--- title: 'Baumy Biltong' slug: 'baumy-biltong' kind: 'recipe' revision: 6 source: 'import' created: '2026-09-04T14:13:44.421Z' url: 'https://noble-notations.ryanjnoble.dev/recipes/baumy-biltong' --- # Baumy Biltong _Six batches of working out a wash and a dredge_ The current specification: a 10 kg batch with 321.7 g of wash and a dredge sized for coverage rather than by ratio alone. ## Why this revision Planned 10 kg batch, not yet cooked. Built from batch 4 per-kilogram ratios (the most complete batch without substitution problems), scaled to 10 kg, then batch 5 learnings applied: +30% on the wash and +40% on seasoning volume. Salt deliberately held flat at 13.85 g/kg rather than raised 40% — salt dissolves, so it does not need a volume bump for coverage, and over-salting is the one error here that cannot be corrected. ## Categories - **Texture**: Chewy - **Preservation**: Curing, Air-drying - **Technique**: Dry-curing, Air-drying - **Equipment**: Drying box, Spice grinder - **Course**: Snack - **Cuisine**: South African ## Ingredients - 10 kg Beef silverside, cut into strips along the grain ### Wash - 162 g Worcestershire sauce - 45.2 g Red wine vinegar - 36.7 g Apple cider vinegar - 43.2 g Condimento blanco - 34.6 g Black malt vinegar ### Dredge - 138.5 g Salt - 24.4 g Black pepper - 83 g Coriander seed, ground coarsely, separately - 17 pod Star anise - 188.4 g Tandoori masala - 8 g Garam masala - 17.5 g Cayenne pepper - 4–5 piece Chipotle chilli, deseeded - 4–5 piece Guajillo chilli, deseeded - 20 piece Ancho chilli, deseeded ## Method ### Prep 1. Weigh the whole silverside, then cut it into strips along the grain. Weigh each strip and record it — this is the number every later drying calculation is measured against. _(Butchery)_ 2. Grind the coriander on its own, coarsely. Grind the remaining whole spices separately and combine into the dredge. _(Grinding)_ > Coriander is the one that matters here: you want visible pieces in the finished biltong. ### Cure 3. Combine the wash ingredients. Work fast and keep the meat cold — as it warms, fat and myoglobin bleed into the wash and it stops being usable. 4. Wash each strip thoroughly, then dredge it in the spice mix until fully coated. _(Dry-curing)_ > Make more dredge than you think you need. Running out part-way through leaves the last pieces bare. 5. Rest the spiced strips in the fridge for one to two nights. This is functionally a dry brine — weigh the pieces before they go in. _(1440 min · Dry-brining)_ ### Hang 6. Hook each piece and hang it with air moving freely around it. Record the hook weight so net weights stay honest. 7. Dry until the piece has lost roughly 55% of its net weight. Expect about 13–15 days for a medium piece; weight loss averages 4.21% of initial weight per day, and small pieces go much faster. _(18720 min · Air-drying)_ ## Notes ### Equipment _(observation)_ 30 × 7 cm steel hooks, 13 g each — €29.97. The 13 g is subtracted from every gross weight to get net. ### Salt: conservative or full +40% _(idea)_ The alternative reading of the batch 5 note gives 193.9 g of salt. Batches 4 and 5 both tasted right at ~13.5–13.85 g/kg, so this revision takes the conservative figure. If the finished batch reads under-seasoned rather than under-covered, that is the number to revisit. ### Expected yield _(observation)_ About 45% of net weight, so roughly 4.5 kg finished from 10 kg raw, across an estimated 25–30 pieces.