The Official Biltong Enthusiasts Thread

[Pineapple Smurf]

Party at @Pineapple Smurf, look lekka.

Not yet, It looks so sexy now I hauled some pieces out but it was squishy like @The_Mowgs nutsack I quickly put them back in the box and will wait a few more days, winter biltong making takes longer than 4 days it seems

 

[gottagoon]

Not yet, It looks so sexy now I hauled some pieces out but it was squishy like @The_Mowgs nutsack I quickly put them back in the box and will wait a few more days, winter biltong making takes longer than 4 days it seems

A lightbulb in a box helps. ****..wrong thread. Wait, right thread. Nevermind .

 

[Pineapple Smurf]

A lightbulb in a box helps. ****..wrong thread. Wait, right thread. Nevermind .

Right thread.
Yes light bulb is there and fan, its just winter so may take a weeeee bit longer now

 

[Gabe Owner]

Cool thread.

 

[Pineapple Smurf]

Mondays batch should of been finished by now, but it is pretty chilly in my lounge this week with the stoep door permanently open
Should be done by Sunday to enjoy pre braai with Coopers homemade beer

 

[Tabac]

Mondays batch should of been finished by now, but it is pretty chilly in my lounge this week with the stoep door permanently open
Should be done by Sunday to enjoy pre braai with Coopers homemade beer

View attachment 1117086

I can see they are stil pap.

 

[Pineapple Smurf]

I can see they are stil pap.

Yup, very squishy

 

[PhireSide]

First batch is in - chilli bites are my Kryptonite

 

[Tosser]

First batch is in - chilli bites are my Kryptonite

I am not quite yet satisfied with my attempts at this. Mind sharing your method?
Do you add vinegar? What is your spice to meat ratio?
TIA

 

[PhireSide]

I am not quite yet satisfied with my attempts at this. Mind sharing your method?
Do you add vinegar? What is your spice to meat ratio?
TIA

I won't lie, but I take a huge shortcut here.

I buy the Freddie Hirsch chilli bite packets. One packet (R16 or R17) is enough for 4kg of meat, but I found that it works better on 3.5 - 3.75kg just to enhance the flavour a bit. Then, all you need to add is 100g of Worcester sauce and 100g of brown vinegar and leave it to marinade overnight in the fridge.

The ingredients on the spice pack is as follows, if you wanted to go the DIY route:

130g salt
40g ground cayenne pepper
20g ground coriander
10g garlic
10g brown sugar

 

[Saba'a]

I won't lie, but I take a huge shortcut here.

I buy the Freddie Hirsch chilli bite packets. One packet (R16 or R17) is enough for 4kg of meat, but I found that it works better on 3.5 - 3.75kg just to enhance the flavour a bit. Then, all you need to add is 100g of Worcester sauce and 100g of brown vinegar and leave it to marinade overnight in the fridge.

The ingredients on the spice pack is as follows, if you wanted to go the DIY route:

130g salt
40g ground cayenne pepper
20g ground coriander
10g garlic
10g brown sugar

View attachment 1119956

Also use Freddy Hirsch or other prepared biltong mixtures.

 

[Saba'a]

But do lay in vinegar overnight

 

[PhireSide]

Some of the finished product. I'll leave it to dry for another day or so in some newspaper:

 

[Tosser]

Some of the finished product. I'll leave it to dry for another day or so in some newspaper:

View attachment 1120122

thank you!
I use about the same proportion of spice ( also mostly freddy hirschs) but mostly use their hunters spice. Going to grab some of their chili bite spice then.
I tend not to leave 'wet' overnight, and just give them a quick bath in brown vinegar. I have tried the worcester sauce route, not sure if it works for me with the chili bites though, but works great with the bigger pieces ( fortunately you can also get this by the gallon by freddy hirschs )
With the lockdown I have not been able t get to them for a while, so need to make a plan to get some more supplies.
Appreciate the input, going to try a fresh batch shortly. Did not consider leaving it to try in newspaper.

 

[PhireSide]

thank you!
I use about the same proportion of spice ( also mostly freddy hirschs) but mostly use their hunters spice. Going to grab some of their chili bite spice then.
I tend not to leave 'wet' overnight, and just give them a quick bath in brown vinegar. I have tried the worcester sauce route, not sure if it works for me with the chili bites though, but works great with the bigger pieces ( fortunately you can also get this by the gallon by freddy hirschs )
With the lockdown I have not been able t get to them for a while, so need to make a plan to get some more supplies.
Appreciate the input, going to try a fresh batch shortly. Did not consider leaving it to try in newspaper.

Let us know how it goes! I added two more dowels to my DIY drier, so I now have three rows of biltong and two rows of chilli bites. The weather has been a bit rainy which has pushed the humidity up so it's taking a bit longer to dry, and it means I am keeping a hawk eye out for mold.

 

[JSparrow]

Some beef biltong and chilli bites

 

[JSparrow]

Not sure where to post this. Home brew and biltong

 

[JSparrow]

Some biltong and chilli bites for snacks at work. Holy crap but the chilli bites really opens the sinuses. I can do with a nice ice cold beer now.

 

[Arthur]

N00b question: Is a light inside the dryer necessary? What does it actually do? Can't one just dry in a dark box with fan? Why not?

 

[saor]

N00b question: Is a light inside the dryer necessary? What does it actually do? Can't one just dry in a dark box with fan? Why not?

Incandescent generates a bit of heat which probably speeds up drying.