Making Biltong

[mummel]

Here, check this link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835220046

It says this fan offers 64.34 CFM at 12V, with 2.3m/s air speed (scroll down for the specs).

 

[daveomak]

26 CFM... if it blows through a duct that is 12" x 12".. that duct is one square foot... one linear foot of that duct makes for 1 cubic foot...


So, it will blow through 26 linear feet in one minute.... 3.28 feet = 1 meter.... 26 / 3.28 = 7.93 meters per minute / 60 = 0.132 meters per second...


The whole thing is converting a volume measure to linear measure...

Dave the recommended air flow is 2.5 to 3 m/s.  How does this reconcile with your 0.132 m/s number?

That all depends on the size of the curing chamber...

Directly out of the fan, if it's a 4" x 4" fan, 4 x 4 = 16 sq. in... 144 sq. in. per sq. ft...... 144 / 16 = 9... Soooooooo, in a 4" x 4" area, the velocity would be 9x's higher than a 12x12 area.... or, 0.132 m/s x 9 = 1.12 m/s


You need to start with the size of the chamber, and work backwards to determine the fan size...


Any small amount of air flow would be good.... Too much and case hardening will happen.... if the meat is thick, say 3/4" thick, that could be a problem.... especially if the humidity is low....

 

[mummel]

Well what if I put the fan inside my MES, let it circulate, and then let air escape naturally through the top vent (vs putting a fan on top of the vent to pull the air out)?

The MES 40 dimensions are 40.1"H x 19.7"W x 25.6"D (so say 660 sq inches).  I dont know what the diameter of the top vent is (waiting to hear from the BT thread).  But lets say an inch to account for the damper. 

Soooo in this case, would you put a 80mm or a 120mm fan inside the smoker? (and keep in mind the fan will go under my water pan, so the air will be deflected somewhat. 

 

[daveomak]

Screwed that up...

 

[daveomak]

Well what if I put the fan inside my MES, let it circulate, and then let air escape naturally through the top vent (vs putting a fan on top of the vent to pull the air out)?

The MES 40 dimensions are 40.1"H x 19.7"W x 25.6"D (so say 660 sq inches).  I dont know what the diameter of the top vent is (waiting to hear from the BT thread).  But lets say an inch to account for the damper. 

Soooo in this case, would you put a 80mm or a 120mm fan inside the smoker? (and keep in mind the fan will go under my water pan, so the air will be deflected somewhat. 

That would be good.... as the meat dried the humidity would go up... and the meat would gradually dry as the moisture left the meat... That adjustable speed fan looked like the good one to get... makes up for odd size chambers....

 

[mummel]

I ordered the 120mm AC fan.  Only has one fan speed.  I will report back once I've tested it.  Thanks for your help!

 

[5pmbbq]

 
This is at 9 days. About 60% weight loss. Perfect for my tastes not too wet, not too dry. Could do with a touch more salt but otherwise perfect:

Looks great! We haven't tried topside, we usually use london broil or brisket, depending on price. We will have to give that a shot.

 

[mummel]

Wors!  Thanks for the inspiration.  I decided to finally make some droewors.  Here's my thread:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/235700/droewors-south-african-dried-sausage

I have a question about when to pull the meat.  I havent thought far enough in the process to target water activity etc.  I dont really understand it either haha.  But I assume I should weigh the meat before hand, and then pull it when it weighs 70-75% of the original weight?  Is this correct?

I forgot to weigh this batch.  I will check on it on day 3 and test it, see if it breaks with pressure etc.  But are my weight targets correct?  TY!

UPDATE: here, this part:

- The use of weight loss during the drying of biltong could provide a useful indicator of water activity. Raw meat has a water content of around 75%. Reducing the weight of the meat by a factor between 3.75 and 2.5 during drying will produce a product with the required moisture content of around 20 to 30% and corresponding water activity around 0.7 to 0.75. In addition, the drying process should designed to decrease the water activity quickly to prevent microbial growth but not so quickly that case hardening occurs.

If my stick weighs 100 grams before hanging, what should it weigh when it's ready?  TY TY!

 

[daveomak]

Wors!  Thanks for the inspiration.  I decided to finally make some droewors.  Here's my thread:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/235700/droewors-south-african-dried-sausage

I have a question about when to pull the meat.  I havent thought far enough in the process to target water activity etc.  I dont really understand it either haha.  But I assume I should weigh the meat before hand, and then pull it when it weighs 70-75% of the original weight?  Is this correct?

I forgot to weigh this batch.  I will check on it on day 3 and test it, see if it breaks with pressure etc.  But are my weight targets correct?  TY!

When determining weight loss, don't forget to subtract any water weight, to get the correct initial starting weight of the meat...

 

[mummel]

When determining weight loss, don't forget to subtract any water weight, to get the correct initial starting weight of the meat...

Why not just factor that in, weigh the meat as its being hanged, and then figure out what the end weight should be to get a dry exterior/moist interior product?

 

[crankybuzzard]

 
Why not just factor that in, weigh the meat as its being hanged, and then figure out what the end weight should be to get a dry exterior/moist interior product?

I weigh the meat "hanger" before putting it up with all of the meat on it, and then start weighing after 3 days.  When I get a 50% (+/-) weight loss, I know it's done the way I like it.  Now, for this to really work well, your strips all need to be pretty close in size and thickness.  I used to weigh each piece, but since I went to using eye of round, I can get my sizes pretty close and do a hanger weight.

I have some drying now that was at a 44% loss as of yesterday.  Should be done today if it goes like it has been, but, just like cooking a pork butt, stalls occur...

 

[mummel]

Cool thanks.  That sounds like a much easier method.  Weigh the whole lot, target 50% weight loss, done!

 

[mummel]

One thing I dont get is that I can hang meat for a week and it wont spoil??  My mind has a tough time wrapping around that idea. 

 

[crankybuzzard]

 
One thing I dont get is that I can hang meat for a week and it wont spoil??  My mind has a tough time wrapping around that idea. 

I now use cure #1 with mine, but prior to this year, I never did.

I soak my meat in ACV for a minimum of 1 hour, depending upon thickness.  Allegedly, that is supposed to assist in preventing spoilage along with the salt.  

The one time I did have a problem was when my meat was accidentally exposed to direct sunlight while drying outdoors.  I moved the hanger to do something and didn't realize that it would be in direct sun in Texas, during Summer temps above 100, for 3 days!!!  I ended up with case hardening and it got really nasty....

 
Cool thanks.  That sounds like a much easier method.  Weigh the whole lot, target 50% weight loss, done!

As for the 50% weight loss, that's how I like it.  Some like it wetter and others dryer.  Sample a small slice at several different loss percentages and keep notes about them to see what you prefer.

 

[daveomak]

When determining weight loss, don't forget to subtract any water weight, to get the correct initial starting weight of the meat...

Why not just factor that in, weigh the meat as its being hanged, and then figure out what the end weight should be to get a dry exterior/moist interior product?

If you wet brine the meat, or somehow add water to it.... you need the original meat weight before you do that.... Example... If you add 10% water to 500 grams of meat, you do not start the % weight loss from 550 grams.... you start from the original meat weight of 500 grams...

 

[crankybuzzard]

If you wet brine the meat, or somehow add water to it.... you need the original meat weight before you do that.... Example... If you add 10% water to 500 grams of meat, you do not start the % weight loss from 550 grams.... you start from the original meat weight of 500 grams...

I've never wet brined my biltong, but I'm wondering if the vinegar adds much, if any, weight. However, after pulling the meat from the vinegar, it gets dried, and then coated with the curing/seasoning mix. Once coated, it's placed on racks to cure for a minimum of 24, preferably 36, hours. During that time, I lose a LOT of water.

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• crankybuzzard
• Sep 28, 2015

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• crankybuzzard
• Sep 28, 2015

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• crankybuzzard
• Sep 28, 2015

I'll make another batch this coming weekend and do the following weight checks:

Weight pre vinegar
Weight after vinegar
Weight after dry cure
Weight after drying

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I'll make another batch this coming weekend and do the following weight checks:

Weight pre vinegar
Weight after vinegar
Weight after dry cure
Weight after drying

Man that sounds like a lot of math! I do math all day long at work. I think I'll stick to jerky!

 

[crankybuzzard]

Man that sounds like a lot of math! I do math all day long at work. I think I'll stick to jerky!

Ha! I'm an Excel Workbook FREAK! Workbooks for cooking, knife angle grind calculations, heat treat formulas, ham radio antenna length calculators, and one for my beer making!

I have workbooks for all my sausage, jerky, biltong, etc., recipes configured to where I can plug in the weight of the meat and it calculates the spices and cure required.

I'll just add a section for the weights and have a formula to do the math for me. Simple, right? :biggrin:

 

[mummel]

I think we're all a little bit obsessive in some way. That's why we're on this forum lol!

 

[crankybuzzard]

I think we're all a little bit obsessive in some way. That's why we're on this forum lol!

Obsessed? Me? Never!

I wouldn't argue over being under by .1 gram of sage, ever! Well, maybe once, but after a while, he saw it my way! :yahoo:

Yeah, when it comes to my hobbies, I tend to try and accomplish the best there is to do. That's why I may go several months without posting here; I've accomplished something and moved over to a challenge in another hobby.

But there's always something else to make, create or do! Can we ever really perfect a recipe? Nope!

Crap, you're right, I'm obsessed!