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The Aardvark's Biltong

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Joined: 06 February 2010
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    Posted: 27 April 2010 at 12:26

As announced in the Veranda forum, I decided to go on a South African journey today, and thought that the Aardvark's Biltong would be an appropriate place to begin the sojurn.

First I went put and had my butcher slice a few nice pieces of top round, then trimmed the fat off them when  I got them home.
 
 
 
Mixed up the vinegar with the salt, sugar and garlic powder, and let the trimmed steak hang out for a while in there.
 
 
While the steak was hanging out, and beginning to feel good...I mixed up the Biltong spice according to aardvark's recipe.
 
 
Coated the steak well with spices, but instead of the "tilting bowl" method I decided to use some racks....it will be going into the dehydrator soon....check back for updates.
 
 
Go ahead...play with your food!
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Here it is all drained and in the dehydrator...not sure how long it's going to have to go, it's about ¾" thick...we'll check back and see.

 
 
Here it is after about 10 hours...taking the thin pieces off now, and leaving the thicker ones for a couple more hours.
 
Ok...12 hours seems to be the magic number...biltong is still soft enough to chew, but has lost about ½ it's weigh as far as I can figure. Took it out , sliced it up, and started sampling. I'm impressed, and so were all my friends who tried it.
Go ahead...play with your food!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hoser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 April 2010 at 11:20
By the way, I used the curious aardvark's original recipe from Ron's post:
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote curious aardvark Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 January 2011 at 11:17
Nice - I keep meaning to try it in the dehydrator.
the only thing I'm a little concerned about is the colour.

Biltong dried in a box over several days goes very dark.
This might be down to the fact that i always use seasalt, which contains traces of nitrate.
But mainly I think it's down to the concentration and oxidation of the haemoglobin.

Also biltong is dried at a very low temperature (around 25 C), there is no heat based cooking involved. I suspect your dehydrator might have been cooking as well as drying, which would also account for the pale colour and the cooked meat appearence.
What temp did you dry it at ?

But other than that - excellent job - like the way you drained it too - never thought of that Thumbs Up
I'll use a cooling rack in the big white tray next time Smile


 

Beware the slings of outrageous fortune (bows and arrows are for wimps ;-)

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hoser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 January 2011 at 16:59
There really is no temp setting on my dehydrator C.A.
whatever it is, it's quite low...probably a bit higher than the biltong box, but it was a tasty treat anyway.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote curious aardvark Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 February 2011 at 05:09
ah thought so.
The no thermostat dehydrators tend to run quite hot.
Depending on the model they run between 50-60 degrees c  120-140f

Ideally if you're going to use a dehydrator you want it under 100f (38c) Probably nearer 80.
Same approach as cold smoking foods.

lol wasn't suggesting  it wasn't tasty, but it's definitely been cooked as much as dried.
Beware the slings of outrageous fortune (bows and arrows are for wimps ;-)

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