If you are South African, you understand the obsession that we have with biltong. We often don't think of the people that provide us with this wonderful service of preparing biltong. In South Africa we have some dedicated butchers who give us the best biltong in the world. I would like to take a peek at the type of biltong equipment that is used to make this delicious treat.

To make biltong, well quality biltong, there is certain biltong equipment that you will need. Once you have decided on the meat that you will use to make your biltong, you should trim the fat and season the meat. When the preparation of the meat is complete you need to find a Buy Biltong making machine or a biltong cabinet (as it is known in the industry). This is a truly innovative piece of biltong equipment. It is a stainless steel box which has a small door, a clear window (in most models) and a digital temperature display. Internally it has galvanised hanging rods, an extraction fan for drying purposes, a heater to cure the meat and an ultra-violet lamp to ensure antibacterial product protection. This is certainly an admirable innovation but how do these facets relate to the making of biltong?

The stainless steel material and the ultraviolet lamp have the most important function which is hygiene. Bacteria will not survive in this machine while your biltong is being prepared. The glass window allows you to view the curing process without opening the door and compromising the ideal environment within the biltong making machine. The digital temperature display allows you to control the fan and the heat inside the biltong machine. The fan allows for maximum air changes and uniform drying within the biltong cabinet.

Once you have the basic understanding of how the biltong making machine works, you can insert your meat, set the heat and fans for about 24 hours to 10 days for a dry cure. The duration of the curing process depends on personal preferences as some people prefer moist biltong while others prefer it quite dry.

Before you can sit down and enjoy your biltong, one of my favourite biltong inventions is the biltong slicer. It is a small nifty machine that can be mounted to a surface and has cutting discs on the inside. This modest product can slice up your biltong to bite size pieces very quickly.

Biltong machines are essential to the biltong making process especially if you want to ensure a hygienic and standardised process. Lucky for us, our butchers understand this process all too well.