First batch of Biltong!
- Thread starter Von
- Start date
stalker.308
Well-Known Member
Thats all I use stratts! All apart from the shank. Just break it down into the various pieces then cut so the grain runs length-ways.
Smashing cheers I watched a few good vids on the tube, just need to sort a box now. I also have a fan heater with a thermostat on it which also blows cold air, could this be used to circulate the air around the meat from a distance? It would be easier to do it in my garage but I'm not sure if the air will be too damp this time of year?
Hello Stratts...
Re damp air.
The reading on my electronic gadget for temp and humidity in the garage said 90% humidity the other day
.
I'm planning on making a biltong gadget so I don't reckon on leaving it in the garage with that figure.
That's in damp West Lothian mind you, may be better where you are.
I can post you a link to the gadget if you like?, it's just a cheapie.
Re damp air.
The reading on my electronic gadget for temp and humidity in the garage said 90% humidity the other day
.I'm planning on making a biltong gadget so I don't reckon on leaving it in the garage with that figure.
That's in damp West Lothian mind you, may be better where you are.
I can post you a link to the gadget if you like?, it's just a cheapie.
stalker.308
Well-Known Member
As I have said previously, I use a 100w lightbulb and a comuter fan and its in my kitchen which does not have a radiator, and it is done within 2 days! I have a transformer on my fan as it is 12v, but it is a variable transformer allowing me to turn the fan right down to a slow rate, as you don't want it pushing all your heated air out the box and drawing in the damp outside air. Thats another reason why my fan is entirely inside the box sitting on the grid that protects the bulp from dripping biltong, so it is not drawing in damp air just circulating what is already heated!
Steyer 6.5
Well-Known Member
When the biltong is made how long will it last?
Why do you need the bulb?
Why do you need the bulb?
stalker.308
Well-Known Member
Because of our damp atmosphere, even in SA when I was there, it went in to freezer. I vac pack it and freeze it.
stalker.308
Well-Known Member
Sorry, my fan is just a fan not a heating element too, so the bulb acts as the hear source, right in the bottom it releases heat that rises and goes out the top vents therefore some sort of circulation!
As per the thread, this is handy for keeping an eye on chiller max / min temp using the wired sensor and ambient temp from the sensor in the unit body.
The humidity is handy too. Highest I've seen it in my garage is 95% when it was about 60% in the house.
For making biltong, the garage might be ok in Summer humidity wise but definitely not winter here.
http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/showthread.php/67717-Max-min-thermometer
Finally got my biltong box rigged up last night and the fallow haunch is butchered ready to marinade later tonight. I left it running overnight in the garage and it maintained a steady temp of 65f, will this be warm enough to dry the meat ok? I just need 3 more top rails and to put some holes in low down so the fan draws the air from the bottom past the hanging meat too. Fingers crossed,
Stratts
Stratts
stalker.308
Well-Known Member
looks good, good luck!
Here's some fallow silverside jerky / biltong my stalking buddy and I did. It was grrrrrt lush! My wife and I treated ourselves to the dehydrator some time ago (for her boletus obsession) but since moving south it hasn't had much use. However this bad boy's going to be working over time from now on.
And while not exactly biltong, if you enjoy making your own, try curing yourself some belly bacon. These are from our own woodland tamworths fed on amongst other things, apples, acorns and whey but you could just buy a side from the butcher. I cured them in salt, juniper, brown sugar, sage, thyme, bay leaf for a week, hung for three weeks (in muslin) then sliced and vacuum packed. Can eat like that or cooked - lush.
mr_magicfingers
Well-Known Member
So would a dehydrator such as Foss uses be any different from using a fan and lightbulb? Obviously the lightbulb makes it warmer, so I'm wondering why you might need the bulb for heat, wouldn't a fan do the job just as well? If not, would a dehydrator have any downsides?
Hi Mr MFingers, you raise a good point and I genuinely don't know whether heat is actually required or just merely speeds it up. However the dehydrator has a temperature setting and I set it to 70 c (I think - I have it written down at home). The heat is derived from electric rings in the base of the dehydrator and then funnelled upward via a fan and very evenly spaced vents in the same compartment. When deciding which tempertaure to set it at, I started to read some american websites (found via google) which insisted on a minimum temperature required to kill certain bugs. I just worked out an average of the minimum temperatures mostly referred to, converted it from F to C and went ahead.
mr_magicfingers
Well-Known Member
Thanks very much Foss, I didn't realise the dehydrator had a heater in it, that makes sense. Home made ones are much the same then. Cheers.
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