The Potting Shed

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

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Strips of homemade beef jerky and a bottle of spiced rum on a wooden table with a bonfire burning in the background.

Bonfire night food and drink: spiced rum, hot sauce and homemade jerky

Bonfire night food should be one-handed and made in advance. Homemade jerky, a bottle of spiced rum and a timing plan that has it all ready by the fifth.

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.

Thin strips of seasoned beef jerky cooling on a wire rack beside a chopping board and a sharp knife.

Jerky without a dehydrator: the oven method that works

How to make beef jerky in an ordinary oven: slicing, seasoning, the tea towel door trick, how to tell when it is done and how to store it.

Thin strips of seasoned beef resting in a marinade dish beside bowls of spices on a rustic wooden table.

Jerky marinades: five flavour directions and how to build your own

Wet marinade or dry rub, what a marinade really does to beef, five flavour directions to try and a simple five-slot formula for building your own.

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.