Traditional South African Biltong Recipe

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Today South African biltong is made all over the world and beloved as a delicious snack. Fair warning it is addicting. You can easily make it at home and you should, a lovely treat indeed! My new favorite dry cured piece of meat, this South African staple is incredibly easy to make and mind boggling delicious! I just can’t stop eating the stuff. Biltong falls somewhere between American Beef Jerky and Italian Bresaola. I hate to even compare it to the two because truly it stands alone in flavor and texture. Once you taste a piece you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

Biltong is a traditional South African cured meat. It's easy to make, takes much less time than other cured meats and is the perfect snack any time of the day. Biltong is a delicious South African dried meat snack originally invented by Dutch settlers. Learning how to make biltong at home is surprisingly easy, requiring only three simple steps: preparing the meat, curing and spicing it, and finally drying it.

Biltong is a form of meat curing that originated in the southern nations of Africa. The method uses simple air drying rather than low heat or smoking. Pretty much all you have to do is a simple vinegar marinade and spice dusting, followed by hanging the meat for up to 14 days. Then it’s cured and ready for long rides in the backpack. The relative simplicity of this recipe compared to something like prosciutto makes it a great way to dip your toes into the cured meat world without becoming overwhelmed.

Throughout my 20+ years as a professional chef, I've refined and developed numerous biltong recipes, including more adventurous variations like Duck Biltong. Of all the delicious traditional South African dishes, like droëwors(dried sausage), tomato bredie, chakala, and a whole range of them you can find on my site, biltong is the most iconic and my all time favorite.

I’ve broken biltong down into 3 basic steps. Preparing the meat, curing the meat, then drying the meat.

Read also: Pilau: A Kenyan Delight

Here are a few things you might find useful when making beef Jerky:

  • Accurate scale for meat (up to 33 pounds)
  • Sharp Kitchen Knives
  • Ceramic Honing Rod
  • Extra Large Mortar & Pestle
  • Food Dehydrator
  • Hand Held Vacuum Sealer
  • Heavy Duty Kitchen Vacuum Sealer
  • Custom Cutting Board

How To Make The Best Biltong You Ever Tasted - Beginner Cured Meat Tutorial

Preparing the Meat

Choosing the right cut of meat is extremely important when making high quality biltong. You can technically use any cut of beef that you want but a very popular choice for biltong is the bottom round (aka silver side), top round is also another popular cut as well. Game meat is preferred for this recipe due to its lean composition. The most important thing to remember when choosing meat is the quality of the meat and fat marbling. Look for fresh meat, aged for at least 21 days and has a good amount of fat running through the meat.

I personally leave the fat on as I like the extra flavor that it adds as well as the nice mouth feel but since it’s your biltong you can decide for your self. Trim your meat of any silver skin, gristle, or soft fat. Cut your meat WITH THE GRAIN into 2cm thick steaks. At 2cm thick your biltong will take 4-6 days to finish drying. If you cut your slices too think, you run the risk of developing something called case hardening (where the outside of the meat forms a tough shell that prevents the inside of the meat from drying)

Curing the Meat

Often I hear about how salty biltong can be. In today’s recipe I’ve calculated an equilibrium cure so that your biltong comes out perfect every time. All you have to do in enter the weight of your trimmed biltong steaks in the box that reads “How much do you want to make”. The recipe will adjust accordingly based off of how much meat you have. I will apologize in advance as you will need to enter the weight of your meat in grams (sorry, I like metric for this recipe😁)

The cure for this recipe is very simple and I would like to think that it tastes more like a traditional South African Biltong. Feel free to adjust the spices (not the salt or vinegar) if you want to. Some people like to add fennel, brown sugar, paprika, or all spice, so you can have fun with it.

Read also: Authentic Nigerian Buns

The aim of curing meat is to avoid spoilage and make it more delicious. Biltong spices - Historically, only coriander was used. Everyone adds their own little touches, and with me being a professional chef and having more knowledge on flavor pairings, things will hardly just stay at coriander. I love to add fennel seeds, chili flakes, and black pepper. For bland meats like chicken and pork, smoked paprika works great. For venison and game, juniper and cloves.

Wet cure - This varies from recipe to recipe, but I like using a mixture of red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and honey. Some recipes use brown sugar, brown vinegar, and even soy sauce. Traditionally, only vinegar was used.

Bicarbonate of soda - This is optional, but I like to add a touch right before I remove the meat from the wet cure. It neutralises the acidity ever so slightly and acts as a tenderiser for tougher cuts.

Drying the Meat

When it comes time to dry biltong all you have to do is hang it in an area where it’s warm, a little breezy, and low humidity. Basically I shoot for a temperature of 70f-80f and a humidity of 50%-60%. I find that these conditions are perfect for producing a nice biltong that doesn’t dry too fast. Generally I just hang mine in a warm sunny area in my kitchen by a window. The meat is then air-dried in a dry environment with very good airflow.

If you don’t have these conditions at home you might want to consider building or buying a biltong box. A biltong box is a very simple box that allows you to control the temp and air flow. It basically consists of a heating element and a small computer fan with a few vent holes. I hope to have a post on how to build one soon😉

Read also: How to Make Fried Rice

Hang your meat in a biltong box or well-ventilated area away from insects or animals. For most people, a balcony with a fan blowing over the meat would be the easiest. You can loosely cover the meat with a muslin cloth to prevent any flies from getting to it. You can also do this in a fridge, but make sure the fridge is spotlessly clean and the meat does not touch anything. Every part of the meat should be able to breathe and dry.

A fridge - Make sure it's spotlessly clean and not overcrowded with foods. Fridges are pretty efficient at drying out food that's left uncovered, and likewise with curing meat. Don't let the meat touch any other meat or the sides of the fridge.

Fan and heater - Hang your meat on a clothing rail and place a fan close by so that it creates good airflow. Place a heater close by if you live in a very cold or slightly humid climate.

A custom-built box - Simply a fan and a heating source in a wooden box. Make it yourself or buy it online. Many tutorials exist, but it's just a computer fan and a light bulb attached to the inside of a wooden box.

Closed balcony - Make sure the balcony is closed but well-ventilated. Use a fan and heater if needed.

Dehydrator - You can use a regular dehydrator for making biltong. Many kitchen I consult for has no space, so a dehydrator is often the only way, and in my experience, it works perfectly. Not all dehydrators will be suitable for big pieces, though. Set your dehydrator to its minimum heat setting or without heat, if possible.

It's best to look at weight or moisture loss to decide when it's done. Heat - It's better to dry in low heat rather than too high. The perfect temperature is 30 degrees Celsius or 86 degrees Fahrenheit. This mimics the conditions biltong dried in, when it was first invented.

Humidity - It's best to keep the humidity low if possible, but not cork dry. Otherwise, the outside will suffer from case-hardening, which results in biltong that's soft in the middle but bone dry on the outside. I've successfully cured biltong in as high as 70% humidity, but with a fan blowing full steam to keep airflow very good. Airflow - The more airflow, the quicker it dries, but it comes at a cost. If the air blows too heavily, it can cause case-hardening.

Once your biltong has lost the appropriate amount of weight, it’s ready to eat!! At 50% weight loss you have a “Wet” biltong and at 70% weight loss you have a “Dry” biltong. Once your meat has dried to your liking you can vacuum seal them and store in your refrigerator or freezer.

Your biltong will be ready once it's lost 40% - 50% of its weight. When it's ready, slice it across the grain with a sharp knife or biltong slicer.

I used these handy hooks to dry the beef.

Here are some ideal conditions for drying:

  • Temperature: 18-30 °C (64-86 °F)
  • Humidity: 50-60%
  • Airflow: Gentle

Table: Biltong Drying Guide

Dryness Level Weight Loss Description
Wet 50% Soft and moist
Medium 55-60% Slightly drier
Dry 70% Firm and dry

Biltong Recipe

Prep Time: 2 days

Dry Time: 5 days

Ingredients:

  • 4540 g bottom round or top round trimmed and cut into 2cm thick steaks - with the grain
  • 120 ml red wine vinegar
  • 60 ml Worcestershire sauce
  • 102 g salt
  • 34 g pepper corn
  • 68.1 g coriander seed toasted
  • 22.7 g chili flakes optional for heat

Instructions:

Prepping and Salting the Meat

  1. Begin by preparing your meat. Trim off any silver skin, gristle, and soft fat.
  2. Cut the meat into thick pieces ALONG THE GRAIN of the meat. I rarely cut less than 3 cm or 1,1 inches thick. Thinly cut meat can become a bit leathery and dry so stick to thick-cut.
  3. Cut your meat WITH THE GRAIN into 2cm thick steaks. (I USE THE WIDTH OF MY THUMB TO MEASURE EACH STEAK)
  4. Sprinkle the salt all over the meat including the sides.
  5. Let it sit for 2 hours in the salt flipping a few times to ensure even salting.

Wet Curing

  1. While the meat is salting mix together all the wet cure ingredients.
  2. Toast the spices (apart from the peppercorns) in a dry pan until fragrant and starting to gently smoke. We will add the peppercorns unroasted.
  3. Remove the spices from the pan and let them cool down before blitzing them in a spice blender. Don't blitz it too fine. You want to see the different spices.
  4. Optionally, add the bicarbonate of soda and give it a good mix.
  5. Once the meat has salted for 3 hours, rub off the salt but don't wash it.
  6. Place the meat and the cure in a fitting non-reactive food-safe plastic or ceramic container.
  7. Let it marinate for 2 hours turning the meat a few times to ensure even marination.

Spicing

  1. While the meat is marinating, toast the coriander seeds, fennel seeds and chilli flakes in a dry pan on medium heat. Do this in a well-ventilated kitchen.
  2. As soon as the spices are nicely toasted, slightly smoky and fragrant, remove them from the pan and let them cool down completely.
  3. Once cooled, blitz the spices in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar until nicely broken up but not too fine. You want to be able to identify the different spices.

Optional Addition of Soda

  1. Optionally add baking soda to the meat along with the marinade and give it a good mix.
  2. It will froth as the acid reacts with the soda.
  3. As soon as the froth has settled, remove the meat from the marinade and pat it dry with a paper towel.
  4. Throw the marinade out or use it to marinade other meats. Just remember the acid has been slightly neutralised in the mix so you need to add more vinegar if you want to make another batch of biltong.

Hanging and Drying

  1. Combine the red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce in a container and pour half of this mixture In a tray that can fit your meat.
  2. Arrange all of your meat on that tray and pour the rest of the red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce mix over the top.
  3. Sprinkle 1/2 of your salt over the meat and enough of your coriander spice blend to coat the meat.
  4. Turn the meat over and sprinkle the rest of the salt over the meat. HERE I LIKE TO SEPARATE A LITTLE CORRIANDER SPICE BLEND SO I CAN ADD IT AT THE END BUT THIS IS OPTIONAL.
  5. Add the remaining coriander spice blend to your meat.
  6. Place the meat in a vacuum seal bag (or zip lock bag) ensuring that all of the spices and any liquids from your tray are added as well. Try not to leave anything behind.
  7. Vacuum seal the bag or if you are using zip lock bags, just remove as much air as possible and place in your refrigerator for 24-36 hours (massage the bag and flip it every 12 hours-this helps the meat cure evenly).
  8. After the meat has finished curing remove it from the bag, weigh each steak, record the weight (and your target weight loss), and place small hooks on each piece of meat. I suggest writing down the actual weight and making your target weight 50% less than that. 50% dryness is considered "wet" biltong. Once your meat has lost 50% you can taste a piece, if you prefer it to be more dry you can let it hand for a few days more. I personally like my biltong somewhere between 55% and 60% weight loss. Sort of a medium dryness. If you like a "dry" biltong you can let it go to 70% dryness. It really just comes down to personal preference
  9. If you have some reserve coriander spice blend you can add it to your meat pieces now, lightly sprinkle the spice mix on each side (this will give you a very mice spice crust when your biltong is ready)
  10. Hang your biltong in a warm, sunny area with a gently breeze. The ideal temperature should be between 70f and 80f (21.2c - 26.6c) and a humidity between 50% and 60%.
  11. Cover the meat completely in spices making sure to get it into every nook and cranny.
  12. Put a small meat hook or paperclip through the meat with a label attached to it.
  13. Weigh the meat and write it on the label. This is so that you can track the moisture loss and know when the meat is ready. Aim for 50% weight loss. This should take around a week but start monitoring it after 4 days.
  14. Hang the meat in a well-ventilated, dry-air, warm environment(close to 30°C or 86°F) protected from insects and animals.

Removing and Storing

  1. Once the meat is ready remove the hooks.
  2. Once your biltong has dried to your liking you can vacuum seal them and store in your refrigerator or freezer.
  3. Store vacuum-sealed or wrapped airtight in the fridge (1-2 weeks) or freezer (several months). Avoid storing in open bags.

Tips and Tricks for Perfect Biltong

  • Salt: Use coarse, noniodized salt.
  • Thickness: Cut meat thick (2-3 cm/1.1 inches) along the grain to ensure even drying.
  • Fat: Leave a layer of fat for improved flavor and texture.
  • Drying Conditions: Ideal conditions are 18-30 °C (64-86 °F), 50-60% humidity, and gentle airflow.
  • Storage: Store in airtight, vacuum-sealed bags or containers.
  • Cut: Cut with the grain of the meat and aim for thick slaps.
  • Scales: Use scales when weighing out ingredients.
  • Container: Use a non-reactive storage container when soaking the meat in vinegar.
  • Weighing: Weigh each piece of meat individually before drying so you can keep track of the weight loss.
  • Tray: Place a tray underneath the meat while drying.
  • Bags: Don't store it in craft bags, as the meat will keep drying out.

Troubleshooting

  • Biltong too salty: If your biltong tastes overly salty, reduce the salting time or amount of salt used. It's best to use coarse salt.
  • Preventing and removing mold on biltong: To prevent mold, ensure good airflow, low humidity (below 60%), and wipe any mold immediately with vinegar. Be sure to use clean kitchen utensils and bowls. Keep an eye out for mold in warm and humid conditions! Cured meats are especially susceptible to mold, which can be dangerous to consume.
  • Preventing case hardening: Case hardening (hard outside, wet inside) occurs due to rapid drying. Use gentle airflow and moderate temperatures.

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tags: #Africa