How To Make Biltong....

Biltong is a South African snack that is made by coating raw beef, game or ostrich in spices and hanging it up until it has dried. Back in the 17th century Dutch settlers started turning their meat into biltong by curing it with vinegar and spices to help preserve their meat in the African heat. These days South Africans still enjoy their biltong, although it is becoming a bit of a luxury due to the rising prices of meat. Most butchers in South Africa make their own biltong using their own secret blend of spices, so it quite normal to see raw meat hanging out to dry in the back of butchers shops.

When I first saw biltong hanging out to dry, I must admit that the thought of eating a piece of raw dried meat turned my stomach, after all what kept the flies from crawling all over it?

Being someone who tries to keep an open mind about things and never likes to be accused of not trying new things, I felt that I had no choice but to taste some biltong. The fact that I was told that not only do the spices add taste to the meat, but they also serve in keeping the flies away, which made sense to me, certainly helped. Once I'd tried it I was hooked, it makes my mouth water just writing this hub!!

It is so tasty and so typically South African that when we left South Africa to live in Greece it was one of the things we missed, my husband is South African and likes nothing more than an ice cold beer and some biltong....

The answer was YES!!!....

After doing some research online, we found that we could easily make our own biltong. I can't say that I didn't worry about getting it wrong and ending up poisoning anyone who tried a piece of our biltong. I need not have worried, we lost one batch when we underestimated the winter damp in the shed and the meat went mouldy, but other than that we have enjoyed eating and sharing our own homemade, rather tasty biltong.

What you need to make your biltong....

• Biltong drying box.
• Stainless steel eat hooks.
• Beef, cut into long strips along the grain of the meat strips - biltong can also be made using game and ostrich meat too.
• Vinegar, any type will do - I use red wine vinegar.
• Biltong spices, you can buy them ready made spices or be adventurous and make your own up. We buy the Lekker Premium Biltong Spice Mix from BiltongBox.

How to make a biltong box

1. Cut your beef into inch or two inches thick strips, cutting along the grain of the meat. You may find want to cut it thicker or thinner it is entirely down to personal preference. We like this size, so that when the biltong is sliced, the slices are just the right size to pop into your mouth. (Picture 1)
2. Spray the meat thoroughly with vinegar, I keep vinegar in a spray bottle for this, if you don't have a spray bottle you could just soak the meat in some vinegar for half an hour or so. The vinegar kills off any bacteria that may create mould during the drying process. Then dry the meat thoroughly with some kitchen paper. Then coat the strips well with your biltong spices, I use around forty grams of biltong spice to half a kilogram of meat. Cover the meat and put in the fridge for eight or more hours, this allows the spices to penetrate into the meat. I usually leaves ours overnight. (Picture 2)
3. When your meat has been in the fridge for eight hours or more. it is ready to hang. Make sure your meat hooks have been thoroughly washed and dried. (Picture 3)
4. Push the meat hook through one end of the beef strip, about an inch down the strip, making sure it's secure. (Picture 4)
5. You then place your strips of beef in a biltong box to dry. The meat must hang freely and not touch any other strips of meat or the side of the box as this can cause the meat to turn mouldy. If we are making biltong during the winter we will use a 100 watt light bulb in the biltong box for the first 24 - 36 hours and then change it for a 60 watt bulb if the air is not too damp. (Picture 5 and 6)
6. After 24 - 36 hours check your meat, if all is going to plan then there should be no sign of the meat moulding. If there is a whitish residue anywhere on the meat I squirt it lightly with vinegar and gently pat dry, it isn't a problem. White residue is usually caused by the salt in the spices. If for any reason your meat is looking green and smelling foul it has turned rancid and should not be eaten. If you keep the conditions in the box warm and dry you shouldn't have a problem. After four days to a week, depending on how thick your strips of meat are and on how dry you like you biltong, you will have biltong ready to eat!! (Picture 7)

• We turn the light on in the biltong box when we first start to prepare the meat, so that the biltong box is as dry and warm as it can be before we hang the meat to dry.

• Make sure your biltong box is in a dry place, if the air is too damp your biltong can go mouldy. We have learned that it is better for us to bring our biltong box into the house to dry our biltong during the winter months as the weather here is very damp in the winter. During the summer the weather is dry enough to leave the biltong box in the shed to dry the biltong.

• In the summer we use a 60 watt light bulb in the biltong box as we find that gives off sufficient heat to dry the meat out slowly. During the winter we find it best to start off with a 100 watt light bulb for the first 24 - 48 hours, depending on the level of dampness in the air, as the stronger bulb gives off more heat and stops the meat moulding whilst it is at it's wettest. After those first crucial hours it is fine to change the light bulb for a 60 watt.

• Do make sure that the meat strips hang freely and do not touch, we've found that meat touching each other or the side of the box is the main cause of mould. The air must be able to pass freely around the meat allowing it to dry properly.

You can experiment with different spices or even try mixing your own....Enjoy....

Copyright © 2012 Debbie Roberts