Quoting Nancy Backus to Michael Loo <=-
Almost all American cooking is fusion cooking.
I can't think of any culinary technique that is
unique to North America
What about jerky...?
Air dried meat is pretty much universal. Consider African biltong,
Chinese rougan and Italian-Swiss-French bresaola-viande de Grisons-
bresi.
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
Title: Biltong
Categories: Dried, Beef, African
Yield: 1 batch
bottom round of beef
salt
vinegar
black pepper
ground coriander seed
Get some half-inch thick strips of beef (silverside - called London
Broil in the US). Make sure it's cut with the grain. The pieces
should be about 6 inches long. Liberally sprinkle rock-salt on each
side of the pieces of meat and let them stand for an hour. The
longer you let it stand the saltier it will become.
After the hour, scrape off all the excess salt with a knife (don't
soak it in water!). Then get some vinegar - preferably apple-cider
vinegar, but any vinegar will do. Put some vinegar in a bowl and dip
the strips of meat in the vinegar for a second or so - just so that
the meat is covered in the vinegar. Hold the biltong up so that the
excess vinegar drips off.
Then sprinkle ground pepper and ground coriander over the meat on all
sides.
Once you have done this, the meat is ready to dry. There are several
methods of drying. One is to hang it up on a line in a cool place
and have a fan blow on it. This method is a bit difficult because if
the air is humid the meat can spoil. The method I use is a home-made
'Biltong Box'. This is basically a sealed wooden box (you can use
cardboard if you like) with holes in it and a 60 watt lightbulb inside.
Just hang the meat at the top of the box, and leave the lightbulb on
at the bottom. The heat from the lightbulb helps dry the meat (even
in humid weather) in about 3-4 days. Remember, the box must be closed
on all 6 sides except for a few holes. The whole theory behind
this method is that hot dry air rises thus drying the biltong. The
holes are quite important as they promote good air circulation in
the box.
You'll know when the biltong is ready when it is quite hard, but
still a bit moist inside. Of course, some people like it 'wet' and
others like it 'dry'. It's all a matter of taste. Most South
Africans I know like it in between - basically just a bit red inside.
If it has gone green, then the meat has spoiled (i.e. don't eat it).
Variations include the above recipe, but add flavours like
Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce, tabasco sauce, soy sauce, etc.
Just brush these sauces on after applying the vinegar using a
basting brush.
Scott Hazelhurst
MMMMM
Cheers
Jim
... Pork: The other dry meat.
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