Homemade BILTONG South African recipe

Homemade biltong is a marinated and dried meat typical of South Africa. I have friends from Cape Town who introduced me to and made me appreciate this meat with a nice cold beer while watching a game, as a snack or as an appetizer if you want to enjoy it the Italian way 😉. It’s not difficult to prepare at all, but you’ll need a food dehydrator, which you can make at home following the instructions I show in my video

 

INGREDIENTS for 1 kg of BILTONG

BEEF

1 kg

SALT

20 g

BLACK PEPPER

1 tablespoon  

CORIANDER

2 tablespoons

SUGAR

2 teaspoons  

BICARBONATE

1 teaspoon 

WINE or VINEGAR

2 tablespoons 

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS

First, we need a cut of veal from the muscle, which could be the “cappello del prete” or “round steak”, so your homemade Biltong will be more flavorful and tender once the meat is dried.

1) In a mixer, combine the spices as indicated in the ingredients and grind them into a powder as finely as possible.

2) Slice the meat against the grain and season it well with the spice mixture.

3) Place the meat inside a food-grade plastic bag, add the wine or vinegar (any wine you have at home will work fine. For vinegar, malt vinegar or apple cider vinegar is recommended to stay true to South African tradition. You can use other spices if you prefer, but the ones provided are typical).

4) Seal the bag and massage the meat a bit more. Place it in the fridge for about 24 hours.

5) Take the bags with the meat, discard the excess liquid, and pat the meat dry with a piece of paper towel to absorb most of it. Then sprinkle the pieces with freshly ground black pepper. If you want to make variations on the external spice, you can do so: for example, I coated 2 pieces with chili powder, 2 pieces with ground black pepper, and the last 2 with freshly ground black pepper, so you can enjoy your homemade Biltong without ever getting bored 🤪.

 

 

6) Skewer the meat with hooks and hang it inside our BILTONG BOX with the light bulb on. The general room temperature should be around 10°C to achieve a perfect homemade Biltong.

7) Allow the meat to mature for about 1 week to 10 days. The light doesn’t need to be constantly on. You’ll need to adjust based on the temperature.

The maturation days also depend on how you like the meat: fewer days if you prefer it softer and vice versa. I recommend checking the comments under the YouTube video for further insights and advice from our South African friends who shared their tips for spectacular homemade Biltong.