I am so excited.
You know how there are extreme sports? The ones where you’re risking your life making jumps down a rocky, snowy hill and such?
Well I’m about to initiate myself into what I call extreme cooking. Dangerous, adrenaline-inducing, hazardous, risky–and I’m taking you on my journey, like it or not.
Look what came in the mail for me!
Biltong seasoning.
It came from a store called “The African Hut,” and their customer service rep has a lovely South African accent. Which is just as it should be, since this seasoning is going to be an intrinsic part of a South African treat.
My brother-in-law Mike is from South Africa, and his dad has been making biltong for years. I tasted it while on a road trip with Mike and Heidi, and promptly helped devour a whole bagful of it.
Think beef jerky, but a little different. Smaller pieces, incredible flavor. And homemade.
Are you scared yet?
Yes. I will be purchasing raw meat, slicing it up, seasoning it, and drying it out.
As long as I don’t give myself food poisoning, everything will be fine and dandy. And since I regularly submit myself to the risk of salmonella due to my unfettered love of cookie dough, cake dough, and any kind of dough (amen), my body is used to the danger.
As soon as I make a successful batch, I’ll post the instructions for y’all . . . probably followed by a million disclaimers. Such as 1) Prepare this at your own risk 2) Some government agency probably says something about the risks of cured meat 3) Please don’t get sick 4) Please don’t make this or consume it if you have a funny feeling in your big toe 5) It’s not my fault 6) Nothing is my fault.
The plan is to use the Biltong seasoning, and also to try and create my own seasoning. Because I understand that not everyone wants to drop $50 to buy a seasoning to make a potentially risky meat snack that they may not even like. I’ll include a thorough comparison of the two results.
Hold onto your hats, folks. And if you stop by our apartment unannounced, please be prepared for a potentially frightening vision–little strips of animal flesh hanging up everywhere.
View Comments (22)
that looks wonderful, it may be that my coworker has just come back to her desk with a pot of very flagrant tea, but I feel like I smell this spice. I'm excited to see what you do with it
How exciting for you. I love biltong and don't like jerky much. I think the coriander is the secret to the taste.
Are you going to use a dehydrator. I love jerky and I bet the biltong is going to be awesome.
Have fun!
You renegade! I am so excited to see your jerky experiment!
Ooh! How interesting. I am most excited to see how it goes!!
I've been making homemade beef jerky for a couple of years now... and (knock on wood) we haven't gotten sick yet. I loooooove my dehydrator!
Hmm...now that we have a basement that is quite dry maybe i can forage into this wondrous world myself....Or just demand that you send me large quantities of your batch.
Let the adventure begin Jenna.
Wow this is so cool! I've never heard of this spice. Can't wait to see how this turns out!
just wanted to post with my new cool picture. hee hee.
Hmmmm . . . I can't see your picture. Maybe you need to look into the gravatar thing. And on a side note for any readers--
MY SISTER HAS A BLOG! =)=)=)