Does anybody uses Benchfoods dehydrator for making Biltong? I got their Biltong bundle and did few batches. The issue is that fan run continuously and because of that meat dries really quickly but also cause severe case hardening. I did a batch couple days ago and was expecting the pieces to be done in couple of days but within 24 or so hours they were hard as a rock, even though I covered the fan partially so that no direct air is getting on the meat.

Any suggestion?

Looking for a bit of input. I bought some biltong to take on a canoe trip. It’s a bit wetter than I think is smart to pack in a camping barrel for a few days. It’s otherwise a vegan trip and this will be my only animal products so I’m counting on them to be edible. I don’t have access to a biltong box or anywhere it could hang to dry sadly.

Do I cut it into more manageable strips and use a dehydrator OR attempt to use the oven fan and light. I know neither is ideal but what is the better approach.

Hey! Long time biltong enjoyer, short time biltong maker. I was wondering what the best shipping practices are for sending whole slabs to friends cross-country? I'm assuming vacuum sealed bags with oxy absorbers is the go to? If so, anyone have any good recommendations? Pic of most recent slab made from a locally sourced sirloin offered as penance, thanks!

It ms about 24 hours away from being ready 🤤

bought this lekker piece of meat and tried to make it into homemade biltong but it didn't come out so lekker. (was quality meat though) Anyone have any tips on how i can make biltong at home without a biltong machine?

I was at my favorite German wholesaler (Metro) yesterday and picked up two 5kg pieces of what google informed me was beef shoulder clod. Dickes Bugstück , it said on the label. It is not what I would normally buy, but it was cheap and times are tough and beef is expensive. My plan was to clean it up and see what I am left with, grind it up and make droëwors and boerewors with it. But now I’m curious if anyone has used this cut to make biltong.

I don't think it will turn out great because A) The seasoning I used is Safari which is apparently way too salty and has a bunch of bullshit ingredients but I'll see how it fairs, B) When I took it out of the marinade I didn't dry it properly so it started leaking pools of Worcestershire sauce and vinegar on the floor of the box which I had to clean, and C) I didn't weigh it before putting in so I'll have to eyeball it. Apart from this I'm excited to try it and improve

Just curious as to where people are from? I’m
In South Africa and see that there are people all over the world making biltong. I’m interested t see how recipes differ across the world as well as the cuts that people use in different countries.

Just bout some droewors and seems to have a bit of mould, is this still safe to eat. Also do you recommend keeping in the fridge?

So at the local supermarket they usually have a bunch of topside, silverside, and toprump roasts, we never place much stock in which specific one we get (usually just going for the fattiest one) but we noticed that out last toprump was a lot more tender than what we usually get, what's your best advice for getting meat?

Not traditional but I wanted to see if I’d like it before building a nice box for it. Dehydrator at 85F

Currently marinating my second.

A little salty but still great

Am using a biltong box, Khabu KK12, meat has been in there at 25C for around a week or so and this is the result, what's going on? I know the meat is probably too thick but still for this long it should've dried more. For context am living in Melbourne and it's currently cold here with machine sitting in garage. I want the meat to be like the second photo, any tips on how to achieve that?

Hi all, I’m completely new to the process and looking to make droëwors. I know it needs to be beef and not contain pork, but do you just buy and hang? Does it not follow the same principles of Biltong where you soak it in a brine then spice and hang? I feel a bit confused and don’t want to only live in the Biltong bubble

Who else gets excited when they see marbling like this?

This is my second batch of the Basic Biltong Recipe from Khabu. Best thing I've ever made, beats store bought a million times over. So glad I started this hobby I just need to stop myself from eating it all immediately.

For the more experienced, any tips to improve?

Topside
3 days drying at 20C

First batch of Billtong using donated South African spice mix.
Thinner pieces 30hrs @30C in dehydrator, remaining slabs still drying.

4 days in my homemade biltong box. 2 guys and a cooler method has always worked well for me. I tweaked this one a bit and added some msg and garlic and onion powder. This was with eye of round, which I can get at about $4.50-$5/lb.

This stuff disappears at an alarming rate in my house. Even my 5 year old loves it. I will be vacuum sealing and freezing them.

I know. What an obscene question but hear me out!

I'm pregnant and now biltong is not allowed until FEBRUARY! I'm a South African abroad... I'm not gonna make it, okes.

I can eat meat that has been heated for 63C. Has anyone ever done this? Is there a way to heat biltong and make it still good?

I recently completed a batch of Biltong.

2 guys and a cooler recipe and method.

Dried for 4 days @25`c

Puzzled as to why the exterior colour is different from 2 pieces cut for the same piece of meet.

Smells fine tastes normal, just intrigued as to what is going on.

Only my third attempt and it came out great, good enough to post I thought.

First pic was taken of the very last piece so was more on the dry side than I typically enjoy, flavour was great. Maybe a tinge saltier than I like so will tone that down a bit, I use way less than the recommended as it is.

First batch wasn't a good flavour as I used white vinegar and the spice wasn't great, also had severe case-hardening.

Second batch was 50/50 malt vinegar and Worcestershire sauce for 24h in the fridge, with Safari biltong mix. Also had some case-hardening but tasted wonderful, got slight mould on a couple of pieces because I was keeping the fan off for too long at times (trying to fix the hardening) but caught it early enough to salvage.

This batch:

2kg Topside, the butcher I buy from said previously that I should give them a call on delivery day to keep a cut aside for me specifically for Billies. Which I did and man they spoiled me, look at that marbling.

I solved the case hardening by slicing a bit thinner, covering 50% of my fan airflow and putting the fan on a smart plug with a timer to be on 1 hour, off 1 hour, 24/7.

I also only had the meat in the vinegar/Worcestershire mix for about 30 seconds, then rolled it in the spice and hung. I tried that after reading a comment on this sub, thank you Redditor! And can confirm (subjectively), it's the same result without the faff of a day in the fridge. And not a sight of mould.

Started sampling at about day 4 and took it all down on day 6.

In the UK and temps were roughly 18-22c, with humidity fluctuating between 50-80%, high when the fan is off naturally. No light/heat source in the box.

On my next one, I want to try slicing a bit thicker again.

Thanks so much to this sub for all of the advice, success and failure stories that you guys document that helped make this a success!

*Oh and a pro tip from my butcher, put your cut in the freezer for about 30 mins before slicing, firms it up a bit and makes slicing much more pleasant.

Give me the bad news please brains trust. Hung this batch up in a cool garage but foolishly didn’t have any airflow and some of the larger pieces have picked up mould. Any chance of salvaging these or are they destined for the bin?