Biltong

[Dan]

This isn't so much a recipe as a project I'm starting.
While looking for a method of preserving meat in the absence of electricity, I found...

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/398671

I'm thinking this might make an alternative to pemmican, since I haven't been able to get any suet locally (yet).  The author doesn't cut off the fat, and never mentions any problems with the fat turning rancid.  At first I thought this was due to some sort of pickling action by the marinade, but his description seems to suggest killing surface bacteria/mold only.

"Initially, I didn't marinade the meat for long enough - and ended up with a very bland-tasting biltong, so the marinade is important to give it the taste and bring out the proper flavor."

It sounds to me like it would not only store at room temp, which also seems to be confirmed by my old african hunting books, but it also might be the easiest way to have a decent diet while traveling.

I am starting with beef, and if all goes well will try deer next.  I'll try a food dehydrator on lowest heat first, since it seems like the easiest option.  If the wind isn't blowing dirt onto it, I might also try hanging some outside.

If anything is drastically different from that website, I'll post pictures.

[Raw Kyle]

Sounds good, a lot of those ingredients are not paleo or raw though. Maybe substitute unpasteurized soy sauce for Worcester sauce?

[Dan]

Good point. 

I was figuring vinegar is okay.  Sort of the way I still count wine    I'm guessing you could use lemon/lime juice to acheive the same thing.

Leaving out worchestershire makes sense, but I think I'll just throw in some garlic and some hot chilis instead of soy. 

From what I can tell, the marinade isn't necessary except to keep the outside of the meat sterile for the first day or two.   

[lex_rooker]

Biltong is nothing more than Jerky by another name.  Many cultures have dried meat for centuries and each developed their own traditional methods.  Your linked article says to dry in open air and jerky was historically dried this way as well.  Dehydrators just speed the process and if you'll search a bit you'll find methods of making biltong that use a dehydrator.  There are also similar marinades listed in Jerky books.  You find the same thing with bread.  Each culture has created their own breads, all using similar ingredients and similar methods but giving their bread unique names - sometimes just by the shape.  Pasta is another example - lots of different names for the exact same product formed in different shapes.

Be aware that just because an article doesn't discuss the problems of preserving fat by drying at low temperature doesn't mean that these issues don't exist.  The marinade used has little impact unless it contains preservatives.  Most of the time it is not a problem as the product is eaten within a few days or weeks at most, however, for long term storage fat in the meat becoming racid is an issue.

Lex

[TylerDurden]

Good point. 

I was figuring vinegar is okay.  Sort of the way I still count wine    I'm guessing you could use lemon/lime juice to acheive the same thing.

The vinegar is NOT OK, as it's almost always pasteurised. There are places online(and in some health-oriented organic food or supplement shops where one can buy unpasteurised vinegar. The best unpasteurised vinegar is any vinegar that is said to have "mother of vinegar" in it:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_of_vinegar

[Dan]

The best unpasteurised vinegar is any vinegar that is said to have "mother of vinegar" in it:-

Well, there is some cloudy crud in the bottom of the vinegar that may be older than me (I recently threw out spices from the early 70s).

I've always been told the fat in jerky doesn't store.  This guy had meat with obvious chunks of fat in them, says he prefers the fat, and says it stores "weeks and months."  Jerky is easy, what I'm looking for is a way to keep fat edible for more than a week in the open air.  Will it actually work out that way?  Who knows.

[TylerDurden]

Well, there is some cloudy crud in the bottom of the vinegar that may be older than me (I recently threw out spices from the early 70s).

I've always been told the fat in jerky doesn't store.  This guy had meat with obvious chunks of fat in them, says he prefers the fat, and says it stores "weeks and months."  Jerky is easy, what I'm looking for is a way to keep fat edible for more than a week in the open air.  Will it actually work out that way?  Who knows.

All I can say is that I recently tried a mustard with all ingredients raw except for the vinegar component, and , after a few uses, I started throwing up not just the one time. I've since realised that all condiments must be 100% raw, for me , anyway.

[Dan]

Mixed success, because my 70s era dehydrator kicked the bucket.

I guess it depends on how deeply vinegar can sterilize meat, which I let marinate for a little less than a day.  I kept 2 inch thick (but very wide) cuts of beef at roughly 90 degrees Fahrenheit, for 4 or 5 days.  It shrunk a little, but I don't have scales to tell how much.  The outside 5 mm or so was like jerky, but the inside just seemed more concentrated than anything else. 

Except for a bit of vinegar and thyme (I didn't notice salt or pepper) taste on the outside, the rest tasted better and had better texture than usual raw beef.  Any thoughts on why the texture was better?  Had it started breaking down?

I knew it was too thick, but I was going to continue for a few more days, and then test it's keeping ability.  So much for that.

[primaD]

The vinegar is NOT OK, as it's almost always pasteurised. There are places online(and in some health-oriented organic food or supplement shops where one can buy unpasteurised vinegar. The best unpasteurised vinegar is any vinegar that is said to have "mother of vinegar" in it:

Just make your own raw organic vinegar. 
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Make-Vinegar 

I haven't tried this but it doesn't seem very hard and I'm sure I'll get around to doing this after I start some kind of home garden or whatever.