The following letter appeared in MAN/Magnum - July 1996. The letter and reply, as well as my own comments to the recipe is included here for completeness.
Biltong in Scotland?
On my short visit to your country, it was possible only to scratch the surface of what South Africa has to offer, but I was greatly delighted at the ready availability of biltong. Friends bring me back as much biltong as possible after their visits here, but I am now determined to have a go at making my own.
There are one or two pitfalls - Scotland is not known for the sort of heat and sunshine normally associated with biltong production ( to put it mildly! ) and then I don't know the secret of preparing the meat prior to drying. I have been given a design for a "Biltong Box" which uses the heat provided by light bulbs, but I need help with meat preparation, spice mixture, recipes, handy hints, etc.
I realize that people have their own secret recipes, but I promise not to divulge these secrets to Scotland at large if they are entrusted to me! So, Magnum readers out there, please help someone suffering biltong withdrawal symptoms! If I can somehow reciprocate ( an air-mailed haggis perhaps? ) then I would be only too pleased to do so. The copy of your magazine that prompted this request has been well thumbed and universally praised by all my shooting friends who have read it - I shall be counting the days until I can return and hopefully sample your hunting.
J. Jenkins
Editor's response:
We are sure readers will oblige. While you are waiting, try this one ( which is very traditional ): obtain a plastic or glass ( not metal ) vessel of a size appropriate to the quantity of meat to be used ( a large Tupperware container will serve for small quantities, or a baby's bath for a larger amount ). We suggest you use venison or beef, rather than mutton ( we will accept no responsibility should you develop the behavioural tendencies of a mad cow ).
You need fine salt, finely ground pepper ( preferably black ), ground coriander, and brown grape vinegar. Some people recommend course salt, but it doesn't penetrate as quickly or as evenly as fine salt. We strongly recommend that you buy whole coriander and grind it yourself ( coarsely ) immediately before using, as this imparts a flavour far superior to that of the finely ground commercial product ( use the husks and all ). If you cannot get coriander, don't despair - many people omit it altogether, but fresh ground coriander does make a significant difference in the flavour. We suggest you make a vinegar shaker by punching holes in the lid of a glass honey- or pickle-jar.
Sprinkle vinegar onto the bottom of the vessel ( just enough to wet the entire surface ) then sprinkle it with salt, pepper and coriander. Closely layer the strips of meat onto this so that they are touching, forming a solid layer of meat. Then sprinkle the top of the meat, first with vinegar, then with the salt, pepper and coriander ( so that the vinegar doesn't wash the spices off ). Then place another layer of meat on top of the first and repeat the process. Keep going - ideally you should have several layers atop one another, perhaps four to eight inches deep in all.
Spicing should be to taste, but we suggest you use about the same amount of pepper you would normally sprinkle on a steak of the same thickness as the strips, about twice as much coriander, and about three times the amount of salt you would normally add. Bear in mind that the salt and spices applied to each layer must serve the top of the layer below as well as the bottom of the layer above ( with the exception of the first and last sprinklings ). Each layer is sprinkled with just enough vinegar to lightly wet the entire surface. Make a fairly small amount on your first attempt - there will be less waste if you find it not to your taste, and you can correct it the second time round. Allow it to cure in the vessel overnight, then hang it in your contraption the next day. Paper clips make convenient ( S-shaped ) biltong hooks. Oh...er...thanks anyway, but don't bother to mail the haggis.
My own comments:
- We also use large enamel bowls, as well as asbestos vats we have,
to make our biltong.
- The brown vinegar gives a slightly sweeter taste to the biltong than
does the normal white vinegar.
- When packing the meat, no meat should be touching top or bottom of
other meat, without layer of spices in between.
- As far as how deep it should be packed, that is limited only by the
size of your vessel - the barrels we use to make biltong can take between
two and three feet of biltong.
- We actually use more vinegar than described above - again to taste
and gut-feel. My dad used to add enough vinegar to the enamel bowls we
were using for all the meat to be covered. My in-laws use less.
- As far as the amount of spices, I do not how much we actually add
- my wife makes the mixture of salt and pepper from gut-feel and experience.
We add this, and the coriander, with open hand, again to gut-feel.
- We leave the biltong in the barrels for at least two days, sometimes
three, depending on time available. When we take it out, we hang it in
the sun and wind for about three hours, just to get wind-dry and build
a protective layer, after which we hang it in a cool place out of the sun,
placing a fan to blow in its general direction. The idea of this fan is
not to blow onto the meat, as this can change the taste as well ( the same
as it does when hanging game before skinning ), but just in order to create
a flow of air to dry the meat.
- I do not know how biltong dryers work, never having used them, but
I'm not too sure about the heat. We make biltong in the winter, and not
in the summer, as then it's too hot, and the meat will rot, not dry. If
you have a drier, or live in cooler areas, you might make it in the summer.
If you do not use a drier, it is best of the air is not too humid, as this
heightens the possibility of rot.