The Ultimate in Long Life Protein! BIltong!

[Binnie]

[Luci_ferson]

it seems very similar to that stuff americans eat.
beef jerky.

[Binnie]

nah its nothing like beef jerky!

Beef jerky is hot smoked beef, Biltong is cured and dried.

I personally don't like jerky that much, biltong is much more flavoursome!

you can actually dry biltong on a summers day if you cover it with a bit of cloth or something.

[Luci_ferson]

the beef jerky I got brought back from america was in a wrapper, and was just dried cured beef strips.
it was very tough and not very nice, like trying to chew on leather.

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looked like a long wham bar but with a meat strip inside instead of fizzy chew

[Binnie]

yeah i'm not especially keen on Jerky of any variety (though bacon jerky is quite tasty)

Biltong is very different from jerky, for one its a LOT softer and easier to eat, and there is a lot more flavour to biltong.

[Luci_ferson]

bacon jerky actually sounds quite nice, but I can eat cold day old bacon (have done often)

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mmmm bacon

[Scythe13]

Biltong is the SouthAfrican form of beef jerky, but made from zebra (traditionally).

Not my flavour, but very healthy.

[Jonas]

Before drying, jerky is marinaded in various concoctions, some good, some not-so-good, some horrifically bad. I've never tried biltong (zebra or otherwise), but both biltong and jerky are a condensed form of protein.

We have a product, mostly found in Kentucky and Virginia called "country ham". It's a whole ham, pepper and smoke cured, requires no refrigeration, and you can hang it up in your closet or basement where it will last darn near forever. Cooking one is a two-day project of boiling and baking and the meat is chewy and salty. It's an acquired taste and a traditional meal on the first Saturday in May in Kentucky coinciding with the running of the Kentucky Derby. A country ham is expensive here so I have no idea what it would cost in the UK.

Another option is to buy a whole Italian salami or summer sausage, remove the plastic wrapping (but not the casing) and put it in the refrigerator. In a couple of months it will be completely dried and then can be stored in a closet. Wipe the sausages with vinegar to prevent mold, although the mold will form on the casing, not the meat, and will be peeled off before slicing and eating.

[Lightspeed]

Good call re the salami Jonas.

Thank you for sharing that one with us.

LS

[preservefreak]

those country hams sound amazing, wish we could get them here. Nice idea about the salamis, do you wipe with vinegar during the curing in the fridge or when dry?