Hunting fever is high. The Currie Cup Season is officially starting and what better way to impress your mates than to sit out a bowl with your own home-made biltong!
There are hundreds of different recipes, and when you “google” you see words like Salpeter and Bicarbonate of soda. There and then you give up, because it just sounds too complicated. Well guess what, its as easy as 1, 2, 3!
Ingredients:
Brine
- 60 ml white wine vinegar/ spirit vinegar or brown vinegar
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 100 ml red wine (optional)
Biltong
1.2 kilograms good quality red meat (beef or venison), sinew and most fat removed.
(i have used topside, silverside, beef roast and rump)
Spice mix
- 1 tbsp semi-coarse sea salt
- 60 ml brown sugar
- 1 tbsp BBQ spice
- 125 ml coriander seeds, toasted and coarsely ground (you can do this in a non stick pan)
- 1 tsp milled black pepper
Biltong basics:
- Cut meat into thinner, smaller pieces to promote even drying
- Always cut meat along the grain as you’ll be cutting it across the grain when you eat it.
- Marinate/brine meat for at least 4 hours (or up to 2 days) to allow flavour to be absorbed.
- Make sure you hang biltong in a cool and well-ventilated spot, out of reach of animals and biltong thieves!
- Drying time depends on the moisture levels of the air where the biltong is hanging. The drier the air, the sooner it’ll be ready. (winter time works the best!)
Method:
Step 1:
- Pour vinegar and Worcestershire sauce into a roasting tray.
- Toss meat in brine to coat.
- Lay meat in a single layer.
- Leave for 30 minutes.
Step 2:
- Mix spice mix ingredients together.
- Thoroughly coat meat with spice mix and press spices into meat.
- Turn meat over and repeat until all the spice mix is used up.
- Allow to brine for at least 4 hours or overnight, turning as regularly as possible. (remember, the longer it lies in the mixture, the saltier it becomes, so be careful not to exceed 12 hours)
- Shake off most of the salt and spices, but not all of them.
Step 3:
- Cover area below hanging surface with foil or a thick layer of newspaper.
- Bend paper clips to form hooks.
- Place a hook into each piece of biltong.
- Hang biltong 5cm apart.
- Dry for 4 -7 days until desired dryness is reached.
- ENJOY!!
