South Africa
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Biltong! Yummy!!
Biltong is a kind of cured meat that originated in South Africa. Many different types of meat are used to produce it, ranging from beef through game meats to fillets of ostrich from commercial farms. It is typically made from raw fillets of meat cut into strips following the grain of the muscle, or flat pieces sliced across the grain. It is similar to beef jerky in that they are both spiced, dried meats, but differ in their typical ingredients, taste and production process; in particular the main difference from jerky is that biltong is usually thicker (from cuts up to 1" (25 mm) thick), while jerky is rarely more than 1/8" (3 mm) thick and biltong does not have a sweet taste.
The word biltong is from the Dutch bil ("rump") and tong ("strip" or "tongue").
Origins
The Dutch settlers who arrived in southern Africa in the 17th century brought recipes for dried meat from Europe.[citation needed] Preparation involved applying vinegar, then rubbing the strips of meat with a mix of herbs, salts and spices. The need for preservation in the new colony was pressing. Building up herds of livestock took a long time. There was native game about but it could take hunters days to track and kill a large animal such as an eland and they were then faced with the problem of preserving a large mass of meat in a short time in a hot climate during a period of history before iceboxes had been invented. Desiccation solved the problem. Biltong as it is today evolved from the dried meat carried by the wagon-travelling Voortrekkers, who needed stocks of durable food as they migrated from the Cape Colony north-eastward (away from British rule) into the interior of Southern Africa during the Great Trek.[citation needed] The raw meat was preserved from decay and insects within a day or two and within a fortnight would be black and rock-hard, having been fully cured.
Ingredients
The most common ingredients of biltong are:
Meat
Black pepper
Coriander
Salt
Sugar or Brown sugar
Vinegar
Other ingredients often added include: balsamic vinegar or malt vinegar, dry ground chili peppers, nutmeg, garlic, bicarbonate of soda, Worcestershire sauce,onion powder, and saltpetre.
Meat
Prior to the introduction of refrigeration, the curing process was used to preserve all kinds of meat in South Africa. However today biltong is most commonly made from beef, primarily due to its widespread availability and lower cost relative to game. For the finest cuts, fillet, sirloin or steaks cut from the hip such as topside or silverside. Other cuts can be used, but are not as high in quality.
Biltong can also be made from:
Chicken, simply referred to as 'chicken biltong'[5]
Fish in this case, known as bokkoms (shark biltong can also be found in South Africa).[6][7]
Game such as kudu and springbok
Ostrich meat (bright red, often resembling game)[5]
Bokkoms should not be confused with other cured fish such as dried angelfish and dried snoek (snook).
Preparation
Ideally the meat is marinated in a vinegar solution (cider vinegar is traditional but balsamic also works very well) for a few hours, and finally poured off before the meat is flavoured.
The spice mix traditionally consists equal amounts of: rock salt, whole coriander, black pepper and brown sugar.[8] This mix is then ground roughly together, sprinkled liberally over the meat and rubbed in. Saltpetre is optional and can be added as an extra preservative (necessary only for wet biltong that is not going to be frozen).
The meat should then be left for a further few hours (or refrigerated overnight) and any excess liquid poured off before the meat is hung in the dryer.
Drying
Biltong quick drying using an electric oven
It is typically dried out in the cold air (rural settings), cardboard or wooden boxes (urban) or climate-controlled dry rooms (commercial). Depending on the spices used, a variety of flavours may be produced. Biltong can also be made in colder climates by using an electric lamp to dry the meat, but care must be taken to ventilate, as mold can begin to form on the meat.
A traditional slow dry will deliver a medium cure in about 4 days.
An electric fan-assisted oven set to 40-70 °C (100-160 °F), with the door open a fraction to let out moist air, can dry the meat in approximately 4 hours.[citation needed] Although slow dried meat is considered by some to taste better, oven dried is ready to eat a day or two after preparation.
Comparison to jerky
Biltong differs from jerky in two distinct ways:
The meat used in biltong can be much thicker; typically biltong meat is cut in strips approx 1" (25 mm) wide - but can be thicker. Jerky is normally very thin meat.
The vinegar and salt in biltong, together with the drying process, cures the meat as well as adding texture and flavour. Jerky is traditionally dried with salt but without vinegar.
Biltong is a common product in Southern African butcheries and grocery stores, and can be bought in the form of wide strips (known as stokkies, meaning "little sticks"). It is also sold in plastic bags, sometimes shrink-wrapped, and may be either finely shredded or sliced as biltong chips.
There are also specialised retailers that sell biltong. These shops may sell biltong as "wet" (moist), "medium" or "dry". Additionally, some customers prefer it with a lot of fat within the muscle fibres, while others prefer it as lean as possible.
Eating
While biltong is renowned for being chewed as a snack, it can also be diced up into stews, added to muffins and pot bread.
Biltong can be used as a teething aid for babies. Some retail stores offer a mild form of biltong especially for this purpose which does not contain the spices used for flavouring.
A biltong recipe
WHAT YOU NEED:
an electric fan
a light
1 kg meat-many different meats can be used -if you do not have access to ostrich, game etc then try a cut of beef like eye of the round or flank(my favourite)
some vinegar
less than a table spoon of course salt (or Kosher salt)
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of coriander (whole)(get it at a bulk food store)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
string
just to be extra square you also need a good knife, fridge, electricity, scissors, a couple of bowls, some nails or hooks, a hammer and someone to make fun of you for trying to maintain your South African heritage. A couple other ingredients that I have never used but you may wish to use are bicarbonate of soda (apparently to prevent mold setting in) and saltpetre which acts as a preservative and gives the biltong a bright red colour.
INSTRUCTIONS
Wash the meat.
Cut the meat at an angle with the grain into about one inch strips.
Sprinkle vinegar over the meat
Place the coriander in a bag and lightly crush the whole coriander so that the effect of the coriander will be greater.
Make the "biltong mix" by combining the course salt, brown sugar, coriander, black pepper.
Dip the meat into the "biltong mix" until all the mix is used up.
Place the meat in a tray for a few hours, or over night, in the fridge.
After a few hours dump any blood that has seeped out of the meat.
Dip the biltong quickly into a water/vinegar mixture to remove surface salt.
Hang the biltong by making a very small incission through the slice of meat with a knife about an inch from the end of the meat.
Cut the string into about 10 inch strips which are placed through the meat and tied to form a loop.
Hang the biltong in a place not to far from an electrical outlet by taking the loop of string and place it on the hook or nail or hangar or whatever device you have created to suspend the meat.
To dry the meat turn on the light(regular light bulb) and the fan and leave for about 4-7 days depending on humidity, temperature and taste.
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