Homemade biltong is a simple and cost-effective snack to have in your pantry and can be generously given as a gift to a meat lover!
Let me start by saying that as a citizen of both Zimbabwe and South Africa, we refuse to equate beef jerkey to beef biltong. However, I have needed to use jerkey as a reference point for those who have no clue what biltong is. Once you turn to biltong, I think it’s a fair bet that you will never go back to jerkey. What I am even more certain about, is that homemade biltong is far superior to bought biltong!
Packed with protein and flavour, beef biltong is a firm favourite in our house. It is far more cost-effective to make this dried meat at home and homemade beef biltong will ensure that you always have snacks available for family or guests.
It must be said that we prefer homemade impala biltong. During hunting season Jason will hunt some impala and we use most what he brings home to make biltong. Nothing goes to waste during hunting season and if you’re interested in how we cook game meat, keep an eye over here for our recipes that we will be sharing. Our recent favourite are slow-cooked impala ribs.
A recent chat to someone close showed me that some people don’t realise how versatile biltong can be! So here are a few ideas for how to use your homemade biltong:
What is Biltong?
Biltong is made from slices of meat that are sprinkled with a selection of spices and soaked in vinegar overnight. It is hung for several days. The time that it hangs depends on the how ‘raw’ you like your biltong and how thick the slices are.
6 Ways to Use Homemade Biltong
- Stored in the freezer to be taken out when you need a nutritious snack.
- Chopped up and served as a snack when guests come for a meal. For some extra tangy treats on your snack platter, you can add homemade pickled onions. We tell you how to make these here.
- Shaved and sprinkled on top of sandwiches or pizza. Wonderful on top of buttered crackers.
- Chopped up into a stew. This is a good idea for those who like to go into the wilderness for a few nights and need a protein source that won’t rot in their backpack.
- Great for teething babies. Be sure to take it away if it gets too soft and breaks apart.
- It is a wonderful gift for meat lovers. Wrap a few sticks of homemade biltong in some brown paper and most people on this side of the world will be overjoyed!
What Do I need to Make Biltong?
This is a tough question to answer because you can be as creative as your house and furniture allows you to be! Our friends make biltong in an old cupboard, we started out with a wooden box and computer fan attached to the side. You can buy fancy biltong cupboards online or you can get creative – it is all up to you and your budget, really.
As I write this part, I realise that it may help many of you if Jason puts together a tutorial on making your own biltong cupboard! I’ll get onto that.
You will also need:
- A sealable container to hold all your meat, spices, and juices overnight (we use old cooler boxes)
- Vinegar
- Biltong spice
- Plastic or metal hooks (ours are homemade from a roll of wire that we cut and then twisted with pliers)
How to Make Homemade Biltong
1. Buy Your Meat
Buy a portion of sirloin, rump, or any meat with a little bit of fat attached. You are looking for a lump of meat that you can cut to the size you desire.
2. Slice the Meat
Slice your meat into long pieces. Cut along the grain, not against the grain. Remember that the thicker the piece of meat, the longer it will need to dry. This doesn’t mean that you must cut smaller pieces. For those of you who like eating rare to medium-rare meat, you’ll want to cut fairly thick pieces (this is how we prefer our biltong).
3. Flavour the Meat
Sprinkle a layer of biltong spice on the bottom of your container. Then place strips of meat so that the bottom of your container is covered. Sprinkle another layer of spices on top of the meat. Sprinkle the vinegar and Worcester sauce mix over the meat and spice (sprinkle generously). Repeat this process until all of your meat is layered in the container.
4. Let the Meat Rest
Put a lid on your container and leave it a cool place. Every six hours, get your hands dirty by giving the meat a good stir around.
5. Hang the Meat
We usually hang our pieces after 12–16 hours. Take a piece out, pop it on a hook and place it on your wire/in your drying cupboard. Make sure that no pieces of meat are touching, and that air can pass through easily. Since we dry a lot of meat at one time and our temperatures are quite warm, we have a fan running in the room 24/7 to make sure mould doesn’t start to grow on the meat.
6. Check, Wait, Check, and EAT Homemade Biltong
Check on your biltong every 12 hours and it should be ready to eat in 2–3 days, depending on your conditions and how rare you like your biltong.
Notes on Homemade Biltong:
- If you’ve made a big batch and you won’t eat it quickly, you can freeze your biltong. It will get drier as time goes by so keep that in mind.
- If you are nervous, just make four pieces for your first try then branch out when you feel more confident.
- Everyone has a different idea of what the perfect biltong tastes like so use these instructions as a guideline. The joy of making your own biltong is that you can tweak the recipe to suit you.
How to Make Biltong (Jerkey)
Packed with protein and flavour, beef biltong is a firm
favourite in our house. It is far more cost-effective to make this dried meat
at home and homemade beef biltong will ensure that you always have snacks
available for family or guests.
Ingredients
- Biltong Spice (see recipe on Marigolds and Meat blog)
- Big cut of sirloin, rump, or any meat with some fat on it
- Vinegar
- Worcester Sauce
Instructions
1. Buy a portion of sirloin, rump,
or any meat with a little bit of fat attached.
You are looking for a lump of meat that you can cut to the size you
desire.
2. Slice your meat into long pieces.
Cut along the grain, not against the grain. Remember that the thicker the piece
of meat, the longer it will need to dry. This doesn’t mean that you must cut
smaller pieces. For those of you who like eating rare to medium-rare meat,
you’ll want to cut fairly thick pieces (this is how we prefer our biltong).
3. Sprinkle a layer of biltong spice
on the bottom of your container. Then place strips of meat so that the bottom
of your container is covered. Sprinkle another layer of spices on top of the
meat. Sprinkle the vinegar and Worcester sauce mix over the meat and spice
(sprinkle generously). Repeat this process until all of your meat is layered in
the container.
4. Put the container of meat in a cool place and every six hours get your hands dirty by giving the meat a good stir around.
5. We usually hang our pieces after
12–16 hours. Take a piece out, pop it on a hook and place it on your wire/in
your drying cupboard. Make sure that no pieces of meat are touching, and that
air can pass through easily. Since we dry a lot of meat at one time and our
temperatures are quite warm, we have a fan running in the room 24/7 to make
sure mould doesn’t start to grow on the meat.
6. Check on your biltong every 12
hours and it should be ready to eat in 2–3 days, depending on your conditions
and how rare you like your biltong. You want each piece of meat to have a dry crust around it. If you have some thinner pieces, you can take these down when they're ready and let the bigger pieces hang for longer.
Notes
-
If you’ve made a big batch and you won’t eat it
quickly, you can freeze your biltong. It will get drier as time goes by so keep
that in mind.
-
If you are nervous, just make four pieces for
your first try then branch out when you feel more confident.
-
Everyone has a different idea of what the
perfect biltong tastes like so use these instructions as a guideline. The joy
of making your own biltong is that you can tweak the recipe to suit you.
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