AndyC
01-12-2012, 10:42 PM
I had a hankering a while back for a South African delicacy - Biltong - which is an African version of jerky. This is a traditional hunting food, made and eaten in the bush by probably every single famous hunter over there - Selous, Capstick, Percival, Selby, Bell, etc.
My wife would have flipped if I'd spent money on steak, so I bought a few pounds of brisket and sliced it up. Try and use steak, London Broil or Silverside if possible - anyway, here's how I made it:
1. Roast about 1/4 bottle coriander seeds over a medium heat in a frying-pan until they turn a rich golden brown (10 minutes, more or less), then crush them with the back of a spoon:
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/9244/21571250.jpg
2. While the coriander is roasting, slice the meat into inch-wide strips (leave the fat on - trust me) and prepare a bed of rock salt:
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/9392/14238700.jpg
3. Lay the meat on the rock-salt and pour another layer of rock salt on top - leave it this way for a half-hour (any longer and it gets a bit salty):
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/869/saltp.jpg
4. After a half-hour, scrape the salt off the meat with the back edge (blunt) of a knife and pour a small layer of vinegar in a non-metallic bowl (apple cider vinegar is best, but I used red wine vinegar here. Dip the meat in the vinegar to wet them all over, then wipe down each strip between two fingers to get rid of any stray drips; the vinegar seals and softens the meat (and also keeps away insects):
http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/8109/vinegar.jpg
5. Lay the wet meat in a clean dish and start grinding black pepper over it, then sprinkle the crushed coriander over that - get plenty on all sides:
http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/7213/coriander.jpg
http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/8198/edges.jpg
6. Bend a few steel paperclips into hooks so you can hang the meat up for 3-4 days. Now, biltong is traditionally dried in the shade by the wind, but I decided to make a biltong box which works via convection. Basically it's a box with a gentle heat source - in this case, a 40-watt lamp. The warmer air rises to the top of the box and vents out the top, drawing fresh air through the bottom - creating air movement through the box, which dries the meat over time (convection).
I was about to make a box out of cardboard until I spied an old family PC and tore the guts out of it to make a box. I put a rod across the top and hung the biltong on the rod, then put some cardboard along the bottom to catch any stray drips for the first 12 hours or so. I then replaced the side of the PC case to more or less seal it:
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/6607/pc3o.jpg
http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/1892/pc2g.jpg
Pretty fast to make it - problem is wiping away the drool while waiting 4 or 5 days for it to dry out. Thinner slices usually only take 3 days or so.
Almost 3 days later:
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/9374/3dayst.jpg
Drying out nicely - the outside has turned a dark, rich brown - still feels a little bit squishy when pressing the middle of a stick between a (clean!) thumb and forefinger, so the inside hasn't dried out yet.
5 days later - ready to eat:
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2170/1000024l.jpg
Slice the sticks crossways to get slices or chunks and you'll experience the safari taste for yourself.
My wife would have flipped if I'd spent money on steak, so I bought a few pounds of brisket and sliced it up. Try and use steak, London Broil or Silverside if possible - anyway, here's how I made it:
1. Roast about 1/4 bottle coriander seeds over a medium heat in a frying-pan until they turn a rich golden brown (10 minutes, more or less), then crush them with the back of a spoon:
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/9244/21571250.jpg
2. While the coriander is roasting, slice the meat into inch-wide strips (leave the fat on - trust me) and prepare a bed of rock salt:
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/9392/14238700.jpg
3. Lay the meat on the rock-salt and pour another layer of rock salt on top - leave it this way for a half-hour (any longer and it gets a bit salty):
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/869/saltp.jpg
4. After a half-hour, scrape the salt off the meat with the back edge (blunt) of a knife and pour a small layer of vinegar in a non-metallic bowl (apple cider vinegar is best, but I used red wine vinegar here. Dip the meat in the vinegar to wet them all over, then wipe down each strip between two fingers to get rid of any stray drips; the vinegar seals and softens the meat (and also keeps away insects):
http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/8109/vinegar.jpg
5. Lay the wet meat in a clean dish and start grinding black pepper over it, then sprinkle the crushed coriander over that - get plenty on all sides:
http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/7213/coriander.jpg
http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/8198/edges.jpg
6. Bend a few steel paperclips into hooks so you can hang the meat up for 3-4 days. Now, biltong is traditionally dried in the shade by the wind, but I decided to make a biltong box which works via convection. Basically it's a box with a gentle heat source - in this case, a 40-watt lamp. The warmer air rises to the top of the box and vents out the top, drawing fresh air through the bottom - creating air movement through the box, which dries the meat over time (convection).
I was about to make a box out of cardboard until I spied an old family PC and tore the guts out of it to make a box. I put a rod across the top and hung the biltong on the rod, then put some cardboard along the bottom to catch any stray drips for the first 12 hours or so. I then replaced the side of the PC case to more or less seal it:
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/6607/pc3o.jpg
http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/1892/pc2g.jpg
Pretty fast to make it - problem is wiping away the drool while waiting 4 or 5 days for it to dry out. Thinner slices usually only take 3 days or so.
Almost 3 days later:
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/9374/3dayst.jpg
Drying out nicely - the outside has turned a dark, rich brown - still feels a little bit squishy when pressing the middle of a stick between a (clean!) thumb and forefinger, so the inside hasn't dried out yet.
5 days later - ready to eat:
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2170/1000024l.jpg
Slice the sticks crossways to get slices or chunks and you'll experience the safari taste for yourself.