savagman

After letting it rest a few days in the fridge, the texture issue seems to be gone. The pieces off on end are rubbery. The rest delicious and ham texture. Overall I give the project a B. For Javelina meat (or game meat ham in general) I give it an A. Changes for next time. - Find a sweeter cure. Maybe a Honey Ham recipe. - Reduce cure time. - Cut pork fat thinner for rolling in roast.

Looks great but the texture is off. I pulled at 145 degrees per directions but noticed after I pulled that the recipe called for additional cooking in the oven at 350 during the glazing step. 145 is not hot enough to melt collagen or melt the fat like I had hoped. I am going to try finishing in the crock pot.

Thinner pieces are dried. I cut died Biltong across the grain as I had seen in most recipes. The goose breast is quite tender but I could see this step being helpful with a traditional jerky cut of meat. I have never made Biltong or goose jerky so I don't have much to compare it to. It is tasty, the coriander adds an exotic flavor that helps set this apart from jerky. It's just NOT jerky. I think I need a couple tastings to wrap my head around that fact. Maybe try in the evening with a cold brew or South African wine.

Two Javelina Hams and Canadian bacon in the smoker

Just kosher salt

Like jerky but air dried. No heat and no smoke.

After a few water changes and fry tests, the ham has the perfect salt level. Finished off with a light rub of brown sugar and pepper. Time to prepare for the smoker. My idea to tackle the challenge of little to no fat in game meat. I kept fat trimmed from a pork shoulder. Kept it in the freezer until I needed it. I placed sheets of fat on the butterflied roast and rolled tightly. Tied with butcher's string and placed a few more fat strips on the roast using the string to keep in place. Next placed the rolled roast into a mesh meat bag purchased from Amazon. Hanging for a few hours to let the surface dry before going into the smoker.

Biltong drying. My Biltong box is a converted commercial food warmer (convection). I added a Bradley smoke generator and rewired the fan to a switch. I can control temperature and turn fan on or off independently. For the biltong, I am just using the fan with the vent wide open.

Sliced a piece off this morning for a fry test. Good flavor but too salty. Probably should have shortened cure time due to thinner pieces of meat having butterflied the hams. Will soak in ice water, change water and test every couple hours until pleasantly salty. Stay tuned

Originally made with African game meat. I am using Goose Breast

Trying something new.... South African Biltong A delicious South African iconic treat you can make at home Course Appetizer, Snack Cuisine South African Prep Time 30 minutes marinating and drying time 4 days Total Time 4 days 30 minutes Servings 8 Calories 213 kcal Author Darlene at International Cuisine Ingredients 2 lbs top rump beef 3 Tablespoons vinegar malt or cider 2 Tablespoons salt coarse 1 teaspoon black pepper ground 1 Tablespoon coriander seeds 1 Tablespoon Brown sugar Instructions In a dry pan toast the coriander seeds. Remove and grind with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Prepare the meat by using a sharp knife and cut into one inch thick pieces along the grain of the meat and place into a glass container. Combine all the spices including the vinegar and rub into the meat. Cover and let the biltong cure overnight in the refrigerator. Remove the meat and pat dry taking care to not remove the seasoning. Put each biltong onto a hook and hang it in a well aired, ventilated space with a fan blowing . Take care not to set the fan right at the meat. Make sure the pieces of the meat are not touching and place paper towels underneath the meat to catch any excess liquid. It will take about four days for the meat to cure. You should not be able to feel any give in the meat when you pinch it, that is the indication it is done. Once cured, you can cut the pieces into bite size pieces and savor the biltong!

Massaging my meat daily.... Another couple days til the smoker.

I tried a venison ham using a packaged kit years ago and thought it was just ok, On the dry side and flavor was just ok. Many of my other cured meat projects have turned out excellent. I had an epiphany recently and am trying something new. This will be a mini series as the project develops. I boned out a hind quarter and trimmed it up a bit. butterflied as needed to accomplish a slab about 1 1/2" to 2" thick. Prepared the brine below and placed in a gallon size ziplock back. It will cure in the fridge for 3-4 days. For the brine: 1 quart warm water 1 cup dark brown sugar 3/4 cup kosher salt, plus salt for the glaze 3 tablespoons Morton Tender Quick 5 bay leaves 2 cinnamon sticks 2 star anises 1 tablespoon black peppercorns 1 tablespoon fennel seeds 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes 1 quart ice water