before I started doing jerky I was making South African biltong, this is a slower drying process and uses much chunkier bits of meat. The vinegar tenderizes the meat, preserves the meat by killing off any microbes, and balances the salt. For texture and flavour. Throw the marinade out or use it to marinade other meats. Better to try smaller pieces in a fridge, I wrote about this here. What cut of meat is used for biltong? | how to make biltong Biltong - Salty Ginger Store vacuum sealed or wrapped airtight in the fridge or freezer. Place a tray underneath the meat while drying. If it smells or looks rotten then throw it out as some other bad bacteria took hold and you can't save spoiled meat. Ive been using malt vinegar. ), 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. When ready, take it off the hooks, chop up a biltong slab and enjoy. For most people, a balcony with a fan blowing over the meat would be the easiest. This is by far the best recipe I have ever used the salt content is perfect. Thank you for the time you have put into the presentation!!! beef silverside or topside 4 tablespoons salt 8 tablespoons coriander 4 tablespoons black peppercorns 1 tablespoon ground cumin optional 10 ounces balsamic vinegar Worcestershire sauce Instructions Cut the meat along the grain into strips roughly an inch thick and around 8 to 10 inches long. You still need a little air movement, but the slower it dries, the more even the moisture gradient will be from inside to out. Now I truly appreciate other people are learning from this blog which summarizes what I have learned. When you live in a city or a humid climate, you can use one of the following proven and tested methods. The air should preferably dry with good airflow. 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. By their operation, dehumidifiers extract water from the conditioned air. Once all your meat slab pieces are hooked up, hang them in the drying area. So dont leave a whack on expecting it to disappear as the meat does. 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. Try to make biltong in the dry and cooler seasons of the year, as humid conditions can lead to meat spoilage. Now, these are my dry curing conditions, although I have spoken to award-winning biltong makers internationally. 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. 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. What you want is a good steady stream of air running past the meat, but not too strong. Although the actual meat of biltong will have little marbling and close to no fat, you will quite often see a ridge of fat that runs along the top of a biltong slab. The choice is yours but I fully recommend leaving the fat on. So some rewiring was done, which only turned on the fan when the compressor was on. I live in the PNW, so were rarely very hot or cold, and the basement of course mitigates that further. Use a non-reactive storage container when soaking the meat in vinegar. With that said if you want an extra guarantee for safe meat then use it by all means. Its 90% humidity there now thats 11 AM in the morning with a sunny day with some cloud intervals). Ill wait for the cooler months to try salami. 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. By drying the meat we get rid of excess water which in turn helps to preserve it and also give it amazing flavour. Viva La France! Thats why I decided to try curing meat at home. Some recipes call for balsamic or cider vinegar. The third day of Jazz Fest looks to be a gorgeous one. If it swings like 10%, no problem. 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. The idea is to retain the flavor of the beef by removing the majority of the moisture evenly. I don't know anyone that likes dry or hard cured biltong but some do prefer it. I like to take 2 to 4 days to dry out biltong at around 28 to 35C, personal preference. Its tricky to get the salt quantity right. What humidity should biltong be? It was my 1st time ever making biltong. There is a reddit r/biltong for any questions and recipes you may have. Leave it too long and youll have some tooth-bustingly tough biltong on your hands. You can blitz your peppercorns with the spices or grind them in with a pepper mill. 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. Especially biltong that can in most cases do without it. Since there was always a little bit of pressure going through the chamber, it was always coming out the hole. Getting it right is down to trial and error. Biltong spice is a mixture of toasted, crushed coriander seed, cracked black pepper, flaked or coarse salt, and brown sugar. (This is a little less than you would typically use, but youre applying it directly with the biltong spice). I use a half pound of beefsteak (anything that doesnt have much fat) and cut the strips in a variety of widths from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch so that they cure at different rates, and I can enjoy over a few days. What youre looking for is a slow drying process with gentle airflow. Microorganisms | Free Full-Text | Effect of Biltong Dried Beef - MDPI If conditions are particulary humid or hot, theres a chance you might experience this problem. But its good to just go over the basics, first off the quality of the meat. I love this recipe. It is a baseline for you to start with. Don't use more than 1% Prague/pink salt to the weight of the meat.

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