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A great South African classic. Although many people compare American Jerky with South African Biltong, it is just not the same thing. I helped my Dad to make biltong since I was very young and have made at least 50kg (100 pounds) on my own since I left home. I do not claim to be an expert (like Dad) but would like everyone to try this authentic South African recipe. My version is most certainly not the best. My three boys and I like to do it every winter, it's a tradition and nowadays they insist to do most of the work.
Whereas jerky is mostly made of thin strips of meat containing little fat, biltong is made from a large variety of cuts, sometimes containing more than 50% fat by volume. The cuts are generally thicker than other dried meat cuts and the moisture content of the final product varies with taste. I prefer my biltong moist, with a thick strip of fat, whilst my wife likes it dry with no fat. Some people argue that venison biltong should be very dry - almost to the point of crumbling, while others like it soft. There are as many preferences as there are South Africans. Pity is that most people can either not afford it or, even sadder, do not know how to make it.
SAFETY WARNING: You should not do this if you cannot replicate the environment that is needed for the meat to dry. You WILL suffer from food poisoning if you do not get it right. Keep everyting CLEAN! More about this in another step.
Whereas jerky is mostly made of thin strips of meat containing little fat, biltong is made from a large variety of cuts, sometimes containing more than 50% fat by volume. The cuts are generally thicker than other dried meat cuts and the moisture content of the final product varies with taste. I prefer my biltong moist, with a thick strip of fat, whilst my wife likes it dry with no fat. Some people argue that venison biltong should be very dry - almost to the point of crumbling, while others like it soft. There are as many preferences as there are South Africans. Pity is that most people can either not afford it or, even sadder, do not know how to make it.
SAFETY WARNING: You should not do this if you cannot replicate the environment that is needed for the meat to dry. You WILL suffer from food poisoning if you do not get it right. Keep everyting CLEAN! More about this in another step.
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Signing UpStep 1Materials
Materials, or rather, ingredients for this lovely food:
1. Meat. This must be red meat. Lamb and mutton does not work great. I have eaten: Beef, Impala, Kudu, Elephant, Ostrich, Oryx, Gnu, Zebra, Warthog, Springbok, Duiker, Baboon, Blesbok etc. etc. Any cut wil do, although marbled meat is not a very good material. A strip of fat on the outside of the meat works well if you prefer to have fat in the final product. Only soft fat must be used. Hard fat (as is mostly encountered with venison) is horrible, to say the least. In this example I used a tender beef fillet.
2. Vinegar. Brown spirit vinegar (5% strength) works the best
3. Brown sugar. Not treacle sugar. Normal cane sugar may also be used
4. Dried Coriander seeds
5. Water
6. Coarse salt
7. (Optional) Finely ground white pepper
1. Meat. This must be red meat. Lamb and mutton does not work great. I have eaten: Beef, Impala, Kudu, Elephant, Ostrich, Oryx, Gnu, Zebra, Warthog, Springbok, Duiker, Baboon, Blesbok etc. etc. Any cut wil do, although marbled meat is not a very good material. A strip of fat on the outside of the meat works well if you prefer to have fat in the final product. Only soft fat must be used. Hard fat (as is mostly encountered with venison) is horrible, to say the least. In this example I used a tender beef fillet.
2. Vinegar. Brown spirit vinegar (5% strength) works the best
3. Brown sugar. Not treacle sugar. Normal cane sugar may also be used
4. Dried Coriander seeds
5. Water
6. Coarse salt
7. (Optional) Finely ground white pepper
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Great recipe, another good trick instead of using hooks is just to use small plastic cable ties.
Made me miss home when I saw your instructables!
Great job Boet!
James