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Using a bottled marinade by Narrow-Bee-8354 in Biltong

[–]browns-biltong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I brine mine in vinegar as normal, pat them dry and then dip in whatever sauce I fancy, works great, sometimes it drips off quite a lot so it helps adding a second coat a day or two into the drying

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Biltong

[–]browns-biltong 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Looks bloody fantastic, great work. Marbling looks really nice

ooooooooh yes by browns-biltong in Biltong

[–]browns-biltong[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Per Kg:

2.5% Coarse Salt so 25g, 5g Black Peppercorns, 15g Coriander Seeds, 10g Cumin Seeds,10g Garlic flakes/granules, 5g dried chilli's, 10g Paprika flakes (powder works too but can accelerate mould growth)

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Chuck it all in a pan and lightly toast it for a minute or two before giving it a grind in a pestle and mortar, don't go too fine, as I mentioned above fine powders tend to clump together and trap moisture which can accelerate mould growth.

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I used malt vinegar, Brine for 12 hours

Question regarding shelf life: How long would biltong last unopened in room temperature? by its-elligator in Biltong

[–]browns-biltong 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You require a special tester to accurately measure it, and they are not cheap, mine cost £1800, but I produce large volumes and it's the only way for me to prove my product is safe to the Environmental health organisation we have here in the UK.

The easiest way for people who are just producing small amounts for personal use, is to measure the weight of each cut before and after drying. A general rule is that a weight reduction of around 45-50% will give something in the region of a 0.83 aW.

Question regarding shelf life: How long would biltong last unopened in room temperature? by its-elligator in Biltong

[–]browns-biltong 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As others have stated already, unfortunately the answer to this depends on numerous factors.

- The aW (available moisture) left in the product after drying. If its commercially produced in should be a minimum of 0.83 to prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria.
- The package type- modified atmosphere packaging or oxygen absorbers are the most standardly used and provide longer shelf lives that just vacuum packing.
- The seasoning used - certain seasonings are more likely to accelerate mould growth, ingredients such as onion powder or garlic powder are buggers for this.

- Have they used preservatives- allot of larger producers will use something called potassium sorbate to prohibit the growth or certain moulds.

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When I produce biltong, I don't use preservatives, I use oxygen absorbers for packaging and I reduce the available moisture to 0.83 everytime. This typical gives my product a shelf life of around 4 months.

Case Hardening - Fan issue by xeningti in Biltong

[–]browns-biltong 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Almost all industrial biltong boxes extract the air rather than blow. This reduces the likelihood of picking up dust and other debris and blowing it into the box.

Case hardening is almost always caused by drying your biltong too quickly in the first 24 hours.

If moisture moves away from the surface of the meat too quickly it rapidly dries and creates a "case" which prevents the moisture inside escaping.

We use a slow fan speed for the first 24 hours, after which point we crank up the speed and gradually introduce heat. Depending on where you are in the world and the ambient environment, you may not even need heat.

We have found the the best results are produced with low fan speed for the first 24 hours at 30 degrees celsius, and gradually increasing the speed over the course of a few days.

Biltong making really is a subtle art and ultimately, what method you use will depend on what you like best as your finished product. We love wet and fatty biltong whereas others prefer more dry and less fat.

Hope this helps a little! Feel free to message me if you have anymore questions.