making biltong in humid climate
But have never seen anyone in south africa use this. Temperature and Humidity for Meat Curing Chamber, Want to Make Charcuterie at Home? Since the saturation vapor pressure of water decreases with decreasing temperature, the water in the air condenses on the surface, separating the water from the air. Well explained. While that is happening mix together the wet cure. Well just an update since this is my third attempt which I followed to a Tee. I however eat it like Biltong This is my version: Cut topside or silverside into 2 cm wide strips and marinade in salt, curry powder and lemon juice for 24 hrs. Place the thicker biltong strips at the bottom of an enamel container, cover with a layer of salt and then a layer of the spice mixture. Test the readiness of your biltong every couple of days by squeezing the sides together with clean fingers. The method and spice mix hasnt changed much in hundreds of years, but a few variations have appeared recently, like piri piri biltong and the use of additional ingredients like worcestershire sauce and dried chillies. Adding sugar brown sugar, for example may sweeten the taste but it also brings you closer to beef jerky than to South African biltong. In the temperate environments that Ive lived in, the moisture is always higher at night time and this is also useful since you can want the higher levels of humidity when you cold smoking. Many DIY biltong makers will use a biltong box with a fan and a lightbulb in to create good air circulation. You must log in or register to reply here. Biltong needs a fresh air supply to wick the moisture off the meat and dehydrates it. It all depends on the type of dryer and thickness of the meat as to how soon your meat is ready. I use a 275 w Infra red lamp for heat connected to a inkbird temperature controller and a computer fan controlled by a light dimmer to give me the perfect environment. While the meat is marinating, toast the coriander seeds, fennel seeds and chilli flakes in a dry pan on medium heat. Once the biltong meat has been spiced, its going to sit in a vinegar marinade for several hours to a day. I ended up unplugging the humidifier as it appears I dont need it in such a small space. If you pick the right meat, you wont need to use bicarb at all. If you find that youve been testing your biltong for readiness for 2-3 weeks and it just doesnt seem to be drying in the middle, this may be your problem. How to build the DIY homemade Biltong Box. Using a sharp knife, following the grain of the meat, cut into 1 inch (2.5cm) thick lengths and place in a non-metallic container. When slicing to serve or eat, cut across the grain. As soon as the spices are nicely toasted, slightly smoky and fragrant, remove them from the pan and let them cool down completely. This should go some way towards fixing the problem. Would a little chili powder in the wet marinade be OK or would it ruin it? The easiest ways to achieve the high humidity and high level of temperature is to have a humidifier and a heater of some sort in the curing chamber. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Try a small batch first and keep an eye on it :) 4 Reply ethnastydizasty 4 yr. ago I'm also in the PNW (Vancouver, Canada) and I just finished building a new box. Biltong pronounced bill-tong is air dried, and although you can use a dehydrator, most South Africans use a biltong box, as it makes drying the meat easier and more hygienic. Truthfully, it beats jerky by a mile. Do this in a clean plastic or non-reactive metal container where the meat fits snugly. What Ive seen with temperature control and different curing chambers is that the compressor or whatever form of cooling is used may create more or less moisture as well as impacting the humidifier or dehumidifier. Have just bought 6.4 kg of topside and am ready to go again this time I will not hand it out maybe a little bit because it had a 100% approval which I thank charlie but it cost me 100 dollars to buy. Some recipes call for balsamic or cider vinegar. If not why not and if you do how much and how would you put it into the process. This is the ultimate way of making the famous South African cured meat, often confused with beef jerky. Used your recipe with some wildebeest, and the only change was adding some allspice berries to the dry herb mix. Making biltong does not require a load of fancy equipment and many DIY methods are available online. Add the meat to the wet cure and let it sit for another 2 hours flipping twice to make sure it's evenly covered in the liquid. If you don't have a vacuum sealer, then wrap airtight. Toast the coriander seeds in a dry pan, then grind down in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. Personally, I wouldnt.Portable cooler? The top of this article goes through all the best beef cuts for making biltong. Got one of those cheap BiltongKing makers or some such from Game ages ago. Howdy, I prefer 11-13C all the time, since bacteria grows exponentially the hotter it gets. This might seem a little odd, but it has scientific reasoning. As I did 6.4 kg of topside and at the last minute decided to not introduce any smoke on the grounds it should be kept original. Biltong is a dry beef product that is manufactured without a heat lethality step, raising concerns of whether effective microbial pathogen reduction can occur during biltong processing. Getting it right is down to trial and error. Recipe was easy and the result was tasty. After so many failed previous attempts, finally your recipe worked beautifully for meits like being back in south Africa again, Love it. Therefore, keeping the humidity low and keeping good air circulation will prevent mold. In the era of Parma where Parma Ham comes from, its next two areas of water which allows the generally higher level of moisture and humidity in the air to stop the outside drying (I just googled Parma, Italy whether. Trouble is, it's getting more difficult to find incandescent bulbs. Just dont overdo itbiting into a lump of peppercorn is not a pleasant experience! What humidity should biltong be? Make a biltong box from a cardboard box to save money. A Link to this webpage was sent to me by a friend in South Africa and it looks delicious. Build Your Plastic Biltong Box: Step By Step - karnivore.co It is vital to make safe to eat biltong. Just wondering what the downside would be to having the temp a few degrees cooler, but the humidity in the desired range? Leave for 12 hours. Hi John, Thanks for your kind words, really encouraging for me. Then you disappeared and I cried. Do not be light here; make sure that all the meat is covered in vinegar. Now with the current climate and setup I have this has the chamber averaging around 7deg C. My thinking is that this is preferable to when I had the fridge controlled by the temp controller to maintain ~12deg C, but RH was averaging 85%. It can also occur while making your own biltong. (This is a little less than you would typically use, but youre applying it directly with the biltong spice). Im still on the learning curve with biltong but this recipe is giving me the best results. The air fryer will give a harder dryer piece of meat in 4 to 6 hours. - Soak meat overnight in vinegar. Skies will clear making way for a sunny and dry day. Thank you Charlie I have sourced 5kg of topside for the next batch and I agree fennel is awesome just got to be careful about my salt intake as I now make a lot of billtong cold smoked salmon and kimchi. When starting off, I had the right temperature and humidity, but I learned unless I inoculated the curing chamber it may take a little while to build up some good bacteria a.k.a. Since there was always a little bit of pressure going through the chamber, it was always coming out the hole. Its important to know that biltong is not smoked meat it is air-dried. I assume the compressor is on during the drop. Step #5: glue the fan. It all depends on the type of dryer and thickness of the meat as to how soon your meat is ready. Use a high wattage bulb so it's nice a hot, it helps dry the air out. I sometimes use them in case of emergency biltong shortage, so Im not sure how to break it to them. But once you have this culture growing inside the curing chamber, the salt cured meat you put in there will be well protected (as long as you follow a good methodology of course). Nine times out of ten, the answer will be its fine and to leave it and check on it tomorrow. Do you have any recommendations on gear that would collect those readings (ideally, digitally) and record them so that I can do a trend analysis? For texture and flavour. However, the best solution to prevent case hardening from occurring is to change your drying setup to reduce air flow. The bicarb neutralises the acid in the vinegar, but also acts as a meat tenderiser. If the airflow is too strong, it will dry the outside of the meat, and the inside wont cure properly. Ill wait for the cooler months to try salami. Keeps it from spoiling a bit longer than simply salt and vinegar. People who visit South Africa and are introduced to biltong always want to take some back to their home countries whether it is Scandinavia, France, Italy, or the UK just as long as they can get meat products through customs. Hello I would like to try this recipe how does it work on elk or deer meat they might be to lean. Thats why I decided to try curing meat at home. Case hardening happens when the outside of the biltong dries very fast, but the inside of the biltong strip remains raw meat. When the weather is warm and humid, there is a chance that mould (white dots or furry dots) will appear on the meat. I must apologise for calling biltong South African beef jerky, because this is a far superior product. But what I love of the weight ratio youve added in. When I took the shoulder out of the bag to hang, it had a slightly greyish tinge to it. Back in the days when refrigerators werent a thing, the pioneers needed a way to preserve their meat. Malt vinegar is what is used in foreign countries perhaps where they cannot find Spirit vinegar. Limited Time 50% OFF. I have compiled a recipe book as we speak, which will be available soon, it will include what I have learned around meat curing across many different countries as well. I bookmarked your website years and years ago as found you were the best recipe. Homemade Biltong! | OCAU Forums Biltong - Salty Ginger Biltong can also be made from: Chicken, simply referred to as chicken biltong. An ultrasonic humidifier is the best way to go because you end up pumping out a fine mist and hopefully, there is some kind of filtration going on inside the humidifier. Then, one day when marking about the 256th essay during exam time I decided enough Ill do my own writing instead and have never looked back. Some dry biltong in a dehydratorand some people use a DIY biltong dehydrator or "biltong box" as it's often called. Adding heat nullifies the process, because then you are making jerky, not biltong. Since curing meat in a curing chamber is a craft, temperature and humidity do not have to be exact, but more so within a range. Simply brilliant, best recipe on line- Tastes just like home. Rhymes too. This fat can add a considerable amount of flavor to your biltong. Most South Africans have a biltong slicer, which makes the job easier. Try to avoid fatty cuts of beef as it is trickier to dry fatty meat without it spoiling. I like to take 2 to 4 days to dry out biltong at around 28 to 35C, personal preference. This should take around a week but start monitoring it after 4 days. I believe eating and cooking well attributes majorly to a happy life. If youre really savvy, you might vary the thickness of slices from thin to thick allow for consistent grazing over the drying process (highly recommended). If conditions are particulary humid or hot, theres a chance you might experience this problem. Certainly would disqualify it as authentic . When I started off and built my first meat a curing chamber over 15 years ago, I did a lot of research and read quite a lot of books to make sure I was on the right track. Once you have your chosen cut probably silverside or topside, remove some of the excess fat. You can go up to 6 hours before adding the baking soda if you're using it. Optionally add baking soda to the meat along with the marinade and give it a good mix. penicillin a.k.a. Bicarb has a pretty unpleasant taste, so its important to keep the quantity low. Thank you very much. I don't know anyone that likes dry or hard cured biltong but some do prefer it. . I've just made my first batch and it's fantastic! Interesting 7 Deg could mean thinks drying slowly Also, beneficial bacteria (penicillin) prefers is a little warmer too 85 is doable, but when you have meat in there (which is 70% water), its going to probably be a wetter environment, initially. What youre looking for is a slow drying process with gentle airflow. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. You are right. (Other ingredients you can play around with when making biltong are chilli flakes, garlic powder, and fruit chutney). Really awesome recipe!! When you grind the spices, it releases the compounds that give them the flavor. Step #4: cut out the insect netting. 30 degrees Celcius or 86 degrees Fahrenheit is the perfect temperature to dry biltong at. Start by removing excess fat. Step drill bit. AWESOME!!! BTW Charlie, have you ever used a pre-mix call Crown Mills now Crown National? Only issue is it got so dry it wasn't that appealing to eat as is and I ended up making biltong stew with it. How To Make A Biltong Box | SA-Austin.com Although with airflow, the biltong dries in higher humidity than this. For this, you will need a spray bottle for food. Cheers T. Ive been wanting to find out if my crawlspace (no actual crawling required) is suitable for hanging and curing meats.
