Clem's Southern African biltong

Biltong is a cured and dried meat originating from Southern Africa (South Africa; Zimbabwe; Namibia) via the Dutch (Boer) settlers there. The term is from the Dutch bil (for "rump") and tong (for "strip" or "tongue"). Biltong is different from jerky mainly due to the use of vinegar in biltong production.

It is a simple recipe comprising meat (usually beef or game meat) from the rump or topside (finer cuts such as sirloin or fillet can also be used). The meat is generally lean although fat caps may be left on if preferred.

The other ingredients are as simple viz. vinegar, salt, black pepper and coriander. The shelf life of meat is extended by preparing it into biltong (useful for great treks in times before refrigeration was available). Microbial deterioration is discouraged by the drying and use of salt (reduces Water Activity) and vinegar (reduces pH) in the biltong process. Further, recent research has shown that through the usage of toasted coriander, the preservative property of that spice via coriander oil is added to the product (for example, refer to Silva et al. (2011)* who stated that "the results obtained herein further encourage the use of coriander oil in antibacterial formulations due to the fact that coriander oil effectively kills pathogenic bacteria related to foodborne diseases and hospital infections").
 

This was how I prepared my biltong:

• GENERAL PRECAUTION
  You are making a food product which is usually consumed without cooking.
  Exercise maximum hygiene/sanitation in all your procedures and disinfect equipment prior to usage.

• Take 1 kg of beef.
  I chose a topside cut.
   

• Trim the meat of sinews and excess fat.
   

• Cut the meat into strips of around 2 - 2.5 cm wide.
   

• Prepare a wet marinade of 1 part vinegar (I mixed white and apple cider vinegar) to 1 part of Worcestershire sauce - make sufficient to wet the meat if it were regularly turned over i.e. you don't need so much as to immerse the product. Note that Worcestershire sauce is not used in traditional biltong recipes.
   

• Leave the strips of meat in marinade for 12 h with regular turning to make all surfaces come into contact with the marinade solution.

1 kg of beef topside sliced into strips for biltong, marinating in 1 vinegar : 1 Worcestershire sauce
Note: With the strips prepared as shown, the the cutting is across the meat grain rather than the desired along the grain. This was because the meat cut available was a slab cut across the grain as is usual in the manner in which small cuts are offered at the butcher. Sinew and silverside was trimmed before marinating.
 

• Weigh out the following:

  18 g salt

  2 g black pepper

  4 g coriander

  1 g brown sugar (not used in traditional biltong)
  
  NOTE:
  If one is concerned about the possibility of pathogens developing in the product, pink curing salt (Prague Powder No. 1) can be added at a rate of 2.5 g per 1 kg of fresh meat.
  I did not add any to this batch.
   

• Dry roast the coriander until slightly browned and fragrant.
   

• Add all the dry ingredients in a blender and coarse grind the ingredients.
  This is the dry rub.
   

• After 24 h, drain the meat strips until relatively surface dry.
   

• Roll the strips in the dry rub until all surfaces are coated.
   

Just after coating the meat in spice/salt mix
 

• Hang the strips out to dry in a cool spot (not in the sun; biltong is made in winter in the place of its origin) for several days until the degree of dryness desired is achieved. Biltong is usually dried to remove 40 to 50% of the water content.
  
  To assess the degree of drying achieved, you may choose to weigh a sample prior to drying and monitor that weight through the process to estimate the quantity of water removed.
   

• When sufficiently dry, slice and enjoy your home-made Southern African biltong.
   

• Store in the refrigerator to avoid spoilage (or freeze if longer term shelf life is required).

Biltong ready to enjoy after 3 days of drying
Note: The strip at the top was used as the water loss indicator - it had lost some 40% of its weight after 3 days of drying (loss was variable depending on the thickness of the strip in parts).

 

* Filomena Silva , Susana Ferreira , João A Queiroz , and Fernanda C Domingues (2011) Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) essential oil: its antibacterial activity and mode of action evaluated by flow cytometry. J Med Microbiol: 60(Pt 10):1479-1486. doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.034157-0. Epub 2011 Aug 23.