Biltong - who makes their own ??

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Who on here makes there own biltong & specifically do you hang it in a machine to dry or rather the corner of the draughty garage ?

Looking to buy a biltong box but everything on Amazon etc seems to be made in China ?!?

Would really like to hear what you are using !

Cheers

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No need to buy a super-duper fancy box, at least not if you have 'normal' humidity levels.

I just used a cardboard box, cut a hole on the side and attached a computer fan. Soldered on a female connector that would work with some old phone charger I had laying around. Added some insect netting to the fan so it wouldn't blow flies etc into the box.

This was just a test build to see if was possible to "build your own". And it worked fine. So fine that I never got around to building a proper box.

Then I lost the charger somehow, and ... it worked fine even without the fan, I just hang the meat on skewers across the top of the box - no lid on top. So in essence the biltong is now being made in the house, at room temp, without any extra ventilation. No smells, no flies - but great taste.

I have a box that I use but I also live in a very humid area

Okey, you got me interested.

Give me full home made biltong procedure.
How to do it?

What meat or venison do you use?

mark-hunter said:

Okey, you got me interested.

Give me full home made biltong procedure.
How to do it?

What meat or venison do you use?

Click to expand...

There are probably a few threads in this forum already on that subject. And a lot of YouTube videos.

Anyway - the short version here;

• Take a piece of meat* where the muscle fibres are fairly straight, and there are no sinews/silver skin. Cut it along the fibres into ~2 cm slices.
• Put the meat into a container of some sort, add salt, vinegar and other spices** you like into a brine/marinade, and let it sit for a few hours, or overnight in the fridge.
• Take the meat out of the brine and pat it dry(-ish) with a paper towel.
• Cover the outside in a dry spice rub*** and hang on a skewer or meat hook.
• Hang somewhere cool-ish and dry-ish for a few days.
• When satisfied with how much it has dried it is ready to eat. Cut thin slices across the fibres, and try it. If it is still too "wet", just let it hang more, and taste it again the next day. Some people like really dry biltong, where it is almost black all the way through, others like a softer red core.
• Get some cold beer, and enjoy!

* I've used different kinds of meat, and I don't know culinary names for all the cuts. But it doesn't have to be the backstrap or tenderloin, it could certainly be less prime cuts. Eye-of-round (beef and deer) has worked fine, as well as moose heart.

** I sometimes add worcestershire sauce, tabasco and other seasonings, but never sugar, as some recipes include.

*** The main component of the spice rub is crushed coriander seeds. Lots of it. A bit of black pepper is also a must. Other than that it up to personal taste. I've used chili flakes, garlic, juniper berries, smoked paprika, chipotle powder, thyme, oregano and other things - not all at the same time though. Just one or two alter the base recipe.

One of our workers is from Port Elizabeth. He makes it in his A/C house (lower humidity) using a laundry basket with a grill rack on top. He hangs the meat from the rack and puts a fan on it. The hoes on the laundry basket allows plenty of air flow.

Twraska said:

One of our workers is from Port Elizabeth. He makes it in his A/C house (lower humidity) using a laundry basket with a grill rack on top. He hangs the meat from the rack and puts a fan on it. The hoes on the laundry basket allows plenty of air flow.

Click to expand...

Well what if we don’t have any hoes at the house. My wife would not approve. //sarcasm

USN said:

Well what if we don’t have any hoes at the house. My wife would not approve. //sarcasm

Click to expand...

Well,,,,,, if you had hoes at your house,,,,, biltong would be the last thing on your mind!!! LOL

Charlie64 said:

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Who on here makes there own biltong & specifically do you hang it in a machine to dry or rather the corner of the draughty garage ?

Looking to buy a biltong box but everything on Amazon etc seems to be made in China ?!?

Would really like to hear what you are using !

Cheers

.

Click to expand...

I've made it a number of times, including making my own spice mix. It turned out great, except that if you use American venison it "goes off" very quickly. We've made it out of oryx harvested in the USA and it tasted terrific, just like it would be if made in Africa. I'd like to try making it using beef, but at current beef prices I can't justify it.

We are active foragers so we use a commercial food dryer, the same one we use for drying fruits and mushrooms. (An Excalibur 10 tray model)

For the cost of building a biltong box and all the hassle, you might be better off buying a large, high quality food dehydrator that will serve multiple purposes.

We're making biltong frequently, 2-3 times per month.

Any kind of box works. Add a few holes in the bottom of the side panels, covered with some kind of mesh, or linen cloth etc. Add an extraction fan at the top. A PC computer fan is an easy option. Some kind of hanging system with dowels, and hooks. That's it.

Nothing fancy is needed. Anyone with two weak hands can make a basic drying box. I've seen drying boxes made in different countries from whatever has been available, scrap wood, carton, reused PC fans, USB charged fans used for cooling down when travelling, light bulbs to increase heat in the box, see through plastic sheets, plywood, particle board, or a mix of different material. Even a hanging rack with a fan on a stand worked.
These were mostly made by someone with a connection to Southern Africa. - A Boer make a proper plan to have biltong...

Between using what most hunters, fishermen and regular outdoor people have at home, the cost to make a basic drying box would be less than $20USD.

Good luck!

Edit: Of course you could have one made from stainless steel, oak, or any other material you chose, electronically controlled airflow, humidity and temperature. Then of course the cost, value and also the durability and longevity of the box would go up.

Used a simple box and long metal skewers. Did a dry rub with pepper coriander and a bit of salt Dried at run temperatures and used moose meat. Absolutely delicious

I live in South Carolina--it feels like 100% humidity most days...
I have a Benchfood dryer box and I have had great success with it. Toasting the coriander is the key to authentic taste in my opinion. I have used multiple cuts of beef and as others have stated I don't care for venison white tail deer for biltong. My South African friends think it is authentic in taste. My personal favorite is eye of round...