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.
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).
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 recipe uses the smallest amount of salt required to make a safe cure, based on the weight of the meat. 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 though—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
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 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!
Perfect Biltong Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 kg Beef—silverside or toprump
- 5 tbsp Brown (malt) or cider vinegar (approx)
- 2.5 tbsp Coarse salt (2% of the meat weight)
- 2 tsp Ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp Coriander seed
- 1.5 tbsp Brown sugar
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- Combine all the spices and sprinkle into the meat. Sprinkle the vinegar on and rub everything in thoroughly whilst turning the meat with your hands.
- Cover the container and let your biltong cure for 24 hours in the fridge, turning and rubbing through the meat occasionally.
- Remove the meat from the container and pat dry with kitchen towels, taking care not to remove too much of the spice.
- 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 a fan 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.
- 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.
- Once ready, cut into thin slices with a sharp knife and enjoy some of the best meat you’ll ever eat.
What are the the optimum temp and RH parameters?
Hi, everyone,
This recipe is great but, for me, a Brit that doesn’t have a lot of experience with biltong, I changed it a bit but still followed the recipe.
Here’s what I did.
I used topside of beef stir fry strips 500g+.
Used the ingredients that were recommended but cut down on the salt (sea salt) and omitted all sugar and increased the black pepper.
Also added a splash of Worcestershire sauce.
Mixed it all up and put in a ziplock bag, and left it in the fridge for 3 days, squeezing the bag each day to make sure the meat was well coated.
Now that the meat was marinated, I had to air dry it.
I’ve never heard of a biltong box, so ignored it.
@Greedy Ferret.com said heat is not recommended and, given that I live in Dubai, had to think of another way.
Hanging the strips up near an open window was also not an option.
So …. I took the rack out of the oven and hung the strips over the rungs, put the whole thing back in the oven, left the oven turned off and the door open. Then put a 450mm (18″) floor standing fan in front of the oven and set the fan to its lowest setting and on oscillation.
After a few attempts, I found the ideal time to achieve that lovely case hardened, but very slightly moist inside, was 48 hours.
Ok, as I said, I’m no connoisseur of biltong.
So, I invited a friend of mine from Zimbabwe, who loves it, to give me his honest opinion.
He loved it and said its the best he’s tasted.
I hope you all like and try my ideas and continue to support @Greedy Ferret.com., to whom I have no connection with.
Fantastic recipe and i love the in depth analysis!
Do you reckon i could just put a small radiator 1/2 ft by 1/2 ft under a cardboard box with hanging meat?
Would that work?
In addition, i am Jewish and for us we are forbidden to use all cuts from the back-end of the animal.
What is the next best thing to use??
how about round bolo AKA the mock tender?
would that work?
Sorry for going on but i don’t have insect mesh on hand, is there any substitute or way i can make it at home?
Could i just put in the oven at 50c for 24 hours as someone suggested (sorry i cant find that question)
i apologise for all my questions
looking for anyone to respond,
Thanks for all your time,
Shia
Please don’t apologise for asking questions.
On your first question about a heat source under a box: yes, but not for the heat – just for the airflow; it’s really expensive to run a radiator, but cheap to run a little fan.
As for tender cuts I’d say use something you’d serve for someone who’d eat something like a filet, but work your way downwards in price. As you work your way down, the price will decrease, the flavour will increase, but the sinew will increase.
I don’t recommend putting the meat in the oven, because it’ll just cook the meat on the outside. If you are respecting the animal and putting a lot of love into how you preserve the meat it’s worth putting it somewhere where you can see it and keep an eye on it.
I hope that’s helpful,
Dan
(Greedyferret)
Very helpful!
Thanks,
Shia
I know Biltong lovers will call this sacrilege, but as an experiment I’m trying to make seitan Biltong (wheat meat Biltong). Has anyone had any experience with this? Can it be done? I’ve been a Biltong lover for decades now and going vegetarian has been difficult haha. I need my fix! Would appreciate any tips.
I will try this recipe but would appreciate guidance on temperature. Inside my house, the A/C keeps us at 72F / 22C. Outside temps this month are averaging low of 68F/20C to high of 80F/27C. Can I do this in a shady place outside? Inside temp better/OK?
I would love to know that too? Anyone here can help with his request.
I don’t see a problem doing it outside. Growing up in Zimbabwe we would hang the meat in an open sided garage/car port and it was perfect at those temps just keep an eye on it depending on your humidity. Inside will be fine too. In the UK I have made a biltong box which is just a tall box with dowel rods, holes top and bottom and a 40watt light bulb at the bottom to move the air. Tried a small pc fan and was too much airflow.
Hi. I enjoyed reading your very thorough explanation on the scientific purpose behind each ingredient. I make my own biltong for my restaurant and have taken to using store bought spices. This is because when I tried making my own, the biltong has a soapy flavor. I’m looking to make my own spice rub again, but I’m nervous about this happening again. Do you perhaps know what I’ve done wrong previously for it to taste soapy?
I’d say it could be the coriander seed. 1 in 5 people experience a soapy flavour when eating coriander, and some of that soapy flavour is present in the seed. You could reduce the soapy notes by simply reducing the amount of coriander seed you use. Unfortunately, coriander seed is also the signature flavour of biltong. You might want to up the pepper a little if you reduce the coriander. I find that better quality coriander seed is much stronger in flavour, so sometimes I reduce the amount based on the quality/smell. You’ll just need to find the right balance. Good luck!
Hello- your contact page is down** great recipe though!
Fixed it. Thank you!
[…] Our favorite Biltong recipe. […]
Very good recipe!!!
This recipe turned out great! The coriander was a little wimpy, though.
(The spices I can get from the local coop here in Maine, aren’t anywhere near as pungent as what you get in a spice store in Cape Town or Durban. After five years in the freezer, Cape Town spices still punched me in the nose when I open the ziploc! Unfortunately–no coriander left.)
The ground coriander I got hold of was stronger than the freshly roasted and ground coriander seeds (should be the other way around)–so this time I added a bit of that!
The last batch was wonderful! This one will be even better!
I like the exact measurements–no brushing off or washing off of salt and spices–definitely the way to go!
PS–Maine in Winter in a house heated by wood is a perfect drying environment. Just got to hang it in the cold corner, far from the stove.
I just heard about biltong about an hour ago so I’m still learning and have no experience yet, but if you’re able to find fresh cilantro/coriander with the root stem attached you could try grinding them into the salt.I get cilantro that way at an Asian market. The flavor is more intense than the leaves and it works great in Thai/Asian soups. It freezes well, too. Might be worth a try…
Its probably ro hot and humid in Phuket to even try and make biltong?
Hi Mari,
I am in the Philippines and it is very hot and humid here. I managed to get pretty great results (to my families taste anyway) by following the above recipe and then just using a cheap food dehydrator to do a quick dry ( to avoid spoiling due to humidity). I was worried about “Case hardening” so checked it often. If the middle was a bit too soft still then slicing it and a quick 1 hour in the dehydrator had it at a perfect (I like it a little drier) consistency! I think it could be worth a try! Good luck.
Hari
Generally the answer to humidity is a heated lightbulb, only about 50W. That helps dry the air as well as create that airflow. As long as you’re not ‘cooking’ the meat and you have a drying bulb, it should still adequately dry it – coming from a Zimbabwean that grew up sun/air drying biltong.
Quick question on a DIY box. Ive seen people making all different ones, out of wood or plastic totes, but everyone seems to have a different design. If I built my own out of a tote, do you recommend a fan beneath the meat or above pulling air out? Ive also heard wood being porous it holds bacteria. I thought of making a tall one out of a plastic trash bin with a bulb on the bottom and a fan on the lid so there is a decent space between the both the meat and fan/meat and bulb. Any thoughts or ideas? Thanks again your guide is great!
I’ve made it several times now with a regular computer fan and no lightbulb in a plastic tote – just made two biggish holes in the top and the airflow is plenty – never had any mould and we live in Ontario which is basically a giant wetland 🙂
I think the bulb and the fan serve the same purpose: to get some airflow going. I used a PC fan, and that worked great; mount it so that it pulls air out of the container, and add a (mesh covered) inlet (on the other side of the container).
I am in the process of making some of your biltong recipe with some elk and whitetail. Got it hanging this afternoon! Question: how do you store it and how long does it keep?
Hi Cam, That’s going to be amazing. I doubt you’ll need to store it as it will be such delicious meat, but if you do, here are some ideas:
Recipe looks great – can’t wait to try it! Just wondering if it’s possible to do this in the oven at maybe 80 degrees C for 3/ 4/ 5 hours….? Also, if using the traditional method, is it not necessary to use a specialist curing salt like Instacure to ensure that it’s safe and won’t cause botulism? Thanks!
No not necessary to use sodium nitrate, because there are no hidden air pockets where botulism might occur. It’s a known carcinogen so I don’t recommend using it unless you’re making salami or similar.
I’m sorry I can’t recommend an oven for drying. I’ve seen what that does and it isn’t pretty. It’s really expensive to run your oven too. Much better to hang with some slow air flow. If you want it quick, cut really thin.
Thanks for the quick reply. I wasn’t aware that botulism was only a concern where air pockets were present – good to know! I’m very wary of things like Instacure too but always want to err on the side of caution. I know it’s needed in things like salami and chorizo but am pleased to hear that biltong doesn’t require it! Now to google how to build myself a biltong box….! Thanks again! 🙂
Excellent recipe, made In the dehydrator, best I have ever made, thank you.
Hi, there how long did you have it in the dehydrator for?
Hi Dean,
I had it in my dehydrator on 65C for about 24 hours and got great results. If you like it a little drier in the middle then slice up as much as you want to eat and 30-60 mins in the dehydrator gets it perfectly dry (to my taste anyway!!!)
Good luck!!
Hari
ever try with honey?
Excellent simple base recipe for single step biltong making. It produces consistent and delicious results. Best I have found on the net. Thank you for the great post.
I have been making my own beef jerky for years. I like a tough chew and lots of heat so the rest of the family will leave it alone. If I don’t boost the red pepper way up it will be gone in a couple of days. After reading this I think I will try some biltong. With red pepper of course.
Good luck, I like a lot of heat also. I’ve tried traditional and chilli🌶. Follow the recipie, but add pepper just before you dry….
Just Wow. My first batch was ready yesterday. Man that took some patience. Followed your recipe plus some ground cayenne I had previously smoked over pecan. It is fantastic. I used a lean flank steak (aka London broil in the US). It takes some patience to wait for it to dry. I will start another batch right away since I know this one will not last long. Thanks!
Thank you for these helpful and wise words on the art of biltong-making! I lived for 2 years in Zimbabwe with my family when I was a teenager, and ever since I’ve missed this devine snack.
So 15 years later, a few years ago I had my cabinet-maker friend make me a beautiful biltong cabinet from Danish pear wood (with a small fan from a laptop built in, with adjustable speed, -this works perfectly!), brass bars for hanging, and now I’m regularly making biltong, serving it to my friends who get very excited over how much better than beef jerky it is, and to my family who also missed it ever since Zims.
So just to let you know that there is a biltong ambassador in Copenhagen! I use the same spice combination as you do, using malt vinegar and maybe a bit more coriander. Sometimes adding a bit of cayenne pepper for a spicy version.
I’ll try to post some pics of the biltong cabinet if possible.
Best wishes, Frey
Hi Frey! How much Cayenne pepper do you add? Thanks!
Is there a preferred temp to hang the meat at.? Also how about humidity as well.
I built my own biltong box before Christmas and have already had successful results thanks to you and this page.
I was just wondering, what is the optimum temperature range? Do I need a bulb if the location of my box is around 18-20c? Will the fan suffice? Thanks.
I also built my first box before Xmas. I have put a lamp in it but the bulb is an LED purely to see in the box. I think the temperature will be fine.
Biltong box
You don’t need a lightbulb – just keep the air moving
Just tried this recipe and the results are A1!!
Hi! Is the vinegar used for flavor or to help fight off bacteria? I ask because I used baking soda as recommended (for venison), and it reacted to the vinegar, which is expected. However, this made me think…isn’t the baking soda neutralizing the acid in the vinegar? Does this counteract the purpose of the vinegar? Thank you!
The salt does the work for killing bacteria by making the environment inhospitable. The vinegar helps with that, and also helps tenderise the meat and add flavour, but the salt does the work in killing bacteria. The vinegar and baking soda together will help tenderise the meat.
I use angostura bitters and worschteshire in my initial marinade 24-48 hours. Then pat the meat dry and season with cinnamon (not too much a little goes a long way), cayenne pepper, celery salt about 2tsp for 2lbs of meat, corriander, fresh finely ground peppercorn (ground with mortar and pestle), himalayan pink salt fine grind just a little extra salt to make sure I get a good cure (like how I would season a steak that’s already been cooked kind of? Best as I can explain, sorry been cooking for a while and just know salty like too salty and how I like salty), then I use Filipino brown vinegar (and no I’m not Filipino) which is made from brown sugar like the really dark molassesy stuff that I have mixed with some you guessed it: himilayan pink salt in a spray bottle for spritzing intially and if any “freshening up” is required. The real key flavors that really pack a punch leaving you like wtf was that?! In a really good way is the angostura bitters and the worsteshire and oh how I wish I could concentrate more of that flavor to just the right into the cent of the meat. Everything else is just a compliment to those flavors and aromas created from the marinade 🤤 try it or don’t idc I like what I’ve done. More or less probably leaving some steps out but you get the idea.
trying making this is the US for the first time ever – hoping to include on Dry meat boards at a restaurant – may I know your amounts as a starting point?
I built my own biltong box and followed your spice mix recipe to the letter. Will comment again when I’ve had my first taste.
(So far, so good)….
I’d love to try this soon, I’m tired of spending a small fortune on Cruga every week. I was just wondering about the possibility of wet brining. I’m brining a couple of briskets at the moment for making salt beef – I use a pretty strong 10% salt and sugar solution with pickling spices and 15g of Prague Powder No.1. I brine 3 kgs for 7-10 days and usually desalinate the briskets for a few hours in water before cooking and they make nice salt beef. I was wondering if I could perhaps cure a silverside joint the same way for biltong? Maybe a 5% brine, smaller amount of sugar and a smidge of Prague Powder? I’m not sure if I’d need PP No. 2 for biltong. Then I was thinking I could remove the meat from the brine,desalinate for a few hours, pat dry, slice up, apply spice rub and leave overnight before starting to dry it. Worth a try or overcomplicating the process? My thinking is it might help with preserving the meat a little better?
Hi Isla, it would be an interesting experiment, but you might find that the additional moisture adds to the drying time. It might also over-tenderise the meat and impair the texture. It might add to the longevity, but in my experience, biltong gets eaten up pretty quick! You could still add the PP if you want to be extra safe. Some commercial biltong makers do this. It will be hard to achieve the correct level of salinity for an ideal flavour using a wet cure. This recipe uses a 2% equilibrium cure. Another way to help preserve your biltong might be to vac pack and refrigerate, or freeze if you’ve made your biltong quite dry (too much water when freezing will impair the texture). Either way I think it would be fun to try. Good luck!
Just made my first batch of bio tong,your recipe is excellent !
Sliced very thin .
It has that perfect beef flavour,very rich and beefy.
Goes very well with Macallan Scotch.
Now I know what South Africans rave about.
Thank You.
KGL
Dear Sir,All,
Greetings from Ethiopia. Thanks for the article. I wanted to ask for your expert view. I do biltong production for the market, I imported the drying cabinet from South Africa. My challenge was, I wanted to get as much weight from the produced Biltong while giving it sufficient shelf life (150 days and above). Can you recommend the number of days it should hang and save at least half of the meat’s weight?
best,
Samuel
Any weight lost from the meat should be water-weight, so the most important factor is going to be how dry the meat needs to be so that it’s safe to keep without going mouldy.
My name is Rich Miner, and I am the host of a new cooking and travel channel on youtube -The Iberian Cooking Channel. From my many years of living in Spain, cooking Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Greek foods, as well as elaborating similar products to Biltong and having worked in the commercial Foods insustry, I must say it’s uncanny that BILTONG is very similar to Spain’s Leon Province “CECINA”
(pronounced theh – theena..In this case the Spanish “c” is like “th” in the word thimble.)
I imagine that Biltong and other similarly cured meats have been developed in many cultures around the world lost to time.
In the case of the Beef CECINA of Leon-Spain, surprisingly, it has its origins with Romans in the same area of Leon, Spain.
Reference to Cecina was mentioned in agricultural writings of Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella, (born 1st century A.D, Roman city Gades, Hispania) a Roman soldier, farmer, and author. It’s a shame that not many such traditions such Biltong or Cecina haven’t survived into the 21st and some are being rediscovered. I have attached a photo of Cecina from a producer’s website for comparison. If any of you are interested in learning more about Spanish and Portuguese Foods, recipes, Wines/Spirits and travel please come to my new channel inaugurating the 10th of December, 2020.
Cheers!
not even close, apart from salt and curing. There no smoking of the meat after or inbetween like jerky which might be closer to what you describe.
I watched an episode of chopped take over and Alton Brown made beef jerky using a boxed fan and square air filters on the show. It was neat, I was like what. So I guess to make biltong, is a similar process too.Thank you for sharing!
Hi! What’s the difference if I first just use just the vinegar to soak the meat and then, the day after, put the spices on the meat before hanging it?
Thanks 🙂
Hi! A few reasons to do it all combined:
Good luck!
Dan
Thanks Dan!
Dear Sir,All,
Greetings from Ethiopia. Thanks for the article. I wanted to ask for your expert view. I do biltong production for the market, I imported the drying cabinet from South Africa. My challenge was, I wanted to get as much weight from the produced Biltong while giving it sufficient shelf life (150 days and above). Can you recommend the number of days it should hang and save at least half of the meat’s weight?
best,
Samuel
First attempt at biltong was after short (drunken) phone instructions from a Yarpie sailing mate, using my stainless steel hot-smoking cabinet. Result was shoe leather covered in white mould and tasting of mackerel …..
Greedy Ferret’s method using local Guernsey beef silverside in a dryer made from an old kid’s toybox has produced an amazing product. Four days at 22 degrees C with a PC fan / light bulb arrangement, well ventilated. I upped the crushed coriander and pepper as we like it spicy but otherwise just followed the recipe. Perfect. Thanks indeed! Next batch will be French wild boar.
Yep, plenty of yarpies think they ‘know boats’ when it comes to biltong yet have no idea haha. Encountered it many times as a Zimbo, with a recipe similar to this, I haven’t encountered a better tasting tong 👌🏼
Born in Joburg and grew up on Biltong, now living in BC, Canada, tried various recipes and then came across this one, followed all the directions (using venison from a deer I shot) but added a touch of cumin,,, put meat in box I built and at 3 days it was covered in white mold 😦 ….washed and scrubbed in white vinegar and let sit submerged for 20 minutes, then dried off and soaked in cider vinegar with some coarse salt, re-hung in hallway in house and now all good, tastes fantastic, just like the old days, I suppose the issue in the box was not enough airflow, had 40W bulb, maybe should increase to 60W… I made 3 kilos worth and now vacuum packed some to save it and stop it from drying further, anyone else have a way that works to save it for a bit? Cheers Jeff
Langley, BC. Used exactly this recipe and hung in our outside unheated store room with a fan at a low speed not directly pointed at the biltong strips. Fabulous results. No mould. Depending on the thickness its ready 4-7 days. Use Costco large packs of top sirloin. Never disappoints.
Clean garden secateurs cut through biltong like butter.
I have a digitally controlled dehydrator with plastic shelves, could I use it to make this recipe?
Hi Pat, yes you could, but ideally the temperature should stay low (not above 25) and the airflow should not be too high, to avoid building too much of a crust
For my original attempt many years back I used a Fruit Dehydrator, it dried the meat just perfect but it had a cooked taste to it, immediately after that I made a Drying Box out of a an old cupboard, Computer Fan and Light Bulb, drying and taste is as it should be
Hi Pat, after my mold issue (see below) I used my dehydrator (min temp setting is 80f) for 4 hours just to get the outside to dry a bit quicker and lessen the chance of the mold getting a foothold, and then hung in my hallway which is about 65-70f for a few days till done, seemed to work well..
Thank you for the recipe, especially the salt ratio. I have some drying, on it’s third day, as I type this. Regarding the salt, the recipe called for course. Is that course, like icecream/rock salt or finer course, like a course sea salt, which is a bit courser than kosher salt?
Thank you for sharing your time & expertise.
Hi Barry, it’s based on a coarse sea salt I use. It’s safer to go by weight if you want to get it just right. The only salt I would exclude is iodised table salt, because it makes the biltong really bitter. I am planning on building a calculator for all the weights in future, based on the weight of the meat.
Absolutely great recipe, i have just tasted my first batch, really good. Only change I made was using coconut sugar.
I would prefer to make this recipe with slabs of sirloin and cut as needed. My grocery routinely has slabs 1″ thick 8″ long and 4″ wide, generally weighing 1 pound each. How would I adjust your recipe to accommodate that? Thank you.
Hi Michael, everything based on 2kg meat weight in the recipe. One pound is 0.454 kg, approximately one quarter of the meat weight in the recipe. I would just use one quarter of the measurements used in the recipe and it should be right.
Does it have a strong vinegar taste to it?
Thanks.
No absolutely not. You’ll just get the spices, salt and a bit of sweetness.
Please tell me how much vinegar to use. My husband legit soaked the meat in vinegar and once dried all we could taste was vinegar. Extremely over powering and a real flop 😔
Aaaw excuse the question I see how much vinegar to use 🤦♀️
Hello, thank you for this recipe and all the details, it looks delicious and I will try it 🙂 I just wanted to ask you the size of the meat : it is 1 inch thik but how large is it ? Like a piece of meat you would have in your plate, but thiner ?
Yeah that sounds about right. Really it’s just whatever size joint you can get hold of. Even if the pieces are short, they’ll still dry fine. It’s more convenient if the slices are left long, because you’ll have less pieces to find space for hanging.
Hi. Why do you specify the use of a non-metallic container?
It makes the meat taste metalic. I aired some beef skirt yesterday on a cooling rack without realising the plastic had worn off, so some bits tasted strongly metalic. It’s not a flavour you want.
your page has i assume been hacked there are two adds for steroids, one here,There are a lot of creative, almost ceremonial devices on steroids for sale cutting biltong, but I think nothing beats a good,the other here,the fat doesn’t shrink at the npp steroid same rate as the muscle.
Thanks for spotting it Jake. I thought I’d fixed the hack, but clearly not!
I imagine steroids and your biltong would be very good for those of us trying to gain weight. At the very least biltong is much better than peanut butter and protein shakes.
GAINS
Thanks for this recipe, going to try it.
A few important elements to making biltong but the important ones are:
Salt content. 18 to 20g per kg of meat. Then marinade longer/shorter to taste.
Dry at temp of not more than 26C, maintaining good airflow. Above this fat renders and the meat case-
hardens.
Beef cut to 18mm thickness, at 26C will take 100hrs to lose 50% of its mass, and result in the required aw for packaging/storing.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge Douw. That sounds sensible to me. I tend to use 2% salt by weight to create a safe cure, and I leave it on for convenience as at that percentage it’s just right for me. I find that by including the spice mix at the curing stage, the flavours penetrate deeper and simplifies the whole process.
I’m a South African who has been living in California for 5 years—and, predictably, I am scouring the internet for biltong recipes. This one is perfect! I appreciate your rational approach. I deduce from the recipe that your salt to meat ratio is about 21g per kilogram—does that sound about right? (I like cooking with a kitchen scale!) Thanks for writing this up; I look forward to trying this out with my forthcoming PC-fan IKEA-box biltong maker deluxe!
Hi Stefan, sorry for the slow reply. I use salt at 2% of the meat weight for a safe equilibrium cure, which works out at 20g per kilo. If you go higher it can quickly get too salty.
I just wanted to report back that this worked beautifully—thank you. I thought I had made enough, but my popularity in the neighborhood suddenly catapulted, so I will have to do another run.
Very well written and very informative.
Thank you! Good luck if you’re making biltong today. Hope it comes out great.