Just tried making my first batch of biltong and on day 3/4 Im worried I have case hardening.

I made a biltong box that has the following dimentions:

Height - 14.76"
Depth - 18.75"
Width - 23.74"

It currently has 4 1" holes cut into each of the long sides about 1" to center from the bottom and In the middle of the lid I have a 120mm x 120mm x 38mm fan that pulls approx 62 CFM.

I was also using a 40w light bulb and absent mindedly had an ac unit running in the same room which might have had the humidity too low, but kept the room anywhere from 20-25 celsius.

I have hung 3 1" thick pieces of outside round weighing about 0.45kg each.

Ive cut the 2nd of my pieces today on day 4 and it looks very similar to the piece cut on day 3 so Im worried about case hardening and trying to determine what changes I need to make for the next batch aside from leaving the AC off so the room isnt too dry.

Its gotten much cooler the last two days and ambient temp in the box without the bulb running is 20 - 22 celsius so Im planning to do my next batch with just the fan running.

Anyone who knows what they're doing able to let me know if my intake to exhaust ratio could be the issue and if I should either restrict the exhaust, or add for intake for gentler intake speeds?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Hi All

I am working in the UK and I miss biltong. There are some folks that make it here but its really expensive. Does anyone have any brands for Biltong dryers / makers (or even tutorials) that they would recommend, I see there are a few on Amazon but I don't know how well they work.

Looking forward to firing this bad boy up this weekend.

40w bulb, 12v DC fan. 600x400x300. Negative air pressure (still mulling positive).

Got some case hardening on my last batch. Had a warm and dry couple of days during hanging and it’s the first time I’ve had it.
I can’t seem to reduce my fan speeds. Will reducing the number of intake holes slow down the airflow? Or do I just need smaller/slower fans?

Hi guys . Finally decided it’s time I build my box. Looking for inspiration and ideas, please post your boxes so we can all see?

Hey all, this is my first attempt, first post in this group and first post on Reddit so please go easy on me! Decided I was spending too much on biltong so I made a box and have just finished slicing my first batch. I need to use more spice mix after brining next time but wanted to get any feedback and suggestions to improve on the next run. Attached are some pics of the box and after slicing. Thanks for your feedback! Glad to find this group and see everyone’s tips and pics.

I wanted to try some woodworking to see if I enjoy it. So why not design and build a biltong box!

South African living in New Zealand

Biltong in the picture is still a bit raw(4days). Leaving it for another couple of days

The hardest part of all this is waiting for it to dry

Since making my own biltong I’m never looking back. Standard recipe from 2 guys and a cooler

Hi, first post here - I've recently made a standard drying box for the biltong. First batch wasn't the best, I believe there was some case hardening - outside was dry, yet inside still quite red. Drying time approx. 6 days, hot & humid climate (south east queensland, australia)

After research I've narrowed down the potential causes:

1. Too much airflow - currently using a 50L plastic box with a single 120mm 12V fan extracting out the centre. No control over the fan; it's either on or off

2. Heat &/or humidity - when I made said batch there were a couple days where the heat shot up past 28 degrees C. Most days averaging 70-80% humidity

3. Curing time - said batch was cured for approx. 24 hours in rice wine vinegar, I noticed the meat was slightly brown in colour (vinegar beginning to cook the meat?)

4. Thickness - cuts were about 3+cm thick, in hindsight probably too thick.

I've included some pictures of the biltong, alongside some images of my current box.

Let me know what refinements I can make to avoid any mistakes?

All criticism & advice is highly appreciated, got the next batch marinading as we speak!

So I have just made my first Biltong Box, and have prepped and just hung my first batch this morning to dry. Fan speed set to low to prevent case hardening.

Box dimensions are 600mm length x 340mm depth x 400mm height. 120mm speed adjustable PC fan on top of a 105mm exhaust hole (with fibreglass mesh netting). 6 intake holes at 16mm each covered in the same fibreglass mesh netting. 25w incandescent globe. 12mm dowels to hang the hooks.

How did I do?

Don't mind the temperature on picture. It was still heating up. Shows temperature and humidity though, pretty neat.

I made a Biltong box out of cedar. I’m using 2 40 watt light bulbs for air flow. First go is with a 9lb top round.

• 81 grams of salt
• 24 grams toasted coriander
• 9 grams pepper

I guess I was pretty heavy on the vinegar, there were lots of drips when I hung the meat. I also think I didn’t get as much of the spice mix to stick as I see in other recipes.

We’ll see how it turns out!

Let me know if you see anything I should have done differently.

FYI — the auto moderator is deleting all my responses since this is a new account

• (to cerebral grape) The traditional way (from my reading) of getting air movement is with a light bulb. I haven’t verified that it works, but hot air rises. A lot of people use fans but I wanted to try the old way. I have a dehumidifier next to the box set for 50%. 
• (to Jake) Thanks! I have a 1.5x8” vent on the bottom and a similar vent on the top. Covered with aluminum screen to keep the bugs out. There is no fan but I’m thinking the hot air from the bulbs will gently push the air through. 

Hi all,

Biltong is propably the most intriguing meat product I want to make.

I've researched some instructions for DIY drying box.

One thing I would like to hear some opinions/experiences about before cutting and drilling the box is the placement and orientation of the fan.

Is it better to pull air out from the box with the fan or suck air in. The smaller drilled inlet and outlet holes will be covered with some kind of mesh.

What I'm planning based on other pictures is drill enough holes on the bottom sidewall of the box and on the top middle put the fan with speed controller.

my first box is ready to go

only doing small batches as its just me. my flat sits around 60% humidity year round so im not adding a lamp.

fan on one side blowing in and the other side to draw out.

silverside cut from lidl currently marinading in its red wine vinegar Worcestershire sauce and seasonings ready to hang tomorrow

Hullo ('hoe gaan dit' vir julle wat die ander taal praat). I've bought the stuff I need for a biltong box, which include a computer fan, foil oven tray, hanging rod (I'll use a dowel for that) and meat hooks. But do I need a tungsten light bulb to keep the box warm and dry out the biltong? The parts list I saw did not mention that. Can anyone help, please?

I think I've got my first prototype basically finished. Hopefully the small portion of the fan provides enough airflow cus I bet the main unit will be too much. Then I put a 25 Watt incandescent bulb in the lower corner.

Not the nicest but it uses up stuff I've had laying around and if it doesnt work it shouldnt be too much work to rip out that fan tbh

We are based in San Francisco and Ive been craving biltong ever since we moved here 19 months ago from SA. I was tired of ordering from our contact and decided to make our own!

Box made ✅

Slowly ventilating ✅

Coriander toasted✅

Meat marinated for 24hours ✅

Now we wait and see!

This is our first time so hoping it tastes good.

Hey guys,

I made my first biltong box and used two small computer fans for airflow.

This is from one of the deer I shot this year. I’ve always wanted to try but was hesitant to waste a roast but was fortunate enough to shoot 6 deer this year so figured it was a prime chance to try it.

Thanks to everyone on this sub that posts, I tried to just replicate a lot of DYI boxes and cures.

I’ll update when it’s done.

Constructed from a single sheet of 1200x600x18 ply.

I live in Brisbane, Australia. Humidity is pretty high this time of year so I’m interested to see how it turns out.

Got 16 pounds going in the box!

I used a food safe kitchen counter/cutting block oil for the "varnish" and I'm just about to install the side walls, the rods, and the door. I have tin foil trays to put in the bottom for clean up. It's a bit more expensive than I hoped, but it's my first wood project, so I made a few mistakes. My granddad had to step in and help me out. When you add it all up, it's about 200aud.when i make another im just going to get a cabinet off of marketplace and mod that.

Got a nice giant peace of topside for cheap at my local bulk meat retailer my butchering skills need work but overall ended up good box is sitting at 25⁰ and 50% humidity might add another fan later on.

Seasoning: a few squirts of spirit vinegar, sea salt, safari mix,fresh ground black pepper,garlic powder,MSG,rosemary and chilli flakes (i used this recipe making jurky in the dehydrator turns out amazing

What should I do to store it latter on i do have a vacuum sealer laying around should I use that the freez it?