Im a recipe and cooking nerd.. and also a thrivalist/survivalist, so I always keep an eye out for recipes that I can apply. This is a South African
recipe for Biltong, its drive food and sort of like Jerky. Good for camping!
Ingredients needed to make South African biltong:
- Beef
- Rock Salt
- Coarse ground black pepper
- Coarse ground coriander
- Apple cider vinegar
How to make biltong:
1. Cut your beef into strips. The strips should be cut with the grain, about 6 inches long and a half-inch thick. Depending how you want your
biltong, you can cut your beef to your own specifications. Once you have cut your beef into strips, sprinkle some rock salt on each side of the pieces
and let it stand for an hour. If you let it stand for longer, your biltong will be more saltier in the end.
2. After you have left your beef pieces to stand for about an hour, you can now scrape off all the excess rock salt with a knife. Once done, pour
some apple cider vinegar into a bowl and dip the beef strips into the vinegar for a second or two. Although apple cider vinegar is recommended, any
vinegar will do.
3. Now sprinkle some coarse ground black pepper and ground coriander over the meat on both sides. These mixtures are standard and you could always
try add some of your own spices to give your biltong that consistent and special taste. What ever tickles your fancy. Leave your biltong to stand
overnight. Your biltong is now ready to dry.
4. When it comes to drying biltong, you have several options and methods. The first method many people use is to hang it in a cool place and have
a fan blowing on it. However, this method can spoil your biltong due to the air humidity. Second method is the biltong box which is more reliable. The
biltong box can either be purchased (best option), as they go for cheap or it can be home made. The biltong box as the name implies, is a small wooden
box with a 60 watt lightbulb inside. Once your biltong i splaced inside the bilton box, switch on the bulb and leave for 3 – 4 days to dry. Make
sure the box has a few holes as this promotes good circulation inside the biltong box.
So how do you know when your biltong is ready? You will know its ready when the biltong is hard and brown on the outside, but slightly moist and
red on the inside. If however, the biltong has turned green, do not eat! Thats it!
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One of the staples of the South African diet, South African biltong is a type of drive meat that is used to carry along with the hiker as they go. It
has become more than simply a meat or product that is used by the traveler however. Aside from this it is also a staple food of the people of South
Africa and is in fact considered a delicacy by many people, depending on what it is made of.
southafricanrecipes.org...
Personally Ive tried this with venison and bison.. works fine and is just liek jerky. Try different dry spices to your own taste.
Bon Apetit!
A biltong dryer made out of a plastic bin. 
