Biltong questions?

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I did something different on this batch. Instead of putting the meat on a rack over a cookie sheet, i stacked the meat into a 9x9 glass dish. Since the juice wont be dripping away from the meat, i plan to collect the juice from the dish and see how much i lose during the "cure" time.

This wasn't an intentional experiment, I'm flat out of frig space! Pork loins in brine, chickens brining, beef jerky marinading, pork jerky marinading, and bacon curing! Thats just the kitchen frig, the garage frig took a dump, so the 2 mini beer frigs are packed, and the beer is in an ice chest! Meat curing nightmare! Hmm, first world problem i guess.

I'll post some pics in a bit.
 
I took the meat out of the frig at 3:45 this afternoon and weighed it.

I started with 2,280 grams presoak
After sitting in the frig with the spices and cure for 22 hours, it weighed 1,795 grams.
Total loss was 485 grams, about 1 pound total loss.

I'm doing this batch in the dehydrator to see how it turns out. I've done it in the dehydrator before, but it was terribly tough, due to using a high temp. This time, I'll run it at 90 (lowest setting) and see how it goes. I'll eat it regardless. :biggrin:

I'll weigh again tomorrow morning and see how the weight loss looks.
 
Cool keep us posted.  So the high temps make it tough?  I think my temps were around 85F with 35% RH when I pulled the meat.  But those specs are good no?
 
Cool keep us posted.  So the high temps make it tough?  I think my temps were around 85F with 35% RH when I pulled the meat.  But those specs are good no?

You're good with that. My issue was it caused case hardening so it took forever to get the weight loss, so the exterior was like chewing plywood. Inside rocked, once I chewed down to it!
 
Oh and Cranky, I looked at your recipe.  Its identical to mine, except you let your strips sit in the fridge for 24 hours.  I just hang them directly.  How come?  Do you think that could affect the chew?
 
Very possibly could. With the meat sitting in the frig, it's not only losing moisture, but the vinegar breaks down some of the meat fibers due to the acidity. It also gives the seasoning time to meld a bit.
 
Very possibly could. With the meat sitting in the frig, it's not only losing moisture, but the vinegar breaks down some of the meat fibers due to the acidity. It also gives the seasoning time to meld a bit.
Im going to try this next time.  Split the batch it two and blind taste the results!
 
Just sliced up all my biltong.... Weighed all the pieces, had a 53% weight loss, so good to go.

Nice and tender, with the exception of the end pieces, they are like an old boot. Center cuts are great!

Oh yeah, I didn't mention this before, just for s#its and giggles, I left out the brown sugar... Flavor difference, but no difference in tenderness. Not too bad!


Now, about the fat I left on the roast. My biltong doesn't last for more than a week, I use a cure, and it gets vacuum packed shortly after slicing, so there isn't much chance for the fat to go rancid. Want to see a good argument sometime, watch me and our boys slicing up biltong! All 3 of us are grabbing the pieces with the fat as it gets sliced up! We've almost come to blows a few times! AMAZING flavor!

This batch was done in the dehydrator, it's good, but I prefer the back patio style better.

I'll be making more soon, this gets done about every 2 weeks here.
 
Well done! Yours definitely looks pinker than mine. I actually love the little fat cap. Not to much, but just a thin slither.

I went to Costco today. I found a "beef top sirloin whole cap off vacuum packed" for $5.50 / lb. do you know this cut? Would this be more tender than the top round?

Looked like this without the cap. Thoughts?

 
Well done! Yours definitely looks pinker than mine. I actually love the little fat cap. Not to much, but just a thin slither.

I went to Costco today. I found a "beef top sirloin whole cap off vacuum packed" for $5.50 / lb. do you know this cut? Would this be more tender than the top round?

Looked like this without the cap. Thoughts?


Sorry, no clue. All I've ever used for this is eye of round when doing it with beef.

If you can identify the grain, use it and see how it goes.
 
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