The Potting Shed

Guides, gift ideas and honest answers from the people who hand-pack every kit.

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Strips of dark homemade biltong in an open glass storage jar on a wooden board with coriander seeds and cracked black pepper.
How to store biltong: keeping it dry, safe and chewy
Airtight, cool and properly dry: how to store homemade biltong so it keeps for a fortnight, how to tell when it is dry enough, and what to do if it goes damp.
A cured pork belly and strips of drying beef on a wire rack in a cool kitchen setting.
Meat curing at home: the food safety basics every beginner should know
Fresh meat, exact cure quantities, constant refrigeration and cooking bacon through. What curing does, where nitrites fit in, and how dried meats differ.
Cracked coriander seed, black pepper and salt in small bowls beside strips of spiced beef drying on a rack.
The biltong spice blend: coriander, vinegar and the South African method
What goes into a biltong spice blend, why coriander and vinegar matter so much, and how to season and dry a batch of lean beef properly.
Strips of spiced biltong hanging to dry above a tray, with coriander seeds and cracked pepper on a wooden board below.
Biltong drying time: how to tell when it is ready
About three hours at 80°C after marinating, but the bend test beats the clock. How to judge doneness, what changes the timing and how to store it.
Biltong vs jerky comparison with homemade biltong and beef jerky strips side by side
Biltong vs Jerky: What's Actually the Difference?
The real difference between biltong and jerky: origin, cut, marinade, drying and texture compared fairly, plus which one you should make at home first.
Homemade biltong strips made without a biltong box using the Sandy Leaf Farm Biltong Making Kit
Do You Need a Biltong Box? An Honest Answer for Home Biltong Makers
What a biltong box does, when one is worth buying or building, and how to make proper biltong at home in a couple of hours with no box at all.
Homemade biltong strips seasoned with coriander and black pepper from a biltong making kit
What Is Biltong? South Africa's Great Dried Beef, Explained
What biltong is, where it comes from, how vinegar and coriander make it unique, how it differs from jerky and how to make your own batch at home.
Homemade biltong strips made with a biltong making kit, seasoned with coriander and black pepper
Biltong Making Kits: Authentic South African Biltong at Home
Where biltong comes from, how it differs from jerky, and how a biltong making kit turns 500g of lean beef into proper biltong in your own oven.

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