The Official Biltong Enthusiasts Thread

Zenbaas said:
It has nice yellow fat on the meat. It tastes somewhat different and you'll find it is what a lot of butcheries use for their biltong(some have no clue either). That said it's only for those of us who enjoy our fat otherwise normal a-grade is sufficient.
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Ok - makes sense if you like fat. I don't, so I'll stick to higher grade.
 
Zenbaas said:
The price of the Boerewors filler :D was quite hefty hey. Even the small one was over R1k. I think the all in one jobbies would work well enough for hobbyists such as ourselves :D I will be buying the mincer combo for our Kenwood Kmix and seeing how that one works out.

As for the C-grade silverside I went there on friday after CONFIRMING that they would have by the time I got there around 1pm. Got there and guess what...? :mad: So after relaying my dissatisfaction in a tasteful manner I walked out. The gent walked after me and offered to deliver the meat to me himself but they normally don't do deliveries. In any case will be contacting him tomorrow to arrange and see what he says (Nathaniel again).

I even asked the guy at Crown spice if he knows who can supply c-grade silverside and he just laughed. I guess that right there tells a story.

So if you arrange beforehand if shouldn't be an issue but be sure to confirm with them 900%. (I was quite annoyed though because here I have all these nice goodies to use and no meat :()
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Frustrating when the butcher can deliver on his commitment. I had the same issue, I just gave up.

The Kenwood mixer AT950A attachment is R900 ex VAT at their head office. I was also thinking of getting this attachment. I still think its a two man process filling the sausage casing though. you are going to need a person to put the meat into the mincer and another to manage the wors on the other side. So would need to mince the meat first then add spice etc. then refrigerate and then mince again straight into the casing, and the wors needs to go onto a flat surface, the attachment goes on the top of the mixer, so one needs to bare this in mind.
 
pulling wire said:
Frustrating when the butcher can deliver on his commitment. I had the same issue, I just gave up.

The Kenwood mixer AT950A attachment is R900 ex VAT at their head office. I was also thinking of getting this attachment. I still think its a two man process filling the sausage casing though. you are going to need a person to put the meat into the mincer and another to manage the wors on the other side. So would need to mince the meat first then add spice etc. then refrigerate and then mince again straight into the casing, and the wors needs to go onto a flat surface, the attachment goes on the top of the mixer, so one needs to bare this in mind.
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Wifey will be assisting me or rather me assisting her :D
 
Zenbaas said:
Wifey will be assisting me or rather me assisting her :D
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Good man, I think its definitely team effort that is require. The bonus is you can make both droewors and boerewors and never have to buy either again. that is of course if your droewors & boerewors is edible.
 
pulling wire said:
Good man, I think its definitely team effort that is require. The bonus is you can make both droewors and boerewors and never have to buy either again. that is of course if your droewors & boerewors is edible.
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Well it's not rocket science so I'm sure it will be fine :D :p
 
Hi Guys

Ok, I think I have now kind of perfected this biltong making thing (well for my taste anyway). I reckon my last 5 batches have been some of the best I’ve ever tasted.

My Meat:
• I get silverside from my trusty butcher in the northern suburbs which is currently retailing at R64.50/kg. I have not yet asked which grade I’m being supplied and do not intend to, just in case I say the wrong thing and sour the relationship. This is the best meat I’ve found so far, and I have shopped far and wide, so I don’t really mind paying the average price to negate the hassle & uncertainty of looking for the cheapest meat around.
• I do however always request plenty of fat on the meat. What I get on the finished product is lots of nice juicy, tasty yellow fat. None of the lousy white waxy stuff, so I am assuming older grass fed stock – maybe “C"ish grade? (This is excellent for a LCHF diet - which is how I justify it).
• The meat MUST be used fresh or vacuum packed, & kept in the fridge & used within 2 weeks – NO FROZEN MEAT!! (although some guys do this, it can be done, but IMHO compromises the quality of the end product)
• I ask my butcher to cut the meat into raw steaks that are about 2 – 3 cm thick, and separately vacuum pack into +/- 3kg portions, from which I then cut off some smaller pieces and also trim the sinew (but keep all the fat). I also try to get the main larger steaks to a length that ensures a good fit into the dryer. (+/- 35cm in length is about the maximum for the Mellarware Biltong King)
• I do +/- 3kg per batch which when cut as per above, works out to about 8-9 pieces.

My Vinegar recipe:
I use about 100ml -150ml per kg of meat, & I really think that it is this, along with the quality of the meat that is the most crucial part of the preparation.
• 1 parts brown spirit vinegar
• 1 parts balsamic vinegar
• 1 parts apple cider vinegar
• 1 parts Worcestershire sauce
• 1 part treacle (or Demerara) sugar

My Spices
IMHO I do not think that the spice is as important as the vinegar mix.
I use a basic mix of the core ingredients (roasted coriander, pepper & salt) and vary and add to this as I feel.
Or you could just obtain a commercial mix like Crown’s, Freddy Hirsch, or your local butcher’s spice etc.
I use generally use my personal mix on some pieces and my butchers blend on other pieces in a batch, and, both tend to be exceptionally and equally good (differing flavours however)

My Method:
• Drain the meat of as much blood as possible (I generally just cut a corner of the packet & let it drip into the sink for 15-30 mins, or until it seems bloodless)
• After draining, trim into the pieces you want to hang and cover liberally with the vinegar mix (rubbing it into the meat by hand)
• I normally spice the smaller pieces with the spice mix recipe above, some chilli flakes & some peri-peri spice (in my experience, you need more peri-peri than you think – but experiment as to taste / bravery levels etc.)
• On the larger pieces, I generally use only the normal spice mix (or a commercial one if preferred), sprinkling liberally to taste. (I personally like to put quite a bit)
• Leave the marinated steaks in the fridge for about 4 - 6 hours, periodically draining the excess liquid & turning the meat.
• I then hang the meat for three days in the “Biltong King” dryer with the fan on, but without the light in summer, I did use a light in winter?? (This is a hotly debated topic dependent on location, humidity & weather).

I've been doing about 3kg a week for the last couple of weeks now and just cannot keep up with the demand.
 
How do you feel about using sugar for your biltong when you're following a LCHF eating plan?
 
Zenbaas said:
Well it's not rocket science so I'm sure it will be fine :D :p
Click to expand...

I don't totally agree there:D I tried once and I think the consistency of my mince was too compact, I managed to keep bursting the casings and then I broke the cheap sausage filler that I was christening. So clearly I had it all wrong, I did the relevant research but I did not pick up on how crucial the consistency of the mince needs to be, (sloppy).

Will give it another bash and report back. On the Biltong Facebook page you must look for the Suidwes Droewors recipe by Stefaans Blaauw. I am going to give that one a shot.
 
tedl said:
Its such a minimal amount, in the big picture, but definitely adds that little extra to the taste, I could try xylitol instead, but not sure if it will work?
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It works out to such a minimal quantity (in my case I use 2g of Sugar per kg of silverside. its about 5g per batch.)
 
tedl said:
Hi Guys

Ok, I think I have now kind of perfected this biltong making thing (well for my taste anyway). I reckon my last 5 batches have been some of the best I’ve ever tasted.

My Meat:
• I get silverside from my trusty butcher in the northern suburbs which is currently retailing at R64.50/kg. I have not yet asked which grade I’m being supplied and do not intend to, just in case I say the wrong thing and sour the relationship. This is the best meat I’ve found so far, and I have shopped far and wide, so I don’t really mind paying the average price to negate the hassle & uncertainty of looking for the cheapest meat around.
• I do however always request plenty of fat on the meat. What I get on the finished product is lots of nice juicy, tasty yellow fat. None of the lousy white waxy stuff, so I am assuming older grass fed stock – maybe “C"ish grade? (This is excellent for a LCHF diet - which is how I justify it).
• The meat MUST be used fresh or vacuum packed, & kept in the fridge & used within 2 weeks – NO FROZEN MEAT!! (although some guys do this, it can be done, but IMHO compromises the quality of the end product)
• I ask my butcher to cut the meat into raw steaks that are about 2 – 3 cm thick, and separately vacuum pack into +/- 3kg portions, from which I then cut off some smaller pieces and also trim the sinew (but keep all the fat). I also try to get the main larger steaks to a length that ensures a good fit into the dryer. (+/- 35cm in length is about the maximum for the Mellarware Biltong King)
• I do +/- 3kg per batch which when cut as per above, works out to about 8-9 pieces.

My Vinegar recipe:
I use about 100ml -150ml per kg of meat, & I really think that it is this, along with the quality of the meat that is the most crucial part of the preparation.
• 1 parts brown spirit vinegar
• 1 parts balsamic vinegar
• 1 parts apple cider vinegar
• 1 parts Worcestershire sauce
• 1 part treacle (or Demerara) sugar

My Spices
IMHO I do not think that the spice is as important as the vinegar mix.
I use a basic mix of the core ingredients (roasted coriander, pepper & salt) and vary and add to this as I feel.
Or you could just obtain a commercial mix like Crown’s, Freddy Hirsch, or your local butcher’s spice etc.
I use generally use my personal mix on some pieces and my butchers blend on other pieces in a batch, and, both tend to be exceptionally and equally good (differing flavours however)

My Method:
• Drain the meat of as much blood as possible (I generally just cut a corner of the packet & let it drip into the sink for 15-30 mins, or until it seems bloodless)
• After draining, trim into the pieces you want to hang and cover liberally with the vinegar mix (rubbing it into the meat by hand)
• I normally spice the smaller pieces with the spice mix recipe above, some chilli flakes & some peri-peri spice (in my experience, you need more peri-peri than you think – but experiment as to taste / bravery levels etc.)
• On the larger pieces, I generally use only the normal spice mix (or a commercial one if preferred), sprinkling liberally to taste. (I personally like to put quite a bit)
• Leave the marinated steaks in the fridge for about 4 - 6 hours, periodically draining the excess liquid & turning the meat.
• I then hang the meat for three days in the “Biltong King” dryer with the fan on, but without the light in summer, I did use a light in winter?? (This is a hotly debated topic dependent on location, humidity & weather).

I've been doing about 3kg a week for the last couple of weeks now and just cannot keep up with the demand.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great detail Tedl. I will give your recipe a bash. I only use worchestershire sauce as my marinade. my spice mix is salt, pepper, sugar and roasted coriander (crushed). I think I have found "My" recipe.
 
I'm also considering xylitol. maybe i'll try it on one piece and see how it turns out.
What does the sugar actually do for the biltong? Is it just for taste or is there some other reason to have it in?
 
Slingshot said:
I'm also considering xylitol. maybe i'll try it on one piece and see how it turns out.
What does the sugar actually do for the biltong? Is it just for taste or is there some other reason to have it in?
Click to expand...
I always assumed it was to counter the acidity of the vinegar. :o
 
Slingshot said:
I'm also considering xylitol. maybe i'll try it on one piece and see how it turns out.
What does the sugar actually do for the biltong? Is it just for taste or is there some other reason to have it in?
Click to expand...

bwana said:
I always assumed it was to counter the acidity of the vinegar. :o
Click to expand...

I.am.Sam said:
yeah also this ..so the biltong doesnt get that bitter vinegar taste
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In my recent batches I don't use sugar at all and there is definitely no bitter vinegar taste associated with it.
 
Zenbaas said:
In my recent batches I don't use sugar at all and there is definitely no bitter vinegar taste associated with it.
Click to expand...
So you haven't used that Safari Biltong Seasoning yet?
 
I've tried using less sugar ie. 1/2 part, but it just didn't seem to have the same overall taste, so I guess it does make a difference?

B.T.W. I have just taken the last batch out of the drier just now, and if they play their cards right, I may let the family have some tasters, but only to get some constructive criticism, I reckon about tree slices each should suffice? Then I have the rest to myself :erm:

Just kidding, I think I'd be lynched if I tried that stunt:)
 
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