What is Biltong?

BILTONG is classic South African specialty - seasoned dried meat, like beef jerky but much much better. South African Biltong. A great taste. 25 lb beef (top round/sirloin/London broil/ eye of round) · 4 pints warm water · 1 ¼ lb fine salt · ½ cup brown sugar · ½ cup coriander, coarsely ground · 2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda · 1 tbsp black pepper, ground · 1 cup red wine vinegar · 2 tsp saltpeter (optional) Biltong hung and ready to eat Cut the meat along the natural dividing lines of the muscles of the meat of choice Cut into strips of approximately 2-inch thick and any desired length, always cutting with the grain. Mix the salt, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, saltpeter, pepper and coriander together. Rub the seasoning mixture thoroughly into the strips of meat. Layer the meat, with the more bulky pieces at the bottom, in a glass or stainless steel container. Sprinkle a little vinegar over each layer, as you add them.    Leave the meat in a cool place for 12 hours or more, depending on how salty you want the meat to be. (Some experimentation may be required to ascertain the correct length of time to let the meat 'marinade' for, according to your taste.) Remove the meat from the marinade Mix the water and vinegar and dip the meat into this mixture. This makes the biltong shiny and dark. Once this is complete, the biltong is ready to dry. Pat the pieces of meat dry and then hang them up on S-shaped hooks, or use pieces of string, about 2 inches apart. Hang the meat in a cool, dry place with an oscillating fan blowing on it. Ensure that the air is dry, as too much moisture will cause the biltong to spoil. The biltong is ready when the outside is hard and the center part of the biltong strip is still a little moist. Let the center dry according to personal taste. Makes about 21 lb. Another recipe: Ingredients Beef (Preferably Silverside/London Broil) Rock Salt Coarse Ground Black Pepper Coarse Ground Coriander Vinegar (preferably Apple-Cider vinegar, though any will do) Directions Get some half-inch thick strips of beef (silverside - called London Broil in the US). Make sure it's cut _with_ the grain. The pieces should be about 6 inches long. Liberally sprinkle rock-salt on each side of the pieces of meat and let them stand for an hour. The longer you let it stand the saltier it will become. After the hour, scrape off all the excess salt with a knife (don't soak it in water!). Put some vinegar in a bowl and dip the strips of meat in the vinegar for a second or so - just so that the meat is covered in the vinegar. Hold the biltong up so that the excess vinegar drips off. Sprinkle ground pepper and ground coriander over the meat on all sides. Once you have done this, the meat is ready to dry. Drying There are several methods of drying. One is to hang it up on a line in a cool place and have a fan blow on it. This method is a bit difficult because if the air is humid the meat can spoil. The method I use is a home-made 'Biltong Box'. This is basically a sealed wooden box (you can use cardboard if you like) with holes in it and a 60w lightbulb inside. Just hang the meat at the top of the box, and leave the lightbulb on at the bottom. The heat from the lightbulb helps dry the meat (even in humid weather) in about 3-4 days. Remember, the box must be closed on all 6 sides except for a few holes (as per the diagram below). The whole theory behind this method is that hot dry air rises thus drying the biltong. The holes are quite important as they promote good air circulation in the box. 8.             9.                         .4 metre across 10.                     _______________ 11.       FRONT VIEW    |             | 12.                     |x-----------x|  <------- Hang biltong here on a wire 13.                     |  B    B     | 14.          1.0 meter  |  I    I     | 15.            high     |  L    L     | 16.                     |  T    T     | 17.                     |  O    O     | 18.                     |  N    N     | 19.                     |  G    G     | 20.                     |             | 21.                     |x-----------x|  <------- Put a piece of perforated wood 22.       60W lightbulb |     @       |           covering the lightbulb here. This 23.       goes here --> |    |||      |           prevents blood from dropping on the 24.                     ---------------           lightbulb.  Make sure the wood has 25.                                               a few holes in ot to let the hot air 26.                                               rise. 27.         28.         29.                     .4 metre across 30.                     _______________ 31.       SIDE VIEW     |             | 32.                     |  O  O  O    |  33.                     |             |   < --------   Holes at the top of the box on 34.          1.0 meter  |   O  O  O   |                both sides. 35.            high     |             | 36.                     |             | 37.                     |             | 38.                     |             | 39.                     |             | 40.                     |             | 41.                     | O  O  O     |   < --------   Holes at the bottom of the box 42.       60W Lightbulb |             |                by the lightbulb on both sides. 43.       goes here --> |  O  O  O    | 44.                     --------------- 45.         You'll know when the biltong is ready when it is quite hard, but still a bit moist inside. Of course, some people like it 'wet' and others like it 'dry'. It's all a matter of taste. Most South Africans I know like it in between - basically just a bit red inside. If it has gone green, then the meat has spoiled (i.e. don't eat it). Variations include the above recipe, but add flavours like Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce, tabasco sauce, soy sauce, etc.. Just brush these sauces on after applying the vinegar using a basting brush.