Meat for Biltong

davehills

Hi All,

Few years ago I made some Biltong, bit of a faff and a few false starts but it tasted great!!

Now that I know (Roughly) what I'm doing I want to make some more.

Does anyone have any info on good deals for meat (Pref beef)?

Anyone eny good recipes I can try?

(Mods, please move this post if there's a more appropriate category)

Lazy_Ike

I make biltong, and dried sausage = droewors all the time. I was lucky enough to spot a laboratory drying oven on ebay that attracted no bids, and got it for 99p!
Meat deals: Depends where you live. I live near Peterborough, and use a local outlet called ABC Market Meats, who have a shop open 7 days a week in Pboro, and operate mobile units at markets as well. See http://www.abcmeats.co.uk/. Otherwise I wait for regular Irish beef (topside and silverside) offers at Sainsbury's etc. usually around the £4.50/kg mark. Then I stock up and make large batches.
Recipe: for 2.5kg meat allow 125gms salt - I always use coarse/rock salt. 2.5ml coarse ground pepper, a judicious amount of fine ground black pepper (Ilike pepper!), 10gms coarsely ground coriander. Malt vinegar.
To be honest I have made biltong for years, so I do not actually measure anything, and never have. These figures are adapted from a book: Magdaleen Van Wyke's The Complete South African Cook Book.

Having sliced the meat, I slosh a little vinegar, coarse salt, pepper(s) and coriander into the bottom of a purpose bought plastic bowl. Then layer the meat, light splashing of vinegar and then salt/spices onto each layer. I do this in the evening - mainly because of habit. In Africa I air dried, and aimed for 24 hours of marinading, and hanging at night to 'skin' over before blow flies might find it. (vinegar and pepper usually kept them away as well). I leave covered overnight. Then turn the meat in the morning, and leave covered through the day. Take the meat out of the marinade, slice by slice, and let drain a little. If there is not enough (for my taste) spices adhering when drained, I shake over a bit more coarse pepper and coriander. I start drying that evening (24 hours of marinading). I never make other 'flavours' garlic etc. To save time I buy coarse ground pepper (Market outlets are the best priced in my experience) but I freshly roast and grind my coriander. (whole seed also best from Market outlets). If making a number of batches I do NOT reuse the marinade as it will now have meat fluids (myoglobin) in it.

I make my own sausage = boerewors to make the droewors.

Boerewors seems more readily available than it was in the past. ABC Meats are now making their own, possibly after I told them what I was buying meat for, or just a coincidence? BUT ordinary cooking boerewors cannot be used to make droewors owing to the pork fat content.

Snakeeyes21

Biltong? is that Pete Tongs brother?

Sam_Marques

Oh My!! Make me some, I LOVE Biltong and haven't had any in years!!!:j

bramble1

When we make biltong we use rump steak and the river cottage recipe. But with no airing cupboard anymore we don't make it often!

didi66

Hi Bramble

I have used a tall cardboard box to make mine. I made holes in the sides and top of boxes, put a light bulb in for the air circulation and it worked very well.

Ken68

Some in Lidl this week. Biltong 99p for 25g. £3.96kg. Chilli Beef, Original Beef and Pepper beef.
Also Springbok Steaks. A promotion called "A Taste of Africa".