Himself makes biltong
16 February 2012 in Biltong Making
I have mentioned before that the only reason Himself even knows where the kitchen is located, is because the beers are kept there!
Now-a-days it’s a different story, he received a biltong maker for Christmas and he is obsessed with it. He got quite possessive about his new toy when I experimented drying mango in it, which worked really well btw.
So far he has made 3 batches of biltong, the first using rump and the second with topside, we all preferred the rump so the batch we are eating presently is rump that he managed to find at R59.99 a kilo. Yes the man even sourced his own meat! I have to say he loves his pressie and on the last batch he got adventurous and added peri peri powder to the spice mix from the butcher.
First you have to cut the meat into strips and salt it, then you scrape the salt off and soak in vinegar for 10/15 minutes.
After drying the meat off, you coat it in the spices, then place it on cake racks with a container underneath to catch drips overnight in the fridge.
Next it’s into the biltong maker.
Then you spend copious amounts of time staring into the light, glass of wine in hand, pontificating the merits of homemade biltong! Thereafter follows numerous tastings to gauge ‘the doneness’ and woe betide the person who doesn’t ooh and aah in all the right places……we’ve created a monster!
All teasing aside, I have to say the biltong is great and he’s having so much fun with it, at under R300 I think a biltong maker is a great present for a guy, and we all know how hard it is to buy for a man.
Blondie said on 16 February 2012
Impressed!!! If I promise to ooh & aah, do you think Himself would let me become his ‘spare’ biltong guinea pig??
Sous Chef said on 16 February 2012
I’m sure he would, best you pop round and sample.
sideview said on 16 February 2012
now he’ll become a biltong blogger
Sous Chef said on 17 February 2012
I somehow don’t see Himself blogging, he’s not big on writing.
sideview said on 17 February 2012
he could be a picture a week blogger, each week a new piece of biltong?
Sous Chef said on 17 February 2012
You just want him to pose with a new piece of biltong each week! *wink*
adinparadise said on 17 February 2012
Wow. That is so impressive. Are you going into the biltong business?
Sous Chef said on 17 February 2012
There would be no profit, we would eat all the stock!
Mandy - The Complete Cook Book said on 17 February 2012
Awesome pressie for a man! Pete made a biltong maker years ago out of an old computer stand box thingy – worked really well although I must say your hubby’s one is super smart! Where were you able to find rump at R59.99?
Mandy
Sous Chef said on 17 February 2012
I can imagine that a CPU would work very well, having the vents etc. He found the rump on special at a Spar here in Pmb, they also had fillet at R99.00…we stocked up!
Debbie said on 17 February 2012
Think Wayne could get quite handy with one of these….good fathers day gift for him and FIL.
Have a lovely weekend
Sous Chef said on 17 February 2012
Himself has really enjoyed his I can highly recommend it as a gift.
Food24 Ed said on 17 February 2012
It looks amazing! Wow, am dying to get one
Sous Chef said on 17 February 2012
You must! it’s so much fun and drying fruit is cool too. I tied racks together to make 3 tiers to optimise the space.
Alistair said on 17 February 2012
I tried it, thank you .so easy and tasty.
Do you have a recipe for making dried Mango ? it is so exspensive to buy although the mango s are so cheap to purchase.
Sous Chef said on 20 February 2012
Hi Alister, glad you tried it. All I did with the mango was peel it and slice it & then dried it for a couple of days. I took 3 cake grids to make 3 layers to optimise the space in the biltong maker, worked a treat.
rumtumtigger said on 17 February 2012
Ooh…aahh! Kudo’s to himself. Sounds like his having lots of fun. I like the idea of the dried fruit as I’m not a biltong person *shock, horror, gasp*
Sous Chef said on 17 February 2012
I wasn’t a biltong lover for a long time, the dried mango was awesome, also did some peaches which were good, nectarines didn’t work which is probably why you don’t see them in the shops!
JJ said on 17 February 2012
Mr Chef
Where do you come from?, you do not make biltong from Rump, use Topside or Silverside. You do not have to “salt it in, and rinse it – you keep water far away from biltong meat. You do not have to dry it off, soak it in vinegar, store it in the fridge etc, etc etc,etc.
Here’s the method.
Get the spices from a dealer – it’s a lot easier than preparing it yourself – and it could take time to find your taste of spice.
Get the meat – pre-cut or cut it yourself,
Utensils – plastic container for the meat, flat container like soup plate for vinegar, spoon for spice.
sprinkle the bottom of the container with spice
dip the meat in the vinegar (roll it in the vinegar) and place it in the container till the bottomlayer is full, use the spoon to sprinkle the layer with spice – repeat till finished. Close and leave for four hours and then hang in the drier. The amount of spice depends on your taste of saltiness – play around it can take time.
Tips – put a double layer of newpaper in the drier to soak up the juices for the first day, there after remove it.
Cut the majority of pieces nice and thick, but also a lot rather thin, they can dry in two days(be carefull of not too much spice.) Play around with the spices, add pepper or peri peri – these cuts should be placed in a separate container.
No need to buy drying boxes at serious prices build one yourself – popular mechanics June 2010 show how for less than R200 bucks.
Depending on your preference, biltong would be ready in four days, if you want it crispy dry – 7 days.
If you have a vacuum device – once it’s ready seal it – store it – would last for at least a year. Prior to the need for munching, thaw it overnight in the fridge.
To make chilli bites put a layer of chicken wire on the botton shelf and just place the pieces there instead of hanging on hooks – too much work for the small pieces.
Have fun been making my own for more that 30 years.
Sous Chef said on 20 February 2012
Gosh thank you for all your advice, we did use topside and were not happy with the results, but we shall give it another go. We were merely following the instructions in the recipe book that came with the biltong maker. This biltong maker only cost R289 and is so much easier than trying to make one, we are very pleased with it. We will try your method out as it sounds less hassle. I live in South Africa and I am female btw
Bam's Kitchen said on 18 February 2012
My teenage boys love beef jerky. What a great idea making your own. I will have to look into a biltong maker as the beef jerky in the stores is full of all kinds of ingredients I cannot even pronounce. Imagine all the yummy things you can make with your new toy. Take Care, BAM
Sous Chef said on 20 February 2012
Hello Bam, thanks for visiting, do give it a go, so nice to have good quality biltong with no preservatives.
thehappyhugger said on 20 February 2012
Himself’s biltong looks jolly nice SC
*hugs*
Sous Chef said on 20 February 2012
I tell you we eat it at a rate of knots! time to make another batch.
Marlene said on 20 February 2012
My son gave us a biltong maker for Christmas. What I would like to know is do you use any special kind or size bulb in your machine?
We are finding that making your own dried boerewors to be a whole lot cheaper. We are still experimenting with the biltong, but all round it was a wonderful gift.
Sous Chef said on 20 February 2012
We tried a 100watt and it was too hot, then a 40 – too slow and now we have a 60watt, it’s working well, no special size. We are also learning and enjoying the present. Thanks for popping in.
Gobetween said on 29 February 2012
I love dried mango too. Great post.
Sous Chef said on 29 February 2012
Thanks, the idea was to save the dried mango for winter….no chance, as fast as we dry it, we eat it!
Christine said on 4 April 2012
See what one misses out on when you have not blogged for a while!! I used to make my own biltong too but used to leave it overnight in the vinegar and salt solution (only because I like savoury taste). I miss my (well, the exes) biltong maker!
Adding some Worcester Sauce also gives it a different taste!
built in fridge said on 2 June 2012
It looks amazing! Wow, am dying to get one