I am looking for the recipes and seasoning for traditional biltong in Africa. I have a bit of venison to use for that purpose. Thanks. "D"

The way I make it all that goes into it is Vinegar, Salt, Pepper and coriander. Soak in that mixture overnight and then hang to dry in the shade. There is also a biltong machine that is sold in RSA that actually works pretty well. Not sure if available in the states.

THere is a recipe and instructions in the latest African Hunter magazine (it arrived yesterday No. 5 of 2006) which is spot on. Follow that and you cannot go wrong.

Brian

dear brian, sorry i don't get african hunter, is there some way you could email me the recipe? I am very interested in making my own biltong. thank you so much and thanks to D hunter for asking a simple questions that i long wanted to ask too.

many thanks, TM

I can offer you the following, works in any unit of weight (u).
5 u coarse salt
1 u white pepper
1 u coliander
500 u meat
vinigar to taste

This is the most basic recipe, and you will have to ajust it to your tastes. Mix everything together and turn over every 6 or so hours. The meat should "marinate" in the mix for at least 18 but not more than 24 h, at a cool dry place. (The longer you leave the meat, the more salty the end poduct.) Hang in a cool dry place. A normal fan will dry & cool everything, and speed up drying. Depending on air humidity, should be ready to eat in 4-7 days. (Depending on taste.) Do not cut the strips more than 3/4 inch thick, and do not hang if air hunidity is high, except without dehumidifier. The best coliander is freshly roasted, then grounded.

TMonk,

Sure. I would be happy to email it to you (and I would send it to what address?). Or with the proper permission, I could post it on this thread (Copywritten material and all).

Of course, you could just subscribe to the magazine, that would solve all your problems and give you something to look forward to (filled with the best stories, operators, etc) every two months for only $60.00USD a year.

You should be able to get a subscription through fishunt@zol.co.zw

If that doesn't work, try sales@africanhuntermagazines.com


Brian

all out you have a pm thanks

Last time I helped make Biltong in Zim I shot 3 Kudu and we used nothing but pepper and salt to do the whole 3 . I have another friend there who prefers to add Worchestershire to his but I prefer it with just salt and pepper myself. Kinda heavy on the pepper. Best I ever had was made from Sable but the family I stay with over there prefer Reedbuck to all else.

Biltong, just another word for jerky. Nothing more than air dried cured meat flavored to your taste.

Biltong Maker plus recipes from South Africa. If you want one please send me a PM.



HUNTING ONE HOUR FROM CAPE TOWN
www.kapstadt.de/lemberg

You've got the basic recipe with salt, pepper (keeps insects off!), coriander (fresh as Karl writes, if you can do it) and vinegar. My wife, who does not hunt, learned to "work meat" in Namibia where, from May to August, it is so dry you can eat your biltong after four days. But we like a little more spice, so she adds ground chiles to the mix. Do so carefully!
Regards

There are many variations of biltong marinades. A very simple and no weight instruction would be:

Cut lean venison as thick as you would like it as a steak. Place on dry cutting board. Add 1/2 the salt and coarsly ground black pepper on one side, turn and add the other 1/2 of the amount you would add to your taste just as if it is a steak that was grilled without any condiment. Rub the 'steak' a bit to make sure the salt and pepper sticks. Hang up in cool well ventilated place.

Some like a bit more pepper [I do, and I add a LOT of black pepper]. Some use more salt and less pepper.

I use ythis method if I hunted only one animal and intend making only a few pieces of biltong. If you have a lot of meat to dry, something like the instructions given by Karl S will work well. But, if you have only 5 U of meat you will need fractions of a U salt and pepper. Just not practical at all! Just add to your own taste as if it was a grilled steak!

The 'preservation' is not by the salt or pepper, but by quickly drying out in a cool and well vented place. The salt and pepper is just there for the taste!

Enjoy!

Andrew McLaren

With the relative humidity being as high as it is in western North Carolina, I would highly recommend you use a seasoning recipe that includes a salt cure to prevent disease causing micro-organisms like E. coli, Salmonella and Botulism.

quote:

Originally posted by Karl S:
I can offer you the following, works in any unit of weight (u).
5 u coarse salt
1 u white pepper
1 u coliander
500 u meat
vinigar to taste

This is the most basic recipe, and you will have to ajust it to your tastes. Mix everything together and turn over every 6 or so hours. The meat should "marinate" in the mix for at least 18 but not more than 24 h, at a cool dry place. (The longer you leave the meat, the more salty the end poduct.) Hang in a cool dry place. A normal fan will dry & cool everything, and speed up drying. Depending on air humidity, should be ready to eat in 4-7 days. (Depending on taste.) Do not cut the strips more than 3/4 inch thick, and do not hang if air hunidity is high, except without dehumidifier. The best coliander is freshly roasted, then grounded.

Just asking for specifics. What kind of Vinegar? I would assume Malt Vinegar but I'd like to be sure.

dont know malt vinegar. we normally use grape vinegar in SA

Try www.biltongmakers.com for all your biltong recipes.

Let me know how whitetail or elk biltong taste like.

Gerhard

Gehard,

Great site biltongmakers and they know what they are talking about this is basically the recipe I always use.

2 kg beef or venison (silverside, topside or such)(London Broil)
3 cups coarse salt (not table salt or sea salt but the big lumpy salt)
2 cups soft brown sugar
5 ml bicarbonate of soda (this softens the meat)
2.5 ml coarsely ground black pepper
12.5 ml coarsely ground roasted coriander seeds
1.5 cups brown vinegar mixed with 100ml Worcestershire sauce.

I just don't add soda or worcestershire salt. You will taste the difference by using sugar and vinegar makes it very tasty.

quote:

2 kg beef or venison (silverside, topside or such)(London Broil)
3 cups coarse salt (not table salt or sea salt but the big lumpy salt)

Fred, is that salt correct? that looks a "little" too much. Am I missing something, or is it about 30-40% of the meat's weight?

Karl,

Thanx for helping out yes you are correct that is way too much salt that should be at lest halved but going for personal taste.

I just copied and pasted the recipe from the website. But I do know that very little recipes adds sugar and uses brown vinegar wich I think makes a big difference.

I agree with the brown vinigar, but personally do not like sugar on mine. I rather use salpetre, also softens it slightly, and give it a nice red color. I find that Freddy Hirsch or Crown National's (possibly others as well, I don't know them) ready-mix spices are hard to beat. I like the traditional, and if you like the sugar recipe, CN's "Safari Biltong" is pretty good. (My kids love it.)
Andrew, as to the big units- if you use 5 kg (5000 g) meat, you use 50g salt, and 10 g pepper and coliander. Just divide the weight of the meat by 500 to get weight of 1 unit. I personally use a little more salt, pepper and coliander, but thats my taste. We use it when I do not have time/ ingredients to mix a more involved one, or run out of the pre-mix packs.

We use Grape Vinigar in SA, the brown one, but you can use malt as well, it works.

D Hunter,

Two ingredients mentioned in basic recipes above have not been sufficiently identified.

Vinegars, as you ask about, will vary in acidity and flavor. Most commercially available and widely distributed brands in the US will be 5% to 6% acid. White, malt, red or white wine and apple cider types are the most common. The flavor is your personal choice.

Use kosher salt as opposed to table salt for best results. It has a cleaner flavor than harsh-tasting table salts with iodine and silica dessicants added. The most popular brands of kosher salt are Diamond Crystal and Morton's. They are a coarse variety of mineral salt and contains few or no additives. Despite what the biltong website says you can use coarse sea salt for any culinary use including preserving meats like biltong. La Baleine is a nationally distributed brand but will be more expensive than kosher salt.

vinegar

WPN

quote:

Originally posted by WPN:
D Hunter,

Two ingredients mentioned in basic recipes above have not been sufficiently identified.

Vinegars, as you ask about, will vary in acidity and flavor. Most commercially available and widely distributed brands in the US will be 5% to 6% acid. White, malt, red or white wine and apple cider types are the most common. The flavor is your personal choice.

Use kosher salt as opposed to table salt for best results. It has a cleaner flavor than harsh-tasting table salts with iodine and silica dessicants added. The most popular brands of kosher salt are Diamond Crystal and Morton's. They are a coarse variety of mineral salt and contains few or no additives. Despite what the biltong website says you can use coarse sea salt for any culinary use including preserving meats like biltong. La Baleine is a nationally distributed brand but will be more expensive than kosher salt.

vinegar

WPN

I could swear you are in the food making business.......Good advise, by the sound of it . I use only coarse salt for biltong