How to Make Biltong

For those of you that want to make biltong at home, just follow these simple steps and you should have no problem. These are the steps I took to make some biltong in a few days. Biltong is very similar to beef jerky.

First I went down to the local supermarket to buy some meat. I bought a kilogram and a half of topside and half a kilogram of rump. These are good cuts to use. It cost me less than 20 dollars for the 2 kilograms of meat.

This piece of meat did not have much fat on it. I prefer less fat and normally trim the meat if there is too much. The next task is to slice the meat. You are trying to get steaks as long as possible, half an inch thick and about two and a half inches wide. Use a good, sharp meat knife.

The slices are just a bit too wide so I cut them and they ended up about 2 inches wide. Once sliced, you are ready to add the spice.

This is the bare minimum that you require. Most of you should have these spices handy. Some brown vinegar, ordinary table salt, black pepper and coriander.

Add some brown vinegar to a plate and dip the strips of meat in it.

I literally just roll the meat in the vinegar so it is coated. No need to leave the meat in the vinegar. Next, add the salt.

Be quite generous with the salt. As you can see i have added quite a lot. Coat the meat totally in salt. Next add the pepper.

I used a pepper grinder to add the pepper. You can’t really add too much so again, be generous. The excess pepper will fall off the biltong. The pepper gives the biltong a nice bite.

Lastly, sprinkle a small amount of corriander onto the beef. Make sure not to add too much as the corriander is quite strong and overpowering. The meat is now ready to be hung. I use paper clips bent into hooks. They make ideal hooks for hanging the meat.

The hooks are in and you are ready to hang it up to dry. I have an area in my laundry that I have hung a rack in. I hang the biltong onto that. It is dry and there an open window within two feet. Perfect.

Now we sit and wait. The biltong is in the making and depending on conditions, will take 3 to 4 days to dry. Note the piece hanging on the left with lots of fat. That is a piece of rump.

After 24 hours the outside will be dry and you will be amazed how quickly it has cured.

After 2 days the meat is now biltong and ready to eat for some. The thinner pieces dry quicker and can be eaten. Biltong is a bit like ordering steak. Some like rare, and some like well done. Decide for yourself.

If you look closely, you will see that the biltong is indeed ready to be eaten after hanging for only 2 days. It may not be dry enough for everyone, but it is for me. The texture is perfect and it is easy to chew.

What more is there to say.  Just shows how easy it is to make biltong at home.  The good thing is that you can leave it hanging and it will always be ready for you to eat.

It will not dry that quickly unless you slice it. After the biltong is sliced, store it in a brown paper bag.

No need to yearn for that taste anymore. Now you know how to make biltong at home.

Enjoy!