Biltong King

[BigM]

Grillstock on facebook posted that hes got one of these
so i just bought one too carnt wait to get it as i love biltong and jerky
just cost of beef need to pinch me a cow from a farm

http://creativehomeproducts.co.uk/biltong-king.php

[Toby]

i was wondering what to do with our old vivarium!

[keith157]

They are good, my boss' wife is from Jo'burg and used to do Biltong, but gave it up as he would always eat it before it was ready. And by eat it I don't mean sneaking the odd bit here & there I mean all of it .....Can't blame him though it's just the price of beef that stops me doing it. There are loads of spice houses selling Biltong blends and there are probably more recipes in SA then BBQ sauce recipes in the US (well probably)

[chokethechicken]

Keith, if they don't know already, you can get some amazing Biltong from Chapmans Butchers in Baldock - only down the A1 from you. They do a range of South African groceries in there too.

[BBQFanatic]

Thats a nice easy unit, the fan draws alot of air, so you can have biltong in 3+ days. I built a 75cm 75cm x 130cm box using 4mm ply. Cost me £18 for the ply, £3.50 for a light fitting and £1 for a 100w bulb. Its basically a big box with a false base, under which the light is fitted. There are some small holes on near the bottom of the unit and some bigger holes at the top. This causes the hot air to rise, drawing cool air into the base. It takes about 5+ days to make biltong, but the difference to air driven units, is that the biltong is dry the entire way through. The air driven units tend to have a dry outer and moister center. Btw, the best way to prepare the meat (I usually get silverside) is to

- Take a hot pan, add black pepper (20%), coriander seeds (70%), chilli flakes (10%) and put over the hob on a medium heat. Brown the dry mix (but dont burn it). You know the mix is ready as the coriander husks would have gone brittle and you will smell the seeds.
- Mash the mix in a pestle and mortar (or put in tinfoil and roll with a rolling pin). Keep it coarse!
- Cut your silverside into 5x2" strips of steak and cover both sides of the meat with coarse sea salt (I mean coated like you would have a dry rub, dont worry we are going to remove it). Put the meat onto a tray, covered in salt and put in the fridge for 1-4 hours. This kills alot of bacteria and draws alot of moisture
- Take 15 tablespoons of cider vinegar and 2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce, mix it
- Sanitize some meat hooks by putting them in boiling water
- Put the meat out the fridge and take each piece and use a basting brush to wash the salt off the meat using the vinegar mix (until there is no visible salt on the meat).
- Take the masher dry mix and sprinkle over the meat, put the meat hook through the top of the meat and hang in the biltong maker. Repeat for all the meat.

Check the biltong every day for the first 3-4 days. If you see any white spots (ie mould), make up a small batch of the vinegar mix and use this with a basting brush to wash off the mould spores. (This only works for a few spots, if the meat is almost white, throw it away). The vinegars kills the bacteria and washes it off the meat.

2 Years ago I did a price comparison and I worked it out that I could get Silverside for £7-£9/kg. As you lose 30% of the weight to moisture loss, you are looking at £12-£13/kg. The cheapest I could get the equivalent biltong for was about £23-£30/kg. So it was significantly cheaper to do it at home and experiment with the flavours. The only problem is that I was eater about 3x as much biltong as I normally eat!

[BigM]

thats the prob the stuff tastes so good u eat it too fast
but looking forward to making the stuff

[keith157]

Keith, if they don't know already, you can get some amazing Biltong from Chapmans Butchers in Baldock - only down the A1 from you. They do a range of South African groceries in there too.

I've served them the Braaiwurs from there and she heartily approves, I'm told their cheese sausage is brilliant, but not tried it. Thanks for the reminder

[gazz_46]

Keith, if they don't know already, you can get some amazing Biltong from Chapmans Butchers in Baldock - only down the A1 from you. They do a range of South African groceries in there too.

I've served them the Braaiwurs from there and she heartily approves, I'm told their cheese sausage is brilliant, but not tried it. Thanks for the reminder

Guys

Chapmans is awesome and am a regular, Keith dont hold back the sausages are great and the butchers extremely accommodating just ask they will do anything you require. You may also wanna try Farrowby Farm in Hinxworth, again just off J10 the A1 its specialties are free range pork but get most of my poultry here too........and again extremely accommodating

[keith157]

WOW two hits in one topic......must choose some numbers
Thanks Gazz I'll have a drive over there as soon as poss