Traditional Biltong

[nex]

Don't you have an ex-SA guy butcher in your area fragger?
If you do, he would most def have biltong hanging in the butchery   

[nex]

Guests are not allowed to view images in posts, please Register or Login


Ready For Slicing

Guests are not allowed to view images in posts, please Register or Login


Now for an ice cold beer and a Cricket or Rugby game

[BinnZ]

I'll go for the ice cold beer, maybe a game of rugby indeed, but I'll skip the biltong

[Dweller_Benthos]

You got in just ahead of me PZ   
You can also use Worcestershire sauce instead of vinegar, tastes better.
Correct me if I'm wrong D_B, I believe jerky is meat dried over heat.
Biltong on the other hand is spiced like in jerky but dried by just hanging
it in a cool drafty area.

I just always assumed my aunt put it over the stove to make it dry faster. The commercial devices I've seen that are for making jerky, which look like this

https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-3011765/cuisinart-food-dehydrator.jsp?ci_mcc=ci&utm_campaign=SMALL%20ELECTRICS&utm_medium=CSE&utm_source=google&utm_product=39240648&CID=shopping15&utm_campaignid=196835012&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoOvq7_jF1wIVBbXACh2GlgnVEAQYAiABEgIZN_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CL3mmvL4xdcCFYq5yAodDiICUg

Not sure if they have a heat element, the one I saw was just a fan to move the air, though I guess some might add heat too.

But your's is definitely thicker than the average jerky I've had.

[nex]

The raw meat shouldn't be thicker than 3/4" and no more than 4" wide, the length
depends on the size of the drying cabinet.
Anything bigger than that takes too long to dry, Unless one is
making biltong commercially.

[PZ]

In my conversations with nex and the links he provided, I definitely see the differences between jerky and biltong which is why I wanted to try making it (biltong). I've made jerky for decades, and now want to try dried beef, and I understand biltong is the South African way of accomplishing that.

[Art Blade]

you guys should take a look at the first pic in this article (and perhaps read it)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemmican

[fragger]

Not too many SA butchers around here, nex

[PZ]

Although interesting, I've not liked the idea of pemmican because it contains fat, which can become rancid. Jerky and dried beef recipes require very lean cuts which I prefer for long term storage purpose.

[Art Blade]

yep, 50% fat is quite a bit too much for a meat snack

However, linking to pemmican was the easiest way for me to "show" you the first pic of the article which I think shows what could have been how beef jerky started (drying meat with heat)

[PZ]

That looks great, nex 

Do you mostly eat it plain or do you use it as an ingredient in other dishes?

[nex]

I eat them just like that PZ,
when I had my pizza shop, one of the pizzas had biltong on.
But there are lots of people who uses it in some sort of dish
just do a google search "cook with biltong" and you'll see what I mean.

[fragger]

They do look like god munchies to have while blobbing out in front of the telly In my case it would be golf instead of rugby (might watch cricket if I'm in the right frame of mind), but the beer is a given

[mandru]

Your biltong looks good Nex.  I'd be willing to give it a try. 

While I don't really care for the taste of wild game I've enjoyed some elk jerky prepared from an animal taken in one of my uncle's hunts.


A television program that my TV will often end up tuned to when I can't find anything else interesting on the 250 channels that I can access is Alton Brown's show Good Eats.  Each episode is an informative tutorial infused with his own brand of humor on how to prepare various foods. 

There was one specific episode that centered on his preferred method for the prep and drying of jerky.  He likes his jerky air dried without heat assisting.  He did acknowledge that there is some chemical cooking involved because of the acids in the marinade.

Meat selection and prep seasonings aside I was impressed with the set up he assembled for the drying process itself.

He started with a fairly powerful 20X20 inch (50X50 cm +/-) electric box fan.  By laying it flat with the corners of the fan elevated high enough above the surface the fan was resting on (so that the intake was not impeded) with the airflow aimed upwards.  He then used five furnace/air conditioner filters from his local hardware store that had a non-toxic paper side matching the 20X20 inch (50X50 cm +/-) size of the box fan.

I should mention the filters he selected had fairly deep valleys and peaks that ran parallel across the face of its paper side to increase the surface area for particulate filtration.

Each of the first four filters were assembled paper face (valleys and peaks) up by laying out the strips (pre-cut to match the indents on the filter) of marinated meat in the filter's grooves spaced well enough apart so that each piece of meat would receive ample airflow.  The fifth and final filter served as a top cap to keep flies and other irritants out of the process.  Then the whole stack of filters filters were loaded onto the box fan and attached with an appropriate length bungee cord at each corner.

I believe (if I recall correctly) that this delivered a two-day drying time but it was easy to check the top layer to see if it was ready to pull off and store.  Each of the top layers would dry slightly more slowly than the lower layers because of the rising humidity from the forced airflow.

He did warn that this was probably something you would not want to try inside of your home as the smell of meat being forced air dried can be pretty overwhelming but the again left unprotected and unattended in an outside situation it would potentially pull in every carnivorous critter for miles downwind.  It's best done in an outbuilding or shed if you have one. 

[Art Blade]

funny interesting story, mandru