Dehumidifier and Biltong box

[aris]

First attempt at my biltong box/dehydrator.

Heater element on air inlet in left, cross flow of air and then fan in the right.

Adjustable speed on the fan and cheap thermostat controller on the heater using a probe in the centre.

9 removable stainless shelves and then four hanging bars across the top. 55cm from rails to floor so should be long enough.

Will add a catchment tray on the bottom at some point.

Aiming to try the first batch of biltong tomorrow.

Struggling a little bit with the heater to get it much over 50 degrees c for dehydrating, but can sort that later when I start to do more if that later in the summer.
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That is amazing- if a bit over engineered

 

[Jvoelcker]

That is amazing- if a bit over engineered

Yes, well it does have to serve two purposes and kept me out of the house for a good long while and since the wife wanted the dehydrator she was even happy about it

 

[sauer]

Dehydrators are brilliant for cheats jerky …. Done in 7 hrs instead of days ….
Ok not as good as proper biltong but works in a pinch

 

[willie_gunn]

They work fine for biltong too.



Part way through drying.

 

[chaz243]

I have been toying with building a 'biltong box' and on suggesting it to my wife she tells me she has been thinking of getting a dehydrator.

As far as I can gather I could build a single box with rails at the top, slots for trays and then a fan at the top and a thermostatically controlled heater element at the bottom and that should be able to do both jobs.

Does that sound like a plan or am I better off just buying something off the shelf?

What have you done?

I bought a dehydrator and it works brilliantly .Only need to dehydrate at 40°for six hours then leave off overnight and a couple more hours the next day. Brilliant results .. recipe if you like .cost 45 quid .Haven't got a picture but can take one if you want

 

[devon deer stalker]

Yes, well it does have to serve two purposes and kept me out of the house for a good long while and since the wife wanted the dehydrator she was even happy about it

I think it's brilliant, in fact I made a cold smoker that I could convert to your design quite easily, thanks for posting it.

I made venison jerky the cheats way last week, marinaded the venison for 3 days, then into a fan oven on lowest setting with door propped open, took a couple of hours, made a great snack.

Cheers

Richard

 

[Jvoelcker]

I bought a dehydrator and it works brilliantly .Only need to dehydrate at 40°for six hours then leave off overnight and a couple more hours the next day. Brilliant results .. recipe if you like .cost 45 quid .Haven't got a picture but can take one if you want

Thanks. Prefer the low and slow approach to biltong so heading that route first.

 

[Jvoelcker]

I think it's brilliant, in fact I made a cold smoker that I could convert to your design quite easily, thanks for posting it.

I made venison jerky the cheats way last week, marinaded the venison for 3 days, then into a fan oven on lowest setting with door propped open, took a couple of hours, made a great snack.

Cheers

Richard

A smoker may be next on the build list, have used on for fish, but not tried it for venison.

 

[tomblincoe]

Yes, had stokkies, also chilli bites. Developed a taste for them since my first trip to ZA back in the late 80's

The Excalibur type of dehydrator, with the trays removed, is really no different to a regular biltong box - it has a heating element and a fan to circulate the air, just the same. You can suspend anything up to about a 10" chunk of venison from the top tray. The round dehydrators, on the other hand, are far less versatile. Where a dehydrator scores compared to a biltong box is that, as well as jerky, you can also use it for drying fruit and veg - with an allotment as well as a garden, that comes in handy sometimes.

I find making biltong is a great way to use up old venison haunches and fillet when I periodically empty my freezer of stock.

Also very useful for drying brass!

 

[bobthedug]

I bought a dehydrator and it works brilliantly .Only need to dehydrate at 40°for six hours then leave off overnight and a couple more hours the next day. Brilliant results .. recipe if you like .cost 45 quid .Haven't got a picture but can take one if you want

Hi Chaz, interested in trying your recipe. I’m waiting on delivery of a dehydrator and I’ve never tried or used one before.
Any chance you could post it up?
Bob

 

[chaz243]

Hi Chaz, interested in trying your recipe. I’m waiting on delivery of a dehydrator and I’ve never tried or used one before.
Any chance you could post it up?
Bob

I'll give it to you ..
Cut your sinew free venison across the grain in 8 mm slices.
Loosely cover each piece in salt for hour and a half (no more).
Shake off salt and immerse all meat into a solution of half cup red wine vinegar and half cup of Worcestershire sauce.
Leave 12 hours or a bit more and remove and pat dry (ish).
Toast 2 tbsp of coriander seed and same of fennel in a dry frying pan .
Put the toasted mix into a coffee grinder/spice grinder alo g with 2 tsp black pepper corns and blitz to a fine but fairly coarse powder. Add to this 2 tsp smoked paprika and same if garlic granules
Now coat your meat slices both sides in the mix .lay them or hang them in your dryer till they are stiff and fairly rigid. Normally for my dryer about 6 hours at 40°c .Good luck and let me know how you get on . Cheers

 

[bobthedug]

I'll give it to you ..
Cut your sinew free venison across the grain in 8 mm slices.
Loosely cover each piece in salt for hour and a half (no more).
Shake off salt and immerse all meat into a solution of half cup red wine vinegar and half cup of Worcestershire sauce.
Leave 12 hours or a bit more and remove and pat dry (ish).
Toast 2 tbsp of coriander seed and same of fennel in a dry frying pan .
Put the toasted mix into a coffee grinder/spice grinder alo g with 2 tsp black pepper corns and blitz to a fine but fairly coarse powder. Add to this 2 tsp smoked paprika and same if garlic granules
Now coat your meat slices both sides in the mix .lay them or hang them in your dryer till they are stiff and fairly rigid. Normally for my dryer about 6 hours at 40°c .Good luck and let me know how you get on . Cheers

Thanks for that. All being well, I’ll be attempting it at the weekend. I’ll keep you posted. Cheers

 

[chaz243]

Thanks for that. All being well, I’ll be attempting it at the weekend. I’ll keep you posted. Cheers

Just re read it and .....toast the coriander and fennel for a few mins before grinding and if no grinder then a pestle and mortar done the trick .

 

[chaz243]

I'll give it to you ..
Cut your sinew free venison across the grain in 8 mm slices.
Loosely cover each piece in salt for hour and a half (no more).
Shake off salt and immerse all meat into a solution of half cup red wine vinegar and half cup of Worcestershire sauce.
Leave 12 hours or a bit more and remove and pat dry (ish).
Toast 2 tbsp of coriander seed and same of fennel in a dry frying pan .
Put the toasted mix into a coffee grinder/spice grinder alo g with 2 tsp black pepper corns and blitz to a fine but fairly coarse powder. Add to this 2 tsp smoked paprika and same if garlic granules
Now coat your meat slices both sides in the mix .lay them or hang them in your dryer till they are stiff and fairly rigid. Normally for my dryer about 6 hours at 40°c .Good luck and let me know how you get on . Cheers

Oh **** . I also put a tbsp of dark brown sugar in the solution ...

 

[chaz243]

I'll give it to you ..
Cut your sinew free venison across the grain in 8 mm slices.
Loosely cover each piece in salt for hour and a half (no more).
Shake off salt and immerse all meat into a solution of half cup red wine vinegar and half cup of Worcestershire sauce.
Leave 12 hours or a bit more and remove and pat dry (ish).
Toast 2 tbsp of coriander seed and same of fennel in a dry frying pan .
Put the toasted mix into a coffee grinder/spice grinder alo g with 2 tsp black pepper corns and blitz to a fine but fairly coarse powder. Add to this 2 tsp smoked paprika and same if garlic granules
Now coat your meat slices both sides in the mix .lay them or hang them in your dryer till they are stiff and fairly rigid. Normally for my dryer about 6 hours at 40°c .Good luck and let me know how you get on . Cheers

Oh and a table spoon of dark brown sugar in the marinade solution too ..oao....

 

[Hunter300]

Hang them out for a day to wing dry then in n box with a pc fan sucking the air out and a 50w bulb in the bottom, works a TREAT and cost me like £30

 

[aris]

Hang them out for a day to wing dry then in n box with a pc fan sucking the air out and a 50w bulb in the bottom, works a TREAT and cost me like £30

Great pic! Biltong, Potjiekos, and Reloading!

 

[chaz243]

I have been toying with building a 'biltong box' and on suggesting it to my wife she tells me she has been thinking of getting a dehydrator.

As far as I can gather I could build a single box with rails at the top, slots for trays and then a fan at the top and a thermostatically controlled heater element at the bottom and that should be able to do both jobs.

Does that sound like a plan or am I better off just buying something off the shelf?

What have you done?

I bought this one and its fantastic .only.40 quid from,Amazon. Its full up with biltong and ready for switching on ..

 

[aquarius11]

my first attempt at jerky in the homemade dehumidifier, halogen strip light on dimmer, computer fan under and probe through side for temp

 

[aris]

For anyone who is interested - I put a humidity and temperature sensor in my biltong box, and then set a virtual humidistat to switch the heat on/of at a 50%RH set-point, while keeping the fan on for circulation. Here is the graph so far. It sent in at 9pm on the 12th (beginning of graph), humidity in box steadily rising - then gradually decreasing over time - then at the end you see the 'waves' where the humidistat kicked in to keep the RH at around 50%. So far so good. Perhaps a bit of an overkill for making biltong - but I love it Those little downward spikes you see on the graph is when I opened the box to check the biltong.


Here is the corresponding temperature in the box - though humidity is what is most important. The box sits in my garage which while attached to the house, is much colder than the house itself. I had the box on (and empty) for 24 hours beforehand to prime it.