Making Biltong

[keith_d]

A couple of people have asked me about this, so I'm going to put it on the forum for anyone who wants to give it a try.

What you'll need.

1) A biltong box (more about this later)
2) A kilo or more of decent beef (I buy topside when it's on offer)
3) 250ml of cider vinegar
4) 1/2 cup whole coriander seeds (buy a 100g bag, not little jars)
5) 1 tsp black peppercorns, coarsely ground.
6) 1/4 cup coarse salt
7) 1/4 cup brown sugar
~8 dried chillis (optional)
9) ~4 cloves of garlic (optional)
10) A means of crushing the coriander seeds (I use a pestle and mortar)
11) Assorted bowls & plates
12) Plenty of patience

Step 1. Make a biltong box

This is simply a drying box. Mine was made from some left over laminate flooring, but you could use a sturdy cardboard box. It needs vents top and bottom and a lightbulb to warm the air and make it circulate. I added mesh grilles over the vents to stop flies getting in.

There's a nice diagram of one here: http://www.sa-austin.com/other.html

Step 2. Toast the Coriander

Put the coriander seeds in a pan and heat them over a low heat, shaking occasionally. When they are all a nice golden brown turn off the heat, shake a few more times while the pan cools. Grind coarsely using a pestle and mortar, coffee grinder or food processor.

Step 3. Make up the spices:

Combine the crushed coriander seeds with coarse ground black pepper, brown sugar and salt.

If you like spicy biltong de-seed 6-8 dried chillis, grind them into flakes and add them to the mixture. If you like garlic biltong, mash up 3-4 cloves of garlic and add the to the spices. Normally you can keep any surplus spices in a sealed container for a few weeks, but garlic adds too much water so mix what you're going to use.

Step 4. Cut up the meat

Cut the meat into thick strips (1" square works well), removing gristle and fat where possible.

Step 5. Marinade

Put the cider vinegar in a bowl. Dip the meat in the vinegar, covering all surfaces, remove and allow to drip for a few seconds. Then coat with spices. Place the meat in a non-metallic bowl and leave to marinade overnight.

Step 6. Hang up to dry

Scrape off most of the spices, then hang the beef up to dry making sure the pieces don't touch. Don't forget to turn the light bulb on. This is where the patience comes in.

After about three days the surface should turn purple and crusty. If you like your biltong 'wet' it's time to give it a try. After about five days your biltong should be firm but slightly flexible. This is how I like it, chewy. After about 7 days your biltong will be bone dry, one of my colleagues loves it this way.

Step 7. Slice and share

The dryer the biltong is the thinner I slice it. Use a sharp knife and be careful. In theory dry Biltong will keep for weeks, but in practice once your mates find out how good it is there will be none left.

Chilli biltong is excellent drinking food. The combination of meaty, spicy and salty works really well with a cold cider or three.

Saved!!! My Dad brings proper stuff back from his business trips in South Africa. Absolutly loverly. Always wanted to make some myself and now I can

Cheers very much!!!

[littleoldman2]

Sound lovely

Thanks a lot Keith. Building a biltong box begins tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have some ready for next week Soho. You can judge my biltong-making abilities then. Cheers once again.

Mike

[yorkie_chris]

Has anyone tried keeping some for a while and seeing if it goes off? Sounds like great snack for out walking up on't 'ills.

Keith made some for the AR and they were great. I'm actually in the process of building a biltong box. I suppose if its bone dry it should be fine for a long time unless it gets wet. I think

Originally Posted by Mike_84_650S'99

Keith made some for the AR

why as the resident SAfrican didnt i get some

[Bluepete]

I make it with rabbit fillets, the long strip of meat along the spine. Very good.

Venison is also very good for biltong.

Did you see the Ray Mears approach? Over an open fire with the meat hanging off leafy beech whips.

Pete

Originally Posted by SuzukiNess

why as the resident SAfrican didnt i get some

There are quite a few of us on here Ness...

Cheers for that Keith, another quick tip, don't, like me, spend 25+ quid on ebay for a biltong box as essentially what you get is a cardboard box with a heater element in it...d'oh.