Good day Steemians!
I was asked yesterday about possibly uploading a traditional Afrikaans recipe for our American friends.
So here it is. Possibly the most Afrikaans thing I can think of (Apart from "bobotie", but we'll get to that)
A few tips for making biltong
-The meat. It is not necessary to use the best quality A grade meat. The best biltong is made from a young, lean carcass. Too much fat on the meat will cause it to become “Bitter”, and result in a very slow absorption of the salt.
Biltong made from an old carcass will be tough and sinewy.
-Although any part of the animal can be used for biltong, the hindquarter is the best.
When portioning the meat, you want to follow the grain of the cut to avoid ending up with a sinewy biltong.
-Dry pickling is preferred over wet. Rock salt should be used instead of fine table salt. The longer time the meat spends in the salt, the saltier the product will be.
-The addition of spices and other ingredients:
-Sugar(Preferably brown sugar) and/or saltpetre can be added to the salt. Saltpetre gives the end product a bright red colour. Sugar improves the flavour and tenderises the meat.
-Freshly ground black pepper and toasted coriander seeds can also be added to the salt mixture.
-Baking soda is often added in warmer climates with higher humidity.
Here are some basic ratios you can try.(Formatting is being a bit unpleasant here, so I used a / to divide)
Meat / Salt / Saltpetre / Baking soda / Pepper / Coriander
25kg / 500g-1kg / 20g / 20g / 12.5ml / 80g-160g
50kg / 1kg-2kg / 40g / 40g / 25ml / 160-320g
-Method
1.Slice the meat along the grain into long strips as thick as preferred. Thicker pieces will take longer to dry(Personally, I like a wet biltong)
2.Place the meat in a suitable container (Plastic or enamel), and sprinkle the salt mix over every layer of meat.
Make sure that the thicker pieces that need more salt are at the bottom of the container.
3.Sprinkle some vinegar(I just use white distilled vinegar) over every layer after you add the salt. Don’t let this drown in vinegar, just a bit of moisture is enough. I’ve had some success with whiskey instead of vinegar. If you’re feeling adventurous.
- Let the meat sit in this salt mixture overnight.
The following day, Dip the meat in a warm vinegar solution(175ml vinegar to 1L boiling water).
Hang the meat on hooks in a cool dry place with lots of ventilation.
This process prevents too much salt from sticking to the meat. It also prevents the growth of mold.
You can let this hang for as long as you like. But personally, around a week is good for me. It all depends on how dry you like your biltong.
Biltong (In my family at least), is a very personal thing. You can mix and match ingredients to your liking. I do encourage the addition of PLENTY of toasted coriander seeds. I find that it gives it that distinctive “South-African” flavour.
Disclaimer: This recipe is not mine originally, but has been used by my family for as long as I can remember. Hell, I think it came over the Drakensberge with my great great great Grandmother during the "Groot trek"(That part of our history where my people fled from the British. Google it. It's interesting stuff).
I kinda had to type this out on short notice. And since biltong takes a while to make, none of these photos are mine.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Anyways.
Stay classy Steemians.
J