ITT: bresaola, biltong, pastırma/basturma, jerky, borts, fenalår, kuivaliha, suho/suvo meso, prosciutto crudo and other dried meats
I'm drying 10lbs of biltong and salting 3lbs of basturma at the moment. I got hooked. Next week (when kitchen space opens up again) I want to start some bresaola.
Anyone else love/make dry meats? Any tips/insights/favorites?
aka -- pastirma, pastourma, bastirma, basterma, and basturma
Hudson Long
Can you provide a simply recipe for me. I can't find anything at all online. It just doesn't seem right. Want to hear it from someone that has done it.
Jason Myers
2nd this...awake and lurking
Ethan Ortiz
This smoked and dried ham from Austria is awesome
Chase Morgan
OP here. For all the dry meats I mentioned, it seems there are many ways of making each. Here are some I like:
this is what i think salted pork would look like...always reminds me of the two towers when gimli gets super excited for the salted pork
Nathan James
Can anyone share a jerky recipe that is not sweet, but is spicy as fuck? I have access to plenty of hot Chili's and other shit but I need a good ingredient list.
My dehydrator and camera awaits you
Luke Bell
Some of it requires you have to apply a general concept.
Can't find silverside? Round is the same thing.
Bigger chunk of meat? More and longer salt.
More humid climate? Longer vinegar/wine marinade.
No muslin cloth? Triple layer of cheesecloth.
Recipe doesn't call for salting? Trim fat or it will go rancid. Salting? Leave fat for flavor and energy.
Generally, however, most dry meats are EASY AS FUCK to make and last for months or more (if you can avoid eating them).
For spicy AF but not sweet, just: -cut out the brown sugar -pulverize the shit out of your chilies and add them to the mix in whatever amount you like -add another teaspoon of salt if you add more than a 1/2 cup of chili mash -think of adding about a half-teaspoon of cocoa powder
Alternatively, look for a recipe that calls for lime juice -- I've made goose and beef jerky this way and it was good (and tasted different from regular jerky), but it's been a while and I don't remember the specifics.
Just cut out the honey and pepper, instead adding your own chillies.
Remember that drying concentrates flavor by about a factor of 4, so unless you need the pain you probably won't need more than a chili or two per pound.
Any farmers/ranchers or deer/elk/moose/caribou/etc. hunters who have dry cured large batches of meat?
Leo Walker
Oh yeah -- don't worry about meat tenderizer unless you're making jerky with the tough cuts from old cows. And, while it matters to other kinds of dry meats, don't worry too much about buying/using a specific cut of meat for jerky. I've found jerky made from inexpensive top and bottom sirloin roasts turns out great, and jerky made from cheap round is usually really good.
Jonathan Ortiz
Re: the biltong video (and most biltong videos/instructions) --
You don't NEED a computer fan or (light others use) a light bulb in your biltong box, but you absolutely need ventilation.
I made my biltong box out of a large plastic laundry hamper, some fiberglass window screen, and duct tape. It has airflow on all sides and is all screen across the top.
Air humidity is important for drying biltong, too -- It's better to hang biltong in an air-conditioned room at 75 degrees F with 60% humidity than it is to hang biltong outside at 90 degrees F with 90% humidity.
Luke Russell
Hey that's pretty good! I went to the palate on kaua'i. Dem storms beg to differ do.
Adrian Roberts
Don't brine or marinade in metal pans or bowls. It can impart a bad flavor on the meat. *Can*, meaning that if you've done it before and the flavor is fine than maybe you're good.
Never use aluminum pans for vinegar or brining. They leave an absolutely terrible flavor and should be avoided.
Gavin Russell
Yup, all of this is in the realm of charcuterie.
Nathan Barnes
Thanks so much. This is exactly what I wanted. So easy to do.
Do I need a meat "smoker" to smoke meat dry or should I sun dry it like the natives used to?
Evan Baker
Depends. For example, if you want to make biltong or basturma, then there's no need for a smoker. If you want to make suho meso, then you need a smoker.
See:
Christian King
Drying and smoking are two totally different processes. They have nothing to do with each other.
You dry meat by using the sun, a low oven, or a dehydrator.
Smoking meat is a separate step which flavors the meat and also helps preserve it thanks to the chemicals found in the smoke.
You can dry meat without smoking it. And you can smoke meat without drying it.
Parker Miller
This.
Matthew Nelson
Here is an EXCELLENT overview of biltong with one exception -- never use baking soda. Ever. The acetic acid of the vinegar stunts bacteria and mold. Baking soda neutralizes the acetic acid in vinegar, thus neutralizing the vinegar's preservative properties. (The main author later says this, too.)
for first time charcuterie makers tey making duck procuitto, if you meas up you wont gwt ill eating it ;)
Luis Hernandez
Always get some good silver side with a nice cut of fat on it for biltong.
I wish I never read this thread. I'm going to have to go to the butcher tomorrow now.
Aaron Hughes
For people who don't have access to a butcher's shop, a fresh round roast works great. Round is just a smaller cut from the same muscle.
Top and bottom sirloin roasts work awesome, too. Long-wise grain chuck roasts should technically work, but may not hold together as well, and, due to the type and distribution of fat in chuck, may require more salt. (I've never tried chuck, but that's what I suspect.)
pic related
Noah Martinez
My local supermarket often runs alternating weekly specials on sirloin and round roasts, both typically priced at $3.89 a pound.
For a total of $35 in beef, I get 849.6 total grams of protein. Making biltong means I can eat beef as a complete and tasty protein source every day of the month if I want.
Julian Cooper
I literally just buy thin meat from the market, put it in a dehydrator, and leave overnight, I'm too poor to get fine meats
Lincoln Hughes
Cutting your own roasts up is almost certainly cheaper. Next time you're at the store look at the price per pound.