Perfectly dried, tasty biltong slices
I must apologise for calling biltong “South African beef jerky”, because this is a far superior product. If you’ve ever tried biltong, you’ll know exactly what I mean—none of that sugary, rubbery stuff-it-in-a-dehydrator rubbish here, please!
Like a lot of biltong lovers, I was introduced to this culinary treasure as a child, and the addiction has stuck. I’ve been making my own for a few years, gradually tweaking the recipe and feeding it to people with a “how is it, honestly?”, and plenty of willing feedback. I’m confident that this fool-hardy recipe sticks with the traditional roots of the dried meat, whilst adding a little refined finesse—it does not disappoint.
Biltong was originally created by Dutch pioneers in South Africa, “Voortrekkers”, who needed reliable food sources on their long treks across the continent. The method and spice mix hasn’t changed much in hundreds of years, but a few variations have appeared recently, like ‘piri piri’ biltong and the use of additional ingredients like worcestershire sauce and dried chillies.
Curing process
Opinions vary on curing methods, spice mixes and drying conditions, and there is a lot of misinformation around, so trial and error has been my friend. Some recipes call for several stages of curing and washing off spices, reapplying them, etc—this is not necessary. I don’t like to throw away good spices, so I coat once, leave to cure in the fridge, pat dry, then hang with no additional stages. Why wash off and waste all that good flavour? It’s easy to over-salt biltong, making it almost unbearable to eat in bigger quantities (let’s face it, who’s going to only eat a little biltong?), and too much salt can leave a burning sensation, so many recipes call for the salt to be washed off with a water/vinegar solution. My answer? Use less salt! Vinegar does a perfectly good job of sterilising the meat without mountains of salt. The salt is an excellent flavour enhancer and should definitely be included—just a little less to avoid the need for washing.
Temperature and airflow
What we’re trying to achieve when drying biltong is to concentrate the flavour of the beef by removing a lot of the moisture, similar to ‘dry aging’. A combination of good airflow and relatively cool temperatures are the key to successful biltong making. Contrary to popular belief, heat is not required to make biltong—neither does it make for a better product. As a perfect example of this, the Italians make a beautiful beef product called ‘Bresaola’, which is very slowly air dried at cold temperatures, so as to achieve an even dryness and texture. Although heat doesn’t add to the quality of the product, it can be used to increase air circulation around the meat, by means of a temperature gradient (heat rises!). Having said that, don’t be tempted to try and make it in the oven—biltong takes several days to dry, and most ovens won’t go low enough to dry the meat slowly enough to avoid cooking it. What you’re looking for is a slow drying process with gentle airflow. Many DIY biltong makers will use a ‘biltong box’ with a fan and a lightbulb in to create good air circulation. The key is to draw air around the meat without the airflow being too strong, to avoid ‘case hardening’, whereby the outside becomes overly tough, and the texture gradient falls off too quickly.
How to dry biltong
I made my first biltong by hanging it from a piece of wood jammed into a window frame beside a cool window, with a fan on low to circulate air. That’s really all you need to make it. If you want a little more control, you can upgrade to a biltong box or other drying box. I’ve since upgraded to an old fridge with the mechanics removed, holes in the bottom, and a fan drawing air past the meat. The airflow is just enough to draw away moisture, but not too fast so as to avoid over drying the outside of the meat. What you’re looking for is cool conditions with good airflow. Room temperature in most houses is fine, but air flow can be a problem. What you want is a good steady stream of air running past the meat, but not too strong. Try to create these conditions in whatever way you see fit. Just make sure you have a little air flow, or the meat can gather mould—I’m sorry to say this has happened to me in the past! If you want to have complete control over drying conditions, either making or buying a ‘biltong box’ might be the best option for you. You can pick them up pretty cheap online.
Doneness—How long does it take to dry?
I like my biltong a little tough, but still wet in the middle. Some like theirs tough like old leather. Getting it right is down to trial and error. The easiest way to measure dryness is with your fingers. Thoroughly wash and dry your hands, and squeeze the flattest sides of the meat in with your fingers. If there is any give in the meat, there’s still moisture in the middle. Most likely, what you’re looking for is a really tough consistency with just a little bit of give. Leave it too long and you’ll have some tooth-bustingly tough biltong on your hands. That said, it’s fairly forgiving and a day or two over won’t do too much harm.
Wet biltong – a little tough but still wet in the middle
If you’re impatient and can’t wait for your biltong to dry, plan ahead and cut some thinner pieces to hang with the rest—these will keep you going while you wait for the thicker stuff to be ready. If you’re really savvy, you might vary the thickness of slices from thin to thick allow for consistent grazing over the drying process (highly recommended).
Biltong just after hanging (left), and after 2 days of drying (right)
If you find that you’ve cut your biltong early and it’s wetter than you’d like, use clean fingers to rub a little salt and vinegar on the exposed end and hang it back up.
Fat on or fat off?
This comes down to personal preference. It’s important to note that, while your biltong will shrink by around half the size when dried, the fat doesn’t shrink at the same rate as the muscle. I like a little fat because it helps carry flavour, but I tend to remove most of it before hanging. Large chunks of fat can be a little unpleasant to deal with when eating biltong.
Biltong ingredients
Every biltong maker has their own preference on spice mix. If you don’t know what you like, I suggest making a few thinner, quick drying pieces to experiment with. Many home biltong makers add a lot of ingredients to their biltong, thinking that adding more will lead to a better result, but in reality they’re muddying the clarity of the flavour and masking the star of the show—good quality meat!
Vinegar
Traditionally, brown vinegar has been used to make biltong. It really has a recognisable flavour. Some recipes call for balsamic or cider vinegar. I recommend brown vinegar for the best flavour, with cider vinegar coming in a close second. I’ve used cider vinegar a lot, purely because I have a large batch I made at home.
Salt
Salt is a brilliant flavour enhancer and preservative. It kills bacteria on the outside of the meat, and helps to draw moisture out. It’s tricky to get the salt quantity right. My local butcher goes way overboard with salt on their biltong. I sometimes use them in case of emergency biltong shortage, so I’m not sure how to break it to them…
Coriander
Coriander seed is the signature spice that makes biltong instantly recognisable. It’s best to toast the seeds to release the oils for flavour, but also because the oil suppresses bacterial growth.
Black pepper
Black pepper and beef are a pair made in heaven. Just don’t overdo it—biting into a lump of peppercorn is not a pleasant experience! You want roughly 1/4 pepper to 3/4 coriander seed for a good balance. In most cases, flies aren’t a problem, but pepper has the added benefit of detering them.
Brown sugar
Brown sugar has a caramel and molasses flavour that adds complexity to the meat, without masking it. The sugar helps with drying through osmosis, latching onto the water molecules and ‘wicking’ them away. It’s not a traditional ingredient if we’re going full purist, but it balances the saltiness well. Too much sugar is really unpleasant—you’re walking dangerously close to beef jerky territory and I’d really recommend against it. Biltong is a savoury snack, not a desert!
Bicarbonate of soda
Some recipes call for the addition of bicarbonate of soda. This might seem a little odd, but it has scientific reasoning. The bicarb neutralises the acid in the vinegar, but also acts as a meat tenderiser. It slows the contraction of the proteins, leaving the final product still dry, but less tough. Bicarb has a pretty unpleasant taste, so it’s important to keep the quantity low. If you’re using a good cut like silverside or toprump, you won’t need it at all.
Cutting methods
Biltong slices cut with a sharp knife
If you’ve ever tried cutting over-dried biltong, you’ll know how tough it can be—tough as old boots! In desperation, I’ve taken to resting a knife on top of some over-dried biltong and hitting it with a camping mallet (not recommended, and not only because I upset the neighbours and smashed the chopping board!). There are a lot of creative, almost ceremonial devices on sale for cutting biltong, but I think nothing beats a good, sharp knife. If you want something a little more fancy, there are biltong cutters (a board with a hinged knife attached), biltong knives (traditional knives made for purpose), hand crank mechanical cutters, and at the high end, expensive elecric cutters, mostly used by butchers and biltong suppliers.
Dealing with mould
Check your biltong every day for mould. If conditions are particulary humid or hot, there’s a chance you might experience this problem. If you see the first signs of mould appearing—white dots or furry mould—use a clean cloth with some vinegar and dab/wipe it off. Be sure to get it all or it’s likely to spread again. If you’ve not checked for a while and found your biltong totally covered, sadly the best place for it is the bin. Good airflow will help to avoid such catastrophes in future.
Storing your Biltong
After your biltong has dried to your preferred consistency, you can continue to store it hanging in a well aerated space indefinitely. Shops that sell biltong will often hang it and leave it out, and these are ample storage conditions—just try to make sure none of the pieces are touching. It will continue to dry slowly, but it will also keep for a long time this way. If you’ve cut your biltong and want to store it, wrap it in a few paper bags and store it in the fridge. The paper will allow excess moisture to continue leaving the meat, discouraging mould growth. I can’t give accurate advice on how long to store it this way, but I think it’s safe to say that no sane person is going to leave biltong uneaten for more than a few days. It’s just too delicious!
Case hardening
If there is too much air flow around your biltong, the outside can firm up really quickly, leaving the middle soft. If the case hardening is severe, the tough outer layer can prevent moisture from leaving the middle. If you find that you’ve been testing your biltong for readiness for 2-3 weeks and it just doesn’t seem to be drying in the middle, this may be your problem. If you suspect that case hardening is your problem, I recommend cutting through the end of the meat and checking it. If you’ve got a really raw centre and thick, tough outer surface, give it a try and see if you like the texture. If you don’t, the first option is to vacuum pack the biltong and store it in the fridge for one week to one month, depending on severity. This will balance out the gradient. If you don’t have access to a vacuum sealer, stick your biltong in a paper bag and place it in the fridge for a few days. Rub a little salt on the cut ends to protect them. This should go some way towards fixing the problem. It’s worth noting that the thicker you cut your initial beef cuts, the slower the drying process must be to avoid case hardening, so try cutting thinner next time. However, the best solution to prevent case hardening from occuring is to change your drying setup to reduce air flow. You still need a little air movement, but the slower it dries, the more even the moisture gradient will be from inside to out.
So without further ado, here’s my tried and tested biltong recipe. Once you’ve given it a try, please let me know how you like it, and if there are any variations to the traditional ingredients you swear by, no matter how strange!
**Update: This recipe has proven very popular. Some people have had issues with common problems, so I’m working on a troubleshooting section. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any issues with things such as drying time, case hardening etc with your biltong. Please continue to enjoy my recipe and I look forward to hearing your feedback.
Perfect Biltong Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 kg beef—silverside or toprump
- 5 tbsp brown (malt) or cider vinegar (approx)
- 2.5 tbsp coarse salt
- 2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp coriander seed
- 1.5 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
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Toast the coriander seeds in a dry pan, then grind down in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. It should be mostly powder, with a few pieces of seed shells left in.
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Using a sharp knife, following the grain of the meat, cut into 1 inch (2.5cm) thick lengths and place in a non-metallic container.
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Combine all the spices and sprinkle into the meat with a tablespoon. Sprinkle the vinegar on and rub everything in thoroughly.
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Cover the container and let your biltong cure for 12 hours in the fridge, turning the meat occasionally.
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Remove the meat from the container and pat dry with kitchen towels, taking care not to remove too much of the spice.
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Add a hook to the thickest end of each length. Plastic-covered paper clips make for a cheap solution. Hang in your biltong box, or in a well aired, ventilated space with a fan blowing gently to increase air flow. Do not point directly at the meat (to avoid case hardening). Make sure none of the pieces are touching. Place some newspaper below the meat to catch any liquid.
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Drying times will vary with humidity, airflow and temperature. Test the readiness of your biltong every couple of days by squeezing the sides together with clean fingers. If you feel any give in the meat, it’s still ‘wet’ inside.
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Once ready, cut into thin slices with a sharp knife and enjoy some of the best meat you’ll ever eat.
Recipe Notes
Note:- if using venison or game, or cheaper cuts of beef, add 2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda to tenderise the meat.
I live in the U.S. & their cuts of meat is somewhat different to what I’m used to in SA! SA beef is the best!
How do you keep the coriander on the meat? I love coriander on biltong but most of it will fall off!
Hi! I’m lucky where I live (Hereford) because the beef is ace. For the coriander, I find that if you grind it small enough with just a few larger pieces it sticks better. I do find that some still falls off though. Maybe try increasing the amount you use so more stays on and grinding a little smaller after toasting 🙂
This is a great read and very informative thanks Andy
Very informative.
The best biltong preparation write-up I’ve read, and I’ve read many.
Thanks a lot.
An ex-RSA guy, now in Las Vegas.
Thanks Derik I’m glad you enjoyed it. Let me know how your next batch goes if you make some
How much baking soda is used?
Hi Ethan! I don’t add baking soda because good cuts don’t need it. I only add bicarb if I’m using tougher cuts of beef or game. In those cases, I add 1 level teaspoon per kg, and make sure it’s bicarb rather than baking soda because baking soda comes with a few added ingredients for baking.
I just made my “Biltong Box” and busy drying my first batch when my wife sent me this link. Very informative and I am happy to say I did most of it. Thanks for the article. I bought different cuts and thicknesses of meat to try out. Living in Chicago and missing Biltong.
Hi
What’s the optimum drying temp and relative humidity needed?
Thanks
Hi James, apologies for the slow reply. That information is difficult to find and seems speculative at best, because biltong isn’t treated like other curing projects. It’s very forgiving and doesn’t require a curing fridge. Average household conditions are ample to get a really good finish. Hope that helps!
Dan
I’m on day 7 of my first attempt at biltong and my cuts are still pretty wet in the middle. After re-reading this post (for about the 10th time- love all the info) I think I have a bit of a case hardening situation. The fan I’m using might be too powerful on its lowest setting… Is there any way to fix this once the case hardening sets in or am I going to need to start over? Hate to waste all that meat. Thanks for all the info- best source I’ve found in my biltong how-to search.
Hi Mike. One trick that charcuterie geeks use to fix case hardening is to vac pack the product and stick it in the freezer for a couple of weeks. That makes the gradient of dry/wet even out. Alternatively you could move the fan into a different position so it’s not blowing directly on the biltong and keep watching it. Eventually it will dry out but it’ll be really tough on the outside. I quite like it when it’s wet in the middle, but if you don’t and you find that it doesn’t even out, you can always chop into chunks and stick it in a stew with some beer rather than throwing it out 🙂
Dan-
Thanks so much for the response! I ended up doing something similar (before I heard back from you)- I cut the under-dried pieces up into serving size, put them in a zip lock, and filled the bags with air. That gave them a limited amount of oxygen to play with and worked like a charm. I’ll keep the freezer trick in mind if I run in to that issue again though!
Just one addendum for my U.S. compatriots I’d put up for consideration in your recipe (which is seriously amazing) – brown vinegar is most often referred to as malt vinegar in the states. I confused quite a few grocery store employees before I finally did some research 🤷♂️ Usually in the condiments aisle- people put it in French fries.
Thanks again for the sage advice!
Hi can you recommend a comercial brand biltong drying box that I can get sent over to Australia ?thanks for all the info .also is rump OK to use?
Hi, I actually don’t use a box because I make my biltong in a sealed back room and there’s little risk of flies. If you don’t have flies in the house, you needn’t worry about having a box—just somewhere to hang your biltong, a fan to move air around it, and some newspaper to catch any drips. If you feel you need a box but can’t find one online, you can make a simple one using a usb-powered computer fan and plastic box—take a look around online for “diy biltong box” or similar. They usually involve a light bulb and fan for creating air movement. Good luck!
Man, My family and I love biltong. I’m lucky to have some little helpers for this recipe. I’m Aussie so we added vegemite haha. Got the idea from our local SA biltong shop.
Hi, I’ve tried your recipe a few times. I’m aussie so this time I added vegemite. The dear old SA lady at my local biltong shop does this flavour so dont shoot me.. I use an electric food dehydrator to remove 50% of the moisture and dont really get that wet biltong look. What % of moisture do you remove to get that wet biltong?
Hi James, I’m glad you’ve found the recipe useful. I haven’t tried vegemite on biltong but there’s a first time for everything! Does it work? I guess that adds another layer of savouriness. It would be interesting to try adding msg or maybe even fish sauce, although that would stink the house out! I’m not sure what % water I remove. Do you mean by weight? I’ll measure on the next batch and let you know
yeah by weight. If you could let me know that would be great bro. Vegemite makes it a bit salty and savory. It’s not bad. I’ve got kids so I can’t add chilli to the batch, the local shop does about 10 or more flavours. Oh and I never put the sugar in that you say, I’ve been on a diet, It’s summer here haha. Still good though.
My last lot was a disaster! I think if I’ve learnt 1 thing, I’m only going to use beef not game meat.
What went wrong? I’m almost there with the weight experiment. I’m at 50% so far and will collate photos of the results when I’ve seen 40% and maybe more
Hi James, sorry to hear of your biltong fail but that happens. Here in SA we use game often, springbok, gemsbok, impala, eland and the most satisfying of them all – Kudu, especially if its readily available. Game animals tend to be more active than cattle which makes the meat more richly supplied with blood vessels. The knack is to remove more of the blood by increasing the curing time and I’m guessing not enough curing time in your case. Also, game meat should be as fresh as possible. I’m not sure of the type of game meat you are using so you may need to tweak the ingredient quantities a little. 24 hours curing time, max humidity around 70% with a gentle airflow, just enough to carry moisture away from the meat. The ideal weight loss is between 50% – 60%, for game meat I use about 18 – 20g coarse salt per Kg. It’s a good idea to first hone your biltong making skills on beef, then progress to game meat as you master the technique. Good luck.
This is a really great recipe. I made my first ever batch of biltong using it and I must say, it is the best biltong I’ve had since living in the UK. Thank you for publishing this!
I am really looking forward to the results of your experiment. My kangaroo just smelt a bit metallic.. I ran it for 12 hours in the dehydrator in massive chucks to try to get the red insides. It did workout to look like your demo photos but the meat smelt a bit metallic or something.. very strange and I just didn’t get my usual drive to eat it. I love doing a porterhouse or something like that, the wife bought me some today so when the kids are feeling more interested we will marinate it and try again. The problem this time will be we are just using steaks, so I’m not sure how far to go to get to what you have in your demo photo… I think it would be in that case only like 25% weight reduction? What do you think?
Did you add bicarb soda to the kangaroo to soften it? Sometimes that can have a bit of a metallic taste. The test result so far in my weight test looks like this at 50% loss: http://bit.ly/2Tx2bvF. That is pretty wet and most people wouldn’t like it like that. I think you maybe correct at around 25-30% being a good number. It’s really about what you like though – if you like it tough then keep going ’til it feels hard all the way through. I imagine it will behave differently in a dehydrator to regular air drying like I do (I dry it straight in the air) but the results will still be great. I sometimes use steak if they’re going cheap. You get a different bite because the grain is going the other way, but it’s still good biltong! I sometimes turn them into long strips like this so I can eat them quicker: http://bit.ly/2HOlZJo, but in a dehydrator I would just cut off individual strips.
It may be heartrending to wash off those tasty and expensive spices after curing but there’s a good reason for it .. once the curing time is done, you need to stop the curing process immediately, hence the biltong is washed of the salt and spices. An adequate amount of salt is needed to drive the curing process initially. Too little salt and the brine cure that forms will be too diluted to penetrate the meat within the stipulated curing time. Also, once curing is done, you need to wash off any remaining salt because this is what causes biltong to develop unbearable saltiness as it dries. After curing, the spices clinging to the meat are spent – they’ll just hang around creating a place for mould to develop and also, they create a mess as they drop off all over the show when you harvest the biltong – nasty!! For presentation, you may add a little crushed coriander for aroma before hanging the biltong, but dont waist by encrusting the biltong in spices. They dont add any extra flavour as the biltong dries and they only benefit a little as you eat. You dont want any surface spices to overwhelm the flavour of the biltong, assuming you’ve used top quality meat to begin with. A biltong made with Wagyu beef would be easily ruined by over-salting and over-spicing; you may as well be making your biltong using McDonalds burger patties. My 2 cents.. :))
Thank you for your comments. I can assure you that the salt and spices in this method do not overpower the meat – they only enhance the flavour. I use exactly the right amount of salt to create a safe cure without wasting ingredients. This method uses an equilibrium cure rather than a crude box cure, and the result is not salty or hit and miss. There is no need to remove the cure with this method, and the salt continues to penetrate the meat while it hangs to create even concentration throughout. In my experience, mould never grows from the spices – it grows out from cracks in the meat where moisture comes from, if at all. Wagyu biltong is great, and this method would work equally well with it.
What I started doing is throw a generous amount of course sea salt on the meat and let it sit for about an hour then rinsing it off before continuing. This has the effect of flavoring the meat and also tenderizing it, removing the need for bicarb. I do the same when I cook beef or pork (I’m a poor and this really helps make cheap cuts better)
Hi Dan, (I’m Dan too), yes drop some salt on meat to tenderise. That’s not the purpose here, but this is what I do to make cheap meat tender: buy cheap pork cut, e.g. shoulder. Cut into 1.5cm slices, removing most of the fat. Buy a pineapple (trust me the price is worth it). Blend pineapple with a hand blender or similar. Rub pineapple into pork. Freeze in batches. Use like chicken slices. It’ll be so tender you won’t believe what’s happened. Promise!
Dan
Hi there! After I made my own box am now on batch five! This recipe has been held in high esteem and my South African friends are impressed with both hardware as well as the delicious finished product! Thanks for such an easy yet flavoursome recipe! For fellow UK biltongeers, I have found that after trying Sainsbury, Tesco and local butchers the Silverside from Aldi has been superb! Very little sinew and a really dark close texture! All very simple with a dry time ideally of 4 to 5 days for good medium wet Biltong!