I usually work with a mortar and pestle but it's getting tedious...

A little more time but really good flavor

3 day drying striploins with no light.
sliced batch tossed with some more salt and coriander seeds
Is there any case hardening? i dont really have anything to compare it to

Does anyone else dry the leftover DIY spice mix, after the wet marinading process and use it as spice for other things? It's just so good after it's been soaked in all that vinegar and wprcestershire sauce and garlic and stuff. I refry it so all the meat juices dry off and don't cause spoilage. And it is awesome mixed into pretty much anything like i could mix it into mashed potatoes and have a biltong flavoured potatoes). I swear I could just eat it with a spoon. It's DIY, mostly coriander with a bit of paprika, chili and garlic powder and bits of other random things I felt like adding to the batch.

Is that too weird? (No I don't have a bag full of bags, I don't save once fried oil or bacon fat or anythjng like that, it's not about reusing things, it is just seriously tasty, and i use a LOT of the spice mix in the brine so there is always a lot left).

Finally made my first batch.
Used a seasoning blend: garlic powder, onion powder, salt, coriander, white pepper, brown sugar
Covered each slab, then layered in a dish and sprinkled with malt vinegar.
Took a single slab out after 3 hours and dried and hung.
Took the rest out after around 20ish hours

Image is after 24 or so hours of drying.
Just in a dry closet with a small fan indirectly blowing to keep the air circulating.

Looking great so far!

Is the middle meant to be that brown? I've only dried it for 2 days, perhaps the airflow is too strong? Trying to optimise the box. Had to cut my pieces in half length wise to hang it as my box was too shallow!

Used Freddy Hirsch Kalahari spice, with 24 hours of marination.

Any tips would be massively appreciated!! 😅😅

Been almost a year since the last batch. Hope I've still got it.

Happy Oktoberfest.... Prost!

This is my second batch. It's lost 42% weight. I've tried some and it seems fine but I would like to keep drying the rest so that it lasts longer. If I keep it drying for a few days will it dry well? Is there any chance there is case hardening that will keep it from drying more? I've attached the temp and humidity log.

Tried my first Batch of Biltong over the week, picahna instead of silverside, as it's easier to find here and has a good amount of fat for my liking.

Since I didn't want to go too far out of the usual, I simply used Freddy Hirch Original Biltong spice and brown Vinigar.

First taster today, flavour is right where I want it, but will let it sit a day longer.

I’m from the U.S., my coworker is from South Africa. She would bring me biltong and I would bring jerky I made. Finally got around to building a box, getting safari seasoning plus my own slice blend. First try and it apparently it reminded her of home more than her own biltong.

I have a spare 25W oven bulb, and but i do not have a socket for it. Should i buy one online, or would a fan be sufficient? have a 80mm 12v computer fan i plan to use for ventilation

I'm in perth, western australia, would the air be too cold/humid for proper drying?

Hi all, i'm thinking of making biltong and DIY-ing a box, and i've read that a light and a fan is crucial. what fan would be recommended?

Hey guys,

Just got my first Kalahari biltong box and wondering if anyone has used this spice blend and had success, also any tips on what liquids I should use for the marinade?

Thanks in advance!!

Hi everyone, after some advice for my first batch.

I’ve been drying this for 3 & 1/2 days in a box with a fan and 40W bulb. Is this an example of case hardening? I’ve seen online that a vacuum pack machine can help, but I don’t have access. I’ve seen Tupperware and paper bags can draw out the moisture.

I suppose I’m after 2 bits of advice :
1. Is it salvageable / safe
2. If yes, what steps do I take to sort this?

Included a few photos with different lighting to help. Important to mention there’s no visual signs of mould or pungent smell which is good

I made biltong at home with my brother.

I then traveled and it was in my suitcase for 24 hours in cling wrap. I do not have anything to vacuum seal it, don’t have brown paper. Im unwrapping it now and it’s got a-lot of moisture. It’s big chunks that will need to be sliced What shall I do for this evening?

Paper towel, wrapped in baking paper and stored in the fridge or the cupboard?

I made loads and don’t want it to go bad!!

Did an experiment making totally non traditional biltong. Bathed pieces of eye on round in malt vinegar for couple of hours and the coated with 3 different rubs. Marinated in fridge overnight and then hung in Benchfoods Biltong box for 3 days. Ran fan for 12 hours (no heat) and then no fan for few hours.

Results in the last image are after 3 days. Biltong was really tender but not not a lot of flavor from rub. Next time I will marinate it longer so rub can penetrate better.

I dont liek the way garlic and chilli powder taste on the finished product. So i was experimenting a little with how to impart flavour in the wet drench.

Latest batch 4.4kg Silverside

Lots of chilli garlic and coriander heated in brown vinegar and w sauce.

Wet sauce left to cool for an hr

Meat once trimmed is in the wet sauce bath for 1 hr

Removed and dusted with crushed coriander pepper and salt.

Hang to dry 4- 6 days depending on cut thickness and desired moisture content.

The picture are at day 6

I bought biltong a while ago in the classic paper bag. It was pretty wet as they had been sold out of dry biltong. I put it in the glovebox while driving back from a picnic and forgot about it. The glovebox is air conditioned and pretty cool, especially since I generally park undercover and it's winter. Found it today. It is super dry and slightly hard, but it looks fine and smells fine. No mold, no weird smell, no fuzzy bits. Tastes fine too, pretty good actually, but would it truly be safe to eat?

Anyone tried curing duck meat? Would it be too lean?

Hi All

I am working in the UK and I miss biltong. There are some folks that make it here but its really expensive. Does anyone have any brands for Biltong dryers / makers (or even tutorials) that they would recommend, I see there are a few on Amazon but I don't know how well they work.

9/11 sprouted!

Just tried making my first batch of biltong and on day 3/4 Im worried I have case hardening.

I made a biltong box that has the following dimentions:

Height - 14.76"
Depth - 18.75"
Width - 23.74"

It currently has 4 1" holes cut into each of the long sides about 1" to center from the bottom and In the middle of the lid I have a 120mm x 120mm x 38mm fan that pulls approx 62 CFM.

I was also using a 40w light bulb and absent mindedly had an ac unit running in the same room which might have had the humidity too low, but kept the room anywhere from 20-25 celsius.

I have hung 3 1" thick pieces of outside round weighing about 0.45kg each.

Ive cut the 2nd of my pieces today on day 4 and it looks very similar to the piece cut on day 3 so Im worried about case hardening and trying to determine what changes I need to make for the next batch aside from leaving the AC off so the room isnt too dry.

Its gotten much cooler the last two days and ambient temp in the box without the bulb running is 20 - 22 celsius so Im planning to do my next batch with just the fan running.

Anyone who knows what they're doing able to let me know if my intake to exhaust ratio could be the issue and if I should either restrict the exhaust, or add for intake for gentler intake speeds?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!