Biltong and Stokkies

[B.A. Poole]

Been meaning to post this for a while. If it should be somewhere else please see it is moved appropriately.

I started to make biltong at home after being exposed to it by a South African friend.

Biltong is a dried meat similar to jerky. It is made from beef lower round roast or eye of round. It is coated with malt vinegar and seasoned with coarse salt, black pepper and roasted coarse ground coriander.

It is dried at room temperature, without smoke flavoring, until it loses 50% of its weight. The moisture loss can vary depending on personal preference. Air flow and temperature are critical to sucess. It takes about four days to dry in my setting and at the thickness I cut the slabs. I prefer it to jerky.

I started on a Little Chief smoking rack, then moved to a home made box and a commercial box. I make a batch about twice a month. More to follow......

 

[Teddy J.]

Thanks for sharing, is the last pic the finished product?

 

[B.A. Poole]

Thanks for sharing, is the last pic the finished product?

It is not. These pics are fresh meat going on the rack. I'll try to scrounge up some finished and sliced up pics.

 

[B.A. Poole]

Here is nearly dry on the rack. I know I have some where it's done, I slice a slab every few days, since I freeze them when dry.


This the commercial box.

 

[B.A. Poole]

Here is a sliced slab. Notice the pink area
Is soft and moist.


Here a group of slices.

 

[Randy]

So that's it, I'm moving. How hard is it to move and stay in Australia?

 

[B.A. Poole]

I do not know.

The stokkies are closer to jerky. Best I know stokkie is Dutch for stick. Stokkies treated and seasoned the same way.

Just in the box and drying.


After about three days of drying.



Vacuum sealed and ready to freeze.

 

[Tim Campbell]

This is freaking amazing.

 

[B.A. Poole]

Here are my homemade box.

 

[B.A. Poole]

More finished pics.

 

[BFletcher]

Fascinating

 

[Tony Coloma]

Salt and vinegar that preserve it?

 

[Wilmer Cogburn]

That looks amazing!

Based on the gram weight written on the tags, I assume you periodically weigh each piece to determine when its finally done?

I spied the brand name on the plexiglass box and did a little gooflefu...

BiltongMate Home Biltong Maker and Biltong Spices

Craving the delicious taste of biltong? Now, it’s easy to make the best biltong you’ve ever tasted right at home! Check out the cool BiltongMate home biltong maker, and full line of biltong spice mixes.

www.biltongmate.com

Project for another day....

 

[timothy]

How's the texture?

 

[B.A. Poole]

Salt and vinegar that preserve it?

Yes, the vinegar and salt cure the meat and the black pepper and coriander season the meat.

Black pepper was originally to keep flies off the meat as it dried outdoors. I wet cute for four hours in the refrigerator, turning and rotating every hour.

 

[B.A. Poole]

That looks amazing!

Based on the gram weight written on the tags, I assume you periodically weigh each piece to determine when its finally done?

I spied the brand name on the plexiglass box and did a little gooflefu...

BiltongMate Home Biltong Maker and Biltong Spices

Craving the delicious taste of biltong? Now, it’s easy to make the best biltong you’ve ever tasted right at home! Check out the cool BiltongMate home biltong maker, and full line of biltong spice mixes.

www.biltongmate.com

Project for another day....

Good work. . Biltongmate has good products and a nice drier. I can recommend their products. He has videos of his method of wet curing. He dunks the meat in vinegar, while I apply the vinegar with a micro mist spray bottle.

I learned to weigh the slabs prior to drying to know when moisture loss was about 50%. I started hanging with plastic hooks and then SS hooks but now I use plastic coated paper clips bent as shown to hold my weigh tags.



Usually it takes my slabs about four days to dry at 76°-78°F, in my small laundry room. The temperature stays up since the upright freezer is in the same room.

Slabs prior to curing

 

[B.A. Poole]

How's the texture?

The texture is soft on the inside with more of a crust on the exterior. Much easier to chew that jerky.

Stokkies are tougher like jerky and more chewing is required. I cut the stokkies at about finger width pieces. The slabs I cut as thin as I can with a sharp knife, approximately 1/8th of an inch.

 

[timothy]

My Son says there is a meat market in Elburn that makes it.
I need to try some!

 

[B.A. Poole]

How's the texture?

The texture is soft on the inside with more of a crust on the exterior. Much easier to chew that jerky.

Stokkies are tougher like jerky and more chewing is required. cut the stokkies at about finger width pieces. The slabs I cut as thin as I can with a sharp knife, approximately 1/8th of an inch.

My Son says there is a meat market in Elburn that makes it.
I need to try some!

It is a available in the States, with the prices ranging from $16 to $40 a pound. I usually go through about 8 ounces of dried biltong a week or about one pound pre-dried slab a week. Watch out as it is addicting....

Making it yourself allows to tailor it to your liking, adjusting the black pepper up or down or adding a pepper spice like cayenne or a red chili or peri-peri chili. I like to add a little brown sugar to the seasoning mix I use.

 

[B.A. Poole]

Once it is dry, I move it to a vacuum seal bag, label it and freeze it. Here is a slab I pulled from freezer this morning and sliced it up. It rode here in my luggage.




It freezes well and if it's frozen quickly after drying then it is nearly as good as fresh right out of the drier.