Biltong Newbie

[Worskos]

Hi All

I've recently tried my hand at making biltong and I've run into a bit of a problem. It's been hanging in my store bought Biltong King for 4 days, the inside is nice and moist but the outside is extremely hard. I'm enjoying the taste but the texture on the outside is very unpleasant. I want to achieve a nice consistent texture throughout the meat.
Any ideas on how I can remedy this with my next batch?
Where did I go wrong?

I'm using beef silverside.
Hanging in a store bought maker with a 40watt bulb.


Thanks

 

[Batista]

What is your procedure?
This is mine :

Crush coriander seeds and chilli flakes.Set aside.
Brush meat with white vinegar and make sure to cover all areas of meat.If you want to soak soak for no more than an hour otherwise the meat will taste like vinegar!!We use vinegar to ward off mold and such.I add a tablespoon of marmite to my vinegar mix but you may not like this, so try it without it.
Use coarse sea salt and coat meat, then coat with spice mix above - experiment, but i honestly just prefer salt,coriander seeds and chilli flakes.
Hang.
Check at day 3-4.

 

[Worskos]

My procedure was:

Soak meat in brown vinegar for an hour
Drain meat
Rub spice mix on meat (Crushed coriander seed, crushed black peppercorns, chilli flakes). Leave in fridge for one hour to marinate.
Hang

I don't know if my process in the problem, I think it has something to do with how the meat is hanging, its proximity to the fan and the use of the light because the outside is extremely hard while the inside is still moist.

Is the light necessary? Will it have an effect on the hardness?
Am I marinating for too short of a time?

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[Unhappy1]

Where do you stay? I find the seasons/humidity greatly effect the drying of my biltong, also the amount you attempt to dry at once.

 

[Obieone]

Air flow or temp might be to high, I use a normal pc fan and 40w bulb in mine (homemade).The fan is connected to a variable power supply so I can adjust the speed. The temp in the box is usually around 35deg c.

 

[Drifter]

It's the bulb. Only use it for the 1st two days, then just the fan.

 

[Batista]

It's the bulb. Only use it for the 1st two days, then just the fan.

What he said.Although the bulb i use in mine is an energy saver that doesnt put out as much heat as a conventional bulb.

 

[MercuryX]

My last batch I made I didn't use the bulb at all and it came out great, 3 days had soft pink middle, after 4th day started getting a little [edit] drier [edit] towards the middle, 5th day almost completely dry. timing depends on how you like your biltong.

Also found that when using the bulb "miggies" seem to get in.

 

[Worskos]

I live in Cape Town

Thanks for the advice - Will ditch the light, run off the fan and see how that goes.

 

[faniebraai]

just bought a biltong maker. archived for recipe

 

[I.am.Sam]

just bought a biltong maker. archived for recipe

where ?

why didnt you build one ?

im going to build one but not sure what i need

can someone post what fan and what bulb and bla bla and the costs of building one

a plastic box is like R50 and rods are cheap

 

[Batista]

where ?

why didnt you build one ?

im going to build one but not sure what i need

can someone post what fan and what bulb and bla bla and the costs of building one

a plastic box is like R50 and rods are cheap

Lol my fiance said i cant build one cos it will look like ****e,and i agree the one is have is clear plastic store bought mellarware,but build quality is meh :/

 

[faniebraai]

Lol my fiance said i cant build one cos it will look like ****e,and i agree the one is have is clear plastic store bought mellarware,but build quality is meh :/

that's the one i bought

 

[aybbleek]

Hi All

I've recently tried my hand at making biltong and I've run into a bit of a problem. It's been hanging in my store bought Biltong King for 4 days, the inside is nice and moist but the outside is extremely hard. I'm enjoying the taste but the texture on the outside is very unpleasant. I want to achieve a nice consistent texture throughout the meat.
Any ideas on how I can remedy this with my next batch?
Where did I go wrong?

I'm using beef silverside.
Hanging in a store bought maker with a 40watt bulb.


Thanks

Don't use the bulb, marinade for longer, use meat tenderizer (you can find it at the butchers or in the spice aisle at the supermarket) if after the previous two steps don't help. FYI i marinade my meat for 24 hours before hanging.

As for the vinegar, I bought a cheap spray bottle from the Crazy store and use that to spray the vinegar onto the meat, ensures that you cover all the meat and don't waste so much vinegar.

 

[faniebraai]

where ?

why didnt you build one ?

im going to build one but not sure what i need

can someone post what fan and what bulb and bla bla and the costs of building one

a plastic box is like R50 and rods are cheap

you? build something? never!

just be a lazy twat like me and buy one

 

[I.am.Sam]

you? build something? never!

just be a lazy twat like me and buy one

thats what im telling myself ..but the side that says hey show your wife you can build something is also speaking

the mellerware is the good one but at half the cost for building one i think il do that

Air flow or temp might be to high, I use a normal pc fan and 40w bulb in mine (homemade).The fan is connected to a variable power supply so I can adjust the speed. The temp in the box is usually around 35deg c.

tell us more

Links to the above mentioned parts

 

[Batista]

that's the one i bought

My only issue is the first time i picked it up the base just stayed on the table lol, you have to hold it from underneath.I have no issues with it, makes lekker biltong!!

 

[Batista]

thats what im telling myself ..but the side that says hey show your wife you can build something is also speaking

the mellerware is the good one but at half the cost for building one i think il do that



tell us more

Links to the above mentioned parts

Where you based?
YOu can pickup a 250 volt fan from communica for R100, just wire it to a normal plug. This will be noisy though and maybe overkill..
You can get a small pc fan and then hook it up to a cellphone charger (5v)
Bulb fittings and wire from builders warehouse or any hardware store.
If i were you, i would buy really nice hardwood and build it out of that, so that it looks nice.

 

[faniebraai]

Where you based?
YOu can pickup a 250 volt fan from communica for R100, just wire it to a normal plug. This will be noisy though and maybe overkill..
You can get a small pc fan and then hook it up to a cellphone charger (5v)
Bulb fittings and wire from builders warehouse or any hardware store.
If i were you, i would buy really nice hardwood and build it out of that, so that it looks nice.

yeah sam, screw that, just spend the R300 and be done with it.

 

[Obieone]

tell us more

Links to the above mentioned parts[/QUOTE]

Nothing to it really, used an old bar fridge about 100l or so, cut a hole in the bottom with a pot scourer as a filter, light bulb above it and the pc fan mounted at the top with an old car speaker grill over the hole to keep the flies out. The power supply is one of those 4 - 12v jobbies that you switch between voltages, I use mine on the 4v most of the time.