BILTONG SPICE RECIPES

Steps:

• Trim excess fat off the meat.
• Slice meat along the grain no thicker than 1.5cm.
• Cut those slices into strips of 3-5cm wide.
• Combine sugar, baking soda and black pepper.
• Roast coriander in a pan over a medium heat for 2 minutes and then crush it fine.
• Mix into the sugar mixture.
• Pour vinegar into a flat dish and drag meat strips through the vinegar coating them well.
• I use my cooler box for this next step in the process: sprinkle a handful of salt over the bottom of the cooler box and cover with a layer of meat strips.
• Sprinkle the meat with a layer of salt and then the spice mixture.
• Keep layering the meat, salt and spices finishing with a layer of salt and spices.
• Close cooler box and leave to stand for 24 hours.
• Discard any left over vinegar.
• When you open the cooler box, there will be a lot of water drawn from the meat and the salt should be dissolved.
• Take the meat out of the cooler and place on a tray.
• Remove any large pieces of salt that may still be on the meat.
• It is your choice if you still want to pat the meat dry, I never do.
• Discard the water in the cooler.
• Using a paperclip opened to resemble an "S", hook each meat strip and hang to dry.
• I use a biltong box because the biltong is dry within 3 days of hanging - conventional methods take much longer.

Steps:

• Grind chilled pork, beef, and back fat through the 6mm plate. Let chill again before mixing. You want the temp of the meat to be around 35F or 1C (or below).
• Prepare all the seasonings and prepare the starter culture and set to the side. You starter culture needs about 30 minutes to "wake-up" before use.
• Mix the meat, seasonings, and re-hydrated culture together. You mince meat will be very sticky when finished
• Stuff your mince loosely into a 30-35mm natural hog casing making sure there are no air pockets. Tie the end with some butchers twine. Weigh your salami and record the weight
• Prick your salami to get rid of any air pockets. To ferment, place the Landjager in between 2 screens with a weight on it to achieve that "pressed" look and ferment your salami at 75F (24c) with 90% humidity for 12-24 hours (these parameters are for this culture, other culture require different parameters).
• While this sausage is fermenting we will be cold smoking it as well. Cold smoke for 4-8 hours with an applewood, pecan, or cherry wood.
• Test the pH at 9 hours to see where you are at. You are aiming for a ph between 4.9 and 5.29.
• Once you have reached your target pH place your salami in your drying chamber at 55F (13c) with 80% Humidity. Let it dry in this chamber until you have reached a 38%-40% weight loss.