Biltong as promised. True South African.

Hey all you Steemers
In my first post I said that we in South Africa really enjoy our true South African foods. And yes there are a couple, we are a nation of farmers and yes our farming boys like to eat. One of the most loved foods, or it is more of a snack, are called Biltong. You have not visit South Africa if you did not taste Biltong!

Now what is Biltong?
According to Biltong - Wikipedia
Biltong is a form of dried, cured meat that originated in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Various types of meat are used to produce it, ranging from beef and game meats to fillets of meat cut into strips following the grain of the muscle, or flat pieces sliced across the grain. (mmm not agreeing with the Zimbabwe and Namibia part, they still got it from us.)
Basically it is air-dried peace of good quality beef or game meat, marinated in a vinegar and spices of your own taste.
We just plainly call it heaven on earth.

So how did biltong came about?
Biltong as it is today evolved from the dried meat carried by the wagon-travelling Voortrekkers(Our ancestors the settlers) , who needed stocks of durable food as they migrated from the Cape Colony north and north-eastward (away from British rule) into the interior of Southern Africa during the Great Trek.
Thanks again to Wikipedia. It is so much easier to copy and paste when Wikipedia already wrote the whole story.

Here is Great Grandpa and Great Grandma. Well they were of some body, picture taken of the net.

How to make Biltong
There are a foundation of vinegar, salt and coriander. From there you get a variety of recipe and if you have an “old family recipe” that really are the top of the taste chain, you do not just give it out to anyone, unless you visit the wine a bit too much or if they threaten to burn down your house and sell your dog.
I downloaded a method from tastyrecipes.sapeople.com (if you watch the video on there, please we are not really so common, well most of us in any case.)

INGREDIENTS
• 2 kg meat
• 100 ml brown sugar
• 30 ml coarse salt
• 15ml bicarbonate soda (this softens the meat)
• 125ml crushed coriander seeds
• 125 ml red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tbles paprika or chilli flakes
INSTRUCTIONS

1. Use a good quality meat like silverside or topside
2. Slice the meat, with the grain into 1cm thick x 2cm wide strips and about 20cm in length and rub thoroughly with the vinegar.
3. Mix the salt, sugar, crushed coriander seeds, bicarbarbonate of soda, black pepper and paprika together in a bowl to form a rubbing mixture.
4. Rub the spice mixture into the pieces of meat.
5. Take a glass or stainless steel container and layer the meat, making sure the the thicker pieces are at the bottom.
6. Cover the container with cling film and refrigerate for about 12 hrs mixing every couple of hours so that the meat flavours evenly.
7. Hang up to dry in a well ventilated spot.
8. Biltong Machines for home use work very well.
9. Drying time is about 4-5 days, depending on the weather, and your personal preference.( in mid-winter time it will be bit longer and also the time depend on how dry you want it)
   This is just one recipe and method there are plenty others you can find online.
   To hang them we make use of hooks like these
   
   or if you can not buy these just use paper clips and bend them to make a hook.

So there you have it people in a nut shell Biltong. Now try it and let me know over a couple of weeks how it came out. Just remember to make it in a well-ventilated dry place and protect it against insects like flies with some kind of net if you do not use a biltong case/cabinet to make it in. If you hang it in the open, putting a fan on it is al so a good idea.


All pictures on here were taken of the net and is not my own property.