This looks like the real deal. Wow guy, well done. Do you have a step by step guide? I really have to try this ASAP?
Did you use any curing salt like this stuff? I posted in the other biltong thread and guys recommended I use this:
No I don't use any curing salt. I have it at home because I make my own bacon but it is simply not needed for biltong.
The recipe I used is roughly as follows:
SPICE MIX:
- 1/4 Cup Ground Coriander
- 1.5 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Salt
- 1 Tbst Coarse Ground Black Pepper
MARINADE:
- 2 Parts: Cider Vinegar
- 2 Parts: Malt Vinegar
- 1 Part: Worchestershire Sauce
METHOD:
- Topside Roast cut into 3cm thick strips weighing approximately 400g each
- For each 400g piece mix 18g spice mix with 18g marinade then rub over meat.
- Seal meat in ziplock bag and refrigerate for 7-24 hours.
- Remove from bag and dry.
NOTES:
It could do with more salt!!! I like salty biltong personally so will be adding more salt next time. I might use less Worchestershire Sauce as well... maybe.
Actually I just read your data summary. I was very surprised to see this:
35ºC will enable a microbiologically stable product to be produced in around 6 days (144 hours). A lower air temperature would require a longer drying time and increase the microbiological hazard due to the slower drying rate.
That's really hot! My neighbor makes this stuff and insists on doing it during the winter in his basement. That's why I was going to wait until the winter but it makes sense, South Africa is a hot place.
So I dont know now. I guess I will have to build a biltong box now that the summer is over?
That is quite warm (not hot though). The literature on small scale commercial production reports a range between 22-35°C (72-95°F) which is a huge range. I read one report that compared the flavor of biltong made at 25°C to biltong made at 45°C (there was a slight preference for the biltong made at 25°C).
All that can really be said about this is that there is that you can make biltong in a very wide range of temperatures. I'm sure people even make it at lower temperatures without issue.
For a microbiological hazard point of view the quicker you dry it the safer it'll be.
Also some people make it in the winter because in many places it's dryer in the winter and more humid in the summer which makes sense.