Biltong Calculator — Spice, Drying Time & Batch Planner

Spice Calculator

Proven, tested recipes using individual ingredients — scaled live to your batch weight. No premix required. All quantities calibrated from traditional South African methods.

🎛️ Inputs

Fresh Meat Weight

2 kg

Product Type

Include Worcestershire Sauce

Adds umami depth — listed in ingredients if on

📋 Recipe for Biltong

🌀 Droëwors — Meat Prep

Mince through a 13mm plate first. Add spice + vinegar and mix well. Then mince through a 4.5mm or 3mm plate. Fill casings and hang to dry at ≈30°C. Expect up to 50% weight loss when dry.

🔄 Mince Wiele — Special Steps

1. Season mince as per recipe above.
2. Stuff tightly into polony casings (65–75mm diameter).
3. Freeze the loaf solid (overnight minimum).
4. Remove the plastic casing before slicing.
5. A small meat band saw is essential for slicing the frozen loaf cleanly into 20–25mm rings. A knife will not cut through the frozen loaf. If you don't have a band saw, ask your butcher — if you buy your mince from him, he will often slice the loaf for you on his band saw.
6. Critical: Immediately wipe all cut faces (both flat surfaces of each ring) with brown vinegar — this prevents surface mould on the exposed mince.
7. ⚠️ Wiele cannot be hung. Lay rings flat on a wire rack in your biltong box — do not attempt to hang them.

Drying Time Estimator

Based on a 4-phase drying model derived from real biltong box sensor data. Enter your conditions for an estimate with ±20% accuracy.

🎛️ Drying Conditions

Meat Thickness (mm)

25 mm

Cut / Form Type

Ambient Temperature (°C)

22°C

Relative Humidity (%)

55%

Airflow / Fan Setup

Drying Environment

Target Doneness

Hours Already Elapsed (optional)

0 h

Estimated Drying Time

– days

–

📊 4-Phase Drying Model

Stabilising

Active Drying

Near Done

Done

💡 About this model: Phase durations are derived from humidity-delta sensor logging in a real biltong box. The key metric is the absolute humidity delta (inside − outside) — Active Drying is when this peaks; Near Done is when it falls below 60% of peak; Done is when rate of change approaches zero. Your actual result may vary ±20% based on meat fat content, curing, and airflow uniformity.

Batch Planner

Plan your batch economics, expected yield, and ready date. Weight-loss ratios are based on observed results across wet, medium, and dry doneness levels.

🎛️ Batch Details

Fresh Meat Weight (kg)

Price Paid per kg (R)

Target Doneness

Store Biltong Price (R/kg) — for comparison

Batch Start Date

Estimated Drying Days

← Use Drying Time tab to calculate this

💰 Batch Economics

📅 Timeline

Food Safety Checker

Answer these questions about your batch to get a safety assessment. Critical for first-time makers and anyone trying new formats like mince wiele.

❓ Your Batch Conditions

Product Type

Spice applied to all surfaces?

Including coarse salt from the dry spice mix

Vinegar applied to all surfaces?

Creates acidic surface barrier against mould

Cure / Marinate Time (hours)

Meat Thickness at Thickest Point (mm)

Drying Temperature (°C)

Average Humidity During Drying (%)

Cut faces wiped with vinegar? (Wiele only)

Prevents mould on flat sliced surfaces

Refrigerated during curing?

Recommended for ambient temps above 25°C

Safety Assessment

✅

Safe to proceed

📋 Safety Checklist

💡 White mould on biltong: Surface mould on whole muscle biltong is usually Penicillium — wipe off with vinegar-soaked cloth and continue drying. However, mould on mince wiele flat cut faces is more serious — discard if widespread. Always trust your nose: off-smell = discard.