DIY biltong box

[RockAndSage]

Maybe 3/4-1” thick, 2-3” wide, and as long as the muscle is. I definitely try to go more for “bats” than “flaps”, if you know what I mean. Big flat pieces tend to curl when they dry which makes them more difficult to cut and store.

I’m using mostly Sitka blacktail, so the small muscle groups mean my pieces are similarly small in general.

I thought biltong was cut cross-grain, like we do backstraps?

 

[Antares]

I thought biltong was cut cross-grain, like we do backstraps?

I cut with the grain before drying. When the pieces are finished and you go to cut them into little bite size pieces, that's when they get cut across the grain. See my pics above maybe for a visual.

 

[RockAndSage]

I cut with the grain before drying. When the pieces are finished and you go to cut them into little bite size pieces, that when they get cut across the grain. See my pics above maybe for a visual.

Ah, gotcha. Thanks.

 

[patagonialuke]

My first attempt worked pretty well. I'm in very dry CO and I think it dried a bit faster than ideal (2.5 days for 50% weight loss), and it's a touch coriander-heavy for my liking (I did 2% salt, 1.5% coriander, 1% pepper by weight). But it got the full approval from my Zimbabwean buddy, so I guess I didn't screw it up too bad.

Got a humidity meter for better control on the next batch. Gonna try leaving a bowl of water in the box to slightly extend drying time, probably add some Worcestershire and garlic for more umami, and try adding some sort of chili for heat. But the fact that the first batch was more than edible has me excited to keep experimenting.

 

[rbachleitner]

Glad I ran into this post......definitely going to give it a shot this Fall.

 

[beachfr0nt]

What does extending the trying time do? I would have thought you'd want to dry it out asap to keep things from growing on it

 

[Antares]

What does extending the trying time do? I would have thought you'd want to dry it out asap to keep things from growing on it

If you dry it too fast, the outside can seal up while the middle still has a lot of moisture, then the moisture in the middle is trapped and can lead to spoilage. 3-5 days (depending on thickness of the cuts) to get to 55% weight loss seems like the right pace for me.