Prehistoric humans were already curing meat. Curing and drying meat is an age-old practise, but contemporary South Africa has perfected the art with its biltong. The finest cuts of our premium beef and venison allow us to produce the finest dried meat available. Here’s a recipe for those who like preparing their own biltong after a day of hunting or a visit to the family farm.
Homemade biltong tips
Everybody has their preferred style of biltong, just like their preferred style of any other cuisine. Some people enjoy it juicy and fatty, while others like it lean and dry. Some people enjoy it with a strong flavour from the addition of coriander and other spices, while others prefer a milder taste. The finest biltong is not produced from scraps, as is often believed, but rather from prime pieces like as fillet and rump.
For the most authentic carpaccio experience, choose beef that is close to raw and minimally cured. After cooking the fillet, cover it tightly in plastic and chill it in the fridge. You can use this to make clean, paper-thin slices. Put it on a plate and top it with capers, pepper, salt, balsamic vinegar, and mushrooms.
If you are really a patriotic South African, you will appreciate the significance of biltong to national heritage. The next level of brilliance is mastering the art of homemade biltong.
Homemade biltong recipe
Course: Snacks
Cuisine: South African
Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 0 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
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3 kg beef (silverside)
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1 cup grinded coarse salt and black pepper, mixed
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1 cup coriander seeds
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9 whole cloves
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10 whole allspice seeds
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balsamic vinegar
- INGREDIENTS – CARPACCIO
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olive oil
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black pepper
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capers (optional)
Method
- Dry your meat with a paper towel to remove the moisture.
- Slice the meat into suitable strips.
- On medium setting, heat a frying pan and add the coriander seeds. Stir until you can smell the coriander aroma – do not toast the seeds. Remove from heat.
- Add the coriander seeds, allspice and cloves to a mortar and grind into small pieces. Make sure it’s not too fine.
- Rub the meat on both sides with the balsamic vinegar, then the ground salt and pepper and sprinkle the spices on both sides. Wrap each slice of meat in cling wrap and let it stand overnight in a cool place.
- The next day remove the cling wrap, shake off a little of the extra salt and spices.
- Hang each slice of meat on a hook in a dry and airy place.
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- BILTONG
- Hang the meat to dry as you like it. For the first few days you can use a fan on the hanging meat to help the drying process.
- CARPACCIO
- To make carpaccio, hang the meat for 48 hours, depending on how you want to have it.
To serve the carpaccio, slice it thinly, add a little olive oil and capers, ground black pepper and salt. - Add trimmings of your choice. Allow to rest for 30 minutes before serving.
