As a butcher by trade I am far too curious to keep cutting and packing the same things all the time. While I enjoy what I do, there is an entire world of what you can do with the same base ingredients of meats. With my burning curiosity and convenient access to the worldwide interwebs, I find it easier to overwhelm myself than to simply find the next recipe to try.

Lately I’ve been falling down the rabbit hole of dry-cured meats and how they are made. There is a fair degree of science behind them, as well as a heaping portion of skill and craft. Unfortunately within this realm of recipes lies an elephant in the room that afflicts many similarly inspired individuals. I speak of course about the time factor. Most of the more substantial salamis and true dry-cured products take a minimum of three months to properly cure.

While I may be patient, I find it difficult to claim the time I am willing to spend. So for the purpose of simply introducing myself to dry curing, I needed something faster. It was then that I came across biltong. 

Biltong is a South African dried meat very similar to what those of us in the States would understand as jerky. While there are similarities and differences that stalwart meat-smiths would be quick to point out, that is not what I’d like to share with all of you. 

When I began to look around for recipes to mimic, I found that the dry time for most lay within a week. While still a long time, it was short enough. Once finished, the biltong would be able to sit out on a counter, or be vacuum-sealed for even longer storage.

I looked into the tools or special conditions needed to make biltong, and although there are a great many overpriced cutters and curing boxes available, the same results can be achieved with a good sharp knife and a simple plastic box with a fan.

I happened to own a glass case dehydrator which was tall enough to use as a biltong box, so that is what I opted to use, since it already had temperature and fan control. The keys to whatever you use revolve around airflow and temperature. Humidity is technically a factor, however, less so as long as you don’t run your fan too strongly or overheat your product. Case hardening is one of the risks associated with making any dry-cured meat. Essentially, this happens when the outside surface of the meat becomes much tougher than the inside core. The inside should remain tender while the outside forms a slow, yet slightly more firm protective surface.

I had to get creative with my setup because I didn’t have little hooks to hang my meat with, so I used some paperclips that I bent to suit my needs, then hung them from a stuffing horn that just happened to fit sideways across the top. Another note I should mention according to my research is that the strips should not touch one another while they are drying. I would imagine this is mainly to do with maintaining consistent drying conditions and not blocking airflow.

The way out here we like playing with our food, but mainly because it results in tasty treats. When the budget is low for testing your curiosities, deer never hurt either. After waiting the full five days and pinching each piece each day. I can safely say this one is worth the wait. But if you are one of those cookie-watchers who stares at the oven to watch them rise, you might want to put the box out of sight. It certainly drove me crazy, seeing it every day and needing to keep waiting. Now I know why they store meat like this in caves; to foster patience!