Biltong

William Reinicke

William Reinicke

Well-known member
My buddy is on a kick and making a bunch right now. Has me thinking I might try it.... Anyone ever made some? The process looks incredibly easy to do, but what are your thoughts on those that have made it? Ever done it with fowl?
 
Never tried it and being told I need to. Process looks very very easy. I would have to buy a designated dehydrator to keep around 70-80 degrees that allows for hanging. I do see some DIY biltong boxes, but I dont mind just buying something that I can contain it and prevent the possibility of mold or bacteria.
 
My dad makes biltong all the time and he has one of those DIY biltong boxes. I haven't considered having him do it with fowl but maybe now I will. He prefers using eye of round roasts and smokes the meat for about 20-30 minutes prior to cutting into strips and hanging it to dry. He tends to dry the meat more to the dry end of jerky than having a soft center.

If you have specific questions, I don't mind asking him for you.
 
Dani said:
My dad makes biltong all the time and he has one of those DIY biltong boxes. I haven't considered having him do it with fowl but maybe now I will. He prefers using eye of round roasts and smokes the meat for about 20-30 minutes prior to cutting into strips and hanging it to dry. He tends to dry the meat more to the dry end of jerky than having a soft center.

If you have specific questions, I don't mind asking him for you.
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I think I may try some with one of my deer roasts. Im going to look into the DIY Biltong boxes, and maybe build one myself. If it turns out good, i may try fowl. have you tried the biltong? Is it pretty good?
 
Alrigh @Dani you convinced me... I think im going to make a DIY biltong box out of a plastic tub. It can be done much cheaper with a light bulb plug, some mesh screen, wooden dowels, some meat hangers, and a computer fan. I may even add a humidity screen too for S&G's. See what kinds of fun we can have with this.
 
William Reinicke said:
I think I may try some with one of my deer roasts. Im going to look into the DIY Biltong boxes, and maybe build one myself. If it turns out good, i may try fowl. have you tried the biltong? Is it pretty good?
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I LOVE my dads biltong. I also liked the biltong I had while I was in Africa. I think there was some ostrich biltong in there and I remember thinking it was tasty. My dad usually has to hide his from me to keep me from eating it all for him when I visit him. When I want my own stash of biltong, all I have to do is pick up my own chunk of meat and he will cure and smoke and dry for me with his stash. I really like that he smokes it first. Regular biltong is good but the added smoke makes it even better. The biltong makes a GREAT addition to my turkey pack as a snack too.

I'll get some pictures of his biltong box set up for you. His is a wooden box.
 
A friend of mine has a biltong box and makes quite a bit of it. He swears it's as good as the biltong he's had in Africa but I disagree. When I was in Africa I ate a tremendous amount of it - love it! It's so much better than jerky.
 
Dani said:
I LOVE my dads biltong. I also liked the biltong I had while I was in Africa. I think there was some ostrich biltong in there and I remember thinking it was tasty. My dad usually has to hide his from me to keep me from eating it all for him when I visit him. When I want my own stash of biltong, all I have to do is pick up my own chunk of meat and he will cure and smoke and dry for me with his stash. I really like that he smokes it first. Regular biltong is good but the added smoke makes it even better. The biltong makes a GREAT addition to my turkey pack as a snack too.

I'll get some pictures of his biltong box set up for you. His is a wooden box.
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I'm pretty sure the temp and humidity requirements are different, but for making cured sausages I repurpose a freezer. I find I don't need to add humidity if you have enough meat in there (want high humidity so it doesn't dry too fast as case harden) and I crack the lid different amounts to release humidity. It works well and the freezer is used as a chiller for produce with a temperature controller otherwise.

1775569448918.png

Finished product...
1775569692769.png

Smoked and dried Landjäger...
1775569560636.png
 
Dani said:
I LOVE my dads biltong. I also liked the biltong I had while I was in Africa. I think there was some ostrich biltong in there and I remember thinking it was tasty. My dad usually has to hide his from me to keep me from eating it all for him when I visit him. When I want my own stash of biltong, all I have to do is pick up my own chunk of meat and he will cure and smoke and dry for me with his stash. I really like that he smokes it first. Regular biltong is good but the added smoke makes it even better. The biltong makes a GREAT addition to my turkey pack as a snack too.

I'll get some pictures of his biltong box set up for you. His is a wooden box.
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I saw lots of people making the wood box versions, and I may evolve to that. I think im going to use a plastic tub for my first attempt and see how it does. I can put one together for about $40. I may try the smoked method as well. I have some deer and elk roast in the freezer. I may take one, cut it in half, do one smoked and one the traditional way and see if I can tell a difference. After he smokes it, does he go from there, straight into the seasoned vinegar bath for 24 hours and then hang the next day? Or does he do the vinegar bath, then smoke for 20-30 min and then hang?
 
tod osier said:
I'm pretty sure the temp and humidity requirements are different, but for making cured sausages I repurpose a freezer. I find I don't need to add humidity if you have enough meat in there (want high humidity so it doesn't dry too fast as case harden) and I crack the lid different amounts to release humidity. It works well and the freezer is used as a chiller for produce with a temperature controller otherwise.

View attachment 75318

Finished product...
View attachment 75320

Smoked and dried Landjäger...
View attachment 75319
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Damn Tod... i may need a tutorial on all this and that sausage recipe! No idea where Id put a repurposed freezer for this.

The biltong box uses an iradescent light to provide just enough heat in the box. The fan pulls the air across the meat for the drying phase. I am going to buy those cheap temp/humidity gauges and just set them in the box so I can monitor it. If too dry, Im wondering if I can put an intermittent switch on the fan and let it run for so long, and then turn off and let the humidity build back up. I think you are right, the humidity is based on the meat going in wet and building up inside the box. Im curious, by day 2-3, if I can turn the fan off all together and just let the meat continue to dry and cure. I havent read up on the process too too much. Did more research on the box and different varieties of building one.

The easy thing to do would just buy a benchfood dehydrator and set the humidity and temp and let the machine do itself. But I want to try it first and see if its something I even like before I run out and spend $200 on a machine. At least if I hate it, Im out only $40 for the box I build.
 
Dani said:
My dad does the vinegar first, then smokes, slices and hangs. Goes straight from the smoker to the box.

This is his set up
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Yup thats what ill try then. Cut all the meat, do the vinegar bath on all of it, then smoke half, and hang it all and let it sit and rot for 5 days lol. Thanks for all the help and info. Might pick up the stuff this weekend to make my box.
 
He keeps the box in his shop, which is air conditioned during the summer...when he has the crock pot next to it going with boiled peanuts and the biltong drying all at the same time......man I love stepping into the shop just to wallow in how good the shop smells.
 
William Reinicke said:
The easy thing to do would just buy a benchfood dehydrator and set the humidity and temp and let the machine do itself. But I want to try it first and see if its something I even like before I run out and spend $200 on a machine. At least if I hate it, Im out only $40 for the box I build.
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Also, my dad's box only has the dehydrator heater base...no light bulb. You might be able to find a dehydrator at goodwill or salvation army for pretty cheap and use that instead of a bulb.
 
RM Anderson said:
Is the only difference between Biltong and jerky, vinegar?
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Air dried for 5-7 days depending on how dry you like it. In every recipe I meandered watching yesterday, they all used a vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with cooked coriander crushed and seasoning of you choice for 24 hours in the fridge. Then hang to dry in the box and depending on weight loss is when it was pulled. The sooner its pulled, the softer the inside. The longer it went, the more dry it was. Most aimed for a 50% weight loss in the meat. They call it the South african jerky, just a little different style of making it. Just seems like an aged process vs a cook. Likely going to be very tender, I would imagine, and the reason I would like to try it.

I generally make my jerky on my traeger, on the lowest setting for 4-6 hours. It is essentially a cook, but this is just a long drawn out drying process instead. Im assuming the vinegar helps with not allowing the meat to actually rot. The bulb adds a little heat in the box (it does have to be an iridescent bulb), generally wanting the box in the 70 degree range. The fan circulation just helps with moisture and the drying process.

Honestly, most of these are just assumptions and all the boxes are generally built the same way. I figured for a quick $40 build, it might be kind of fun to try. My buddy swears by it and has been making a lot of it. If he wasnt a state away, I would try it before going through all this, but not sure the next time I will get over there and vice versa. hes running around for show season and we dont generally see much of each other if it isnt hunting season.
 
Dani said:
He keeps the box in his shop, which is air conditioned during the summer...when he has the crock pot next to it going with boiled peanuts and the biltong drying all at the same time......man I love stepping into the shop just to wallow in how good the shop smells.
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LOL no chance mine can go in my shop. It would have dust and particles of whatever im working on getting on the meat. id have a fun different style of flavoring that would for sure cause some kind of cancer if consumed! I bet it would help with the smells in my shop too. I think im going to let it rest in my office. No one is ever in there, it wont be taking up space in the kitchen, and its a clean environment away from the disasterous chaos I have going on in my shop.

Your dads box is pretty damn nice. Did he build that himself or buy? If I get into this pretty heavy, I may go all out and build something like this. Thanks for all the help and info thus far.
 
William Reinicke said:
LOL no chance mine can go in my shop. It would have dust and particles of whatever im working on getting on the meat. id have a fun different style of flavoring that would for sure cause some kind of cancer if consumed! I bet it would help with the smells in my shop too. I think im going to let it rest in my office. No one is ever in there, it wont be taking up space in the kitchen, and its a clean environment away from the disasterous chaos I have going on in my shop.

Your dads box is pretty damn nice. Did he build that himself or buy? If I get into this pretty heavy, I may go all out and build something like this. Thanks for all the help and info thus far.
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Flocked biltong?
 
HenryHawthorne said:
Flocked biltong?
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All kinds of stuff... flocking, synthetic tupelo shavings, paint particles, etc etc. Im working on kind of a fun piece for a good friend. Lots of shaving dust flying around lately in the shop. One day I might get around to posting a few things on the workbench. Lots of behind the scenes work being done, getting set up for new products rolling out this year for my upcoming season. Hopefully, I have enough time this year, to actually make decent progress on things ive wanted to for quite some time.
 
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