Trying my hand at making South African Biltong for the first time. 
I turned my electric smoker into a drying box. The lowest I can get the temp is 100° and it’s recommended that it be dried at 65°-80° so I don’t know how well it’s going to work out. We shall see in about 7 days. 

Here’s the recipe that I used. 

Biltong Recipe - South African Traditional Beef Jerky:

    •    ~4 lbs lean beef (I used venison)
For the Marinade:

    •    2 cups of apple cider or red wine vinegar
    •    2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

For the Biltong Spice:
(per 4 lbs)

    •    40 g salt
    •    40 g TOASTED course ground coriander
    •    14 g ground pepper
    •    4 g red pepper flakes (optional) 

Method
Mix the vinegar and W sauce. 
Slice the meat into 1 to 1 1/2 inch strips
Place meat in a container and cover with the marinade. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Massage meat and rotate to get complete coverage. 
Place back in the fridge for another hour. 
Remove meat from the marinade and lightly pat dry but still moist. 

While the meat is marinating,
In a dry (no oil) skillet roast the coriander over medium heat until it releases the oils and becomes fragrant. 
In a coffee bean grinder course grind the coriander, pepper and red pepper flakes together. 
Mix all of the seasonings together and place them in a shallow pan. 
Roll each piece of meat in the seasoning and using a plastic hook or in my case a toothpick hang it where it can air dry with a temperature between 65° and 80°. 
Depending on the temperature it can take 7-14 days to dry. You are looking for it to lose 50% to 75% of its weight. 
Slice thin and enjoy. 

Man I am so jealous 

must make things so much easier to just have plain dried beef (no chemicals added like the stores sell)

just beef jerky and butter is a great snack

I’d like to make my own beef jerky but I live in a very small apartment. It would probably stink the whole building up if I had a food dehydrator drying beef, right?

im tempted to buy a mini fan and build a dehydrator on a shoe string budget. To make a HUGE load of beef jerky.. and store it in sealed containers 

like 2-3 pounds worth would be sweet

Looks good. We tried with our electric some years back and it was hard to get down below 100 on the Masterbuilt.

We ended up using the pig cooker and I built a hanging rack on one side, covered the other side so it was a make-shift off-set.

It worked OK but didn't ever hit quite right. 

The only thing I don't like about good jerky is that there is no 'saving it' or stocking up'. if we want to discuss addictions........

Scott

Man I am so jealous 
must make things so much easier to just have plain dried beef (no chemicals added like the stores sell)
just beef jerky and butter is a great snack

It is much easier and cheaper than the store bought stuff and you can control what’s in it.
I won’t eat store bought jerky because most of it has sugar in it and soy sauce.


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7 hours ago, Idunno said:

d like to make my own beef jerky but I live in a very small apartment. It would probably stink the whole building up if I had a food dehydrator drying beef, right?

I don’t think a dehydrator would stink  the place up but if you did it in the oven it might. 

2 hours ago, Scott F. said:

it was hard to get down below 100 on the Masterbuilt.

Yeah I can only get mine down to 100. It’s hotter than I’d like and it dries quicker but it still came out good. 

 

2 hours ago, Scott F. said:

The only thing I don't like about good jerky is that there is no 'saving it' or stocking up'. if we want to discuss addictions........

Ain’t it the truth. 😆

On 2/19/2025 at 12:21 AM, Geezy said:

I don’t think a dehydrator would stink  the place up but if you did it in the oven it might. 

I used to have a food dehydrator with a heat element. It made BOMB bacon. Just put raw bacon in the trays and after a few hours presto. Then I would store it in a sealed container 

I also did it with raw beef liver and stored that like beef jerky too

but it made the whole house stink like smoked bacon and meats. It would have to be done outdoors 

I used to have a food dehydrator with a heat element. It made BOMB bacon. Just put raw bacon in the trays and after a few hours presto. Then I would store it in a sealed container 
I also did it with raw beef liver and stored that like beef jerky too
but it made the whole house stink like smoked bacon and meats. It would have to be done outdoors 

I never tried that with bacon and I can see where liver would definitely stink up the place.
I don’t think the bacon smell would bother me though. [emoji39]


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I was surprised the raw bacon was cooked to perfection in a Nesco food dehydrator (with the heated fan element) it made amazing bacon perfectly crisp and the perfect consistency. Remarkable really. I need to get a new dehydrator like that

the dehydrator made perfect beef liver jerky too, from raw liver

ive never figured out how to make crispy bacon in a pan frying. Mine is always soft

i am originally from Wyoming and remember lots of deer jerky. There’s deer everywhere in Wyoming 

I’ve never had bitong but it must have a fermentation aspect to it 

Edited February 24, 2025Feb 24 by Idunno

On 2/24/2025 at 2:01 PM, Idunno said:

I’ve never had bitong but it must have a fermentation aspect to it 

Yeah… I don’t know. I suppose the vinegar could have something to do with that but otherwise it’s just dried meat.