Making my own Beef Jerky or Biltong as we call it.

Cowboy food, that what my mate Alby calls it, is best made in winter. All it takes is a old fashioned drying meat safe, the ones with the fly screen, a electric fan,a large plastic container with a lid, spices and a whole rump sliced by the kind butcher or yourself. Other cuts of beef could be used but I prefer rump, sliced a meduim thickness and then sliced into long strips about 5/6cm wide leaving a little of the fat on. You will need some soft gauge wire to cut 10/12 cm strips, bend these into s's. they are for hanging the meat up.

"My Pickle Mix"
a packet of Rock Salt 250gr
Cource ground Black Pepper to taste
Crushed Coliander Seeds, +-100gr pop them in a jiffybag, let the air out and seal, crush them using a bottle as a roller.
BBQ or Steak spice to taste.

Premix these ingredients into a large glass bottle or airtight container and use as needed.



Sprinkle a little mix into a container, start by neatly arranging a layer of meat strips, sprinkle mix lightly over meat, next layer of meat, more mix ...... cover with plastic wrap or a lid. Becareful not to overdo the mix because it could be to salty. Place in a very cool area or in the fridge for 24 hrs. Tip container over, making sure the meat is socked in the excess salty mix liquid, store for 6 hrs. Now I would thread the wire s's at one end and hang the strips up in the meat safe. Place the electric fan infront of the meat and let it blow the meat dry. Ready for slicing in 5/7 days

This is our version of an old fashioned meatsafe we built for this purpose, which houses my Jelly mould collection or old tins when not in use.
Under each shelf there are 3 rods to hang the meat up. Fly screen on 3 sides to keep the bugs out ( remember this is Australia and we have more than our fair share of flies) And then My warning system "Bells on a rope" for the Human wanting to raid it. Old news paper on the shelves to sock up any juices from the meat,( easy to dispose of)




Jerky is best keep in the paperbag or airtight container with some paper towel wrapped around it, in a cool spot. Our's don't make it long enough to worry about storage to much. Enjoy.