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South Africans in Germany

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Making your own Biltong

There are many recipes and tips on the internet on how to make your own biltong.
We want to share some basics here as well as some tips from our FB members

You will need the following:

  • Suitable Meat
  • Spices and vinegar
  • Suitable place to hang the meat to dry

Step 1 – Buy suitable meat

The best cuts are sirloin or fillet.
In Germany you can ask for Silverside( Tafelstück or Tafelspitz) or Topside (Schale) .
You can get more information about the German cuts here.

Step 2 – Prepare your meat

Remove excess fat, but leave some fat for extra flavour.
Don’t cut the slices too thick or they will take too long to dry.
Roughly 20cm in length, and 1cm thickness is ideal.
Remove any gristle/sinew.

Step 3 – Baste and Season

This is a very basic recipe, some add Worcestershire sauce to the vinegar and sugar to the spices.
Below are some links to other recipes.

  • 1/3 Salt
  • 1/3 Pepper
  • 1/3 Coriander
  • Brown Vinegar
  1. Place the meat in a sealable container.
  2. Marinate the meat for at least 3 hours in the Fridge
  3. Pat the meat dry and cover with the seasoning.
  4. Let it stand for at least an hour, then hook and hang it to dry

Step 4 –  Drying

The weather conditions in Germany are not optimal to dry biltong and you will therefore have to either build or buy your own dryer.
You can find easy instructions on how to make a Biltong box from Ben Kruger’s Youtube channel
It is important that your meat is well aired and that it does not touch against each other.
Space your meat well

The following shops sells Biltong spices:

Resources on the internet:

Related pages:

Braai Season

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