I make biltong quite regularly and it always goes down a treat!
Get your meat (especially when there's two for one in your supermarket!) silverside is usually the best. buy the biggest bit you can afford, as the oven will be on all that time anyway , you'd be as well fill it!
Prepare the brine mix.
For a large joint, 2 -3 Kg, use about two packets/tubes of ROCK salt. Do not use any other type (I talk from experience!), a big handful of brown sugar and as much ground coriander seeds as you want, probably more. Ground coriander seed flavour is the authentic mark of SA biltong. Grind some pepper in, until your hands get tired using the pepper mill!
Cut your meat into approx. 2cm width and breadth and as long as the joint is.
Trim all fat and sinew that you can see (this pays big dividends in the long run!).
Chuck it in the brine mix.
Brine for about 45 MINUTES/60 MAX. Forget any recipe that you might google that says 'brine for 3 hours' the result is unpalatably salty (this I also talk from experience - several times!).
Prepare the 'wash'.
In a large bowl add a bottle of red wine vinegar, maybe two. Top up with water if there is not enough. Add seasoning liquids e.g. worcestershire sause; tabasco; liquid smoke etc. This will be your stamp of individualidity, don't skimp!
Wash the salt carefully from the meat in the sink or a running tap, making sure you don't miss any, and then put it into the 'wash', massage in the meat to get the flavours in there.
Make a spice mix (optional but makes it 100% better)
Grind up a handful of black peppercorns and three, yes that's right three handfuls of ground coriander seeds. roll the meat in this mix after you have drained it from the wash. You'll get the idea once you run out of spice mix halfway through doing it how much you actually need! But then again you can now experience the difference between the 'spiced' ones and the plain ones.
Stick a cocktail stick through the very end of it and hang it from an oven shelf located at the highest point you can in the oven. Stick your oven on at the lowest setting and leave the door slightly ajar. Wooden spoons come in handy here!
depending on how you like your biltong drying times will vary. I like mine dry (keeps better and tastes better!) so approx 24 hours. If you like it wet just keep trying little pieces until you like the taste (wet, it tastes more like liver).
Shave VERY thinly and enjoy with an ice cold beer!
PS look out for the biltong mites once you make it!
My house has an unbelievable infestation of them!
Make a load and next morning when you come down half of it's gone!
Enjoy