Biltong Batch 5

8.2 KG Silverside Irish Beef — Gourmet Experts €216.61

## Main notes

- Need to increase wash by 30%
- Temperature of meat affects how long the wash is useable due to the fat & myoglobin mixing.
- Finer the spice grind, the more you need, I would prefer to increase the seasoning volume by 40%
- The meat remained spiced in the fridge for 2 evenings, given that its functionally a dry brine, I should actually weight sections before placing in the fridge next time.

## Wash ingredients

- 70 g Worcestershire sauce (adjusted from 99.4 g - used available amount)
- 27.8 g red-wine vinegar
- 22.5 g apple-cider vinegar
- 26.5 g condimento blanco
- 21.2 g black-malt vinegar

Calculated spices for fifth batch (as actually used)

- 110.5 g salt (-10% from base)
- 13.9 g black pepper
- 47.3 g coriander (coarse-ground)
- 9–10 star-anise pods
- 54 g garam masala (4 g original + 50 g supplement for tandoori shortage)
- 50 g tandoori masala (reduced from 107.4 g - used available amount)
- 50 g direct-from-India masala (new addition)
- 5 chipotle + 3 guajillo chilies
- 80 g piment d'Espelette (French chili powder - substituted for cayenne)
- 15 g cayenne pepper powder (omitted - forgot to purchase)

### Batch 5 Substitution Notes:

**Worcestershire**: Used 70g instead of calculated 99.4g

**Tandoori masala**: Limited to 50g available, compensated with extra garam masala

**Garam masala**: Increased to 54g total (original 4g + 50g supplement)

**Chili powder**: Switched to 80g piment d'Espelette (French) instead of 15g cayenne

**Weight**: Actual silverside was 8.2kg with larger loins resulting in fewer individual sections

## Core deets

- Start date | 18.07.2025 — 11 h 00
- Hook weight | 13 g
- Actual silverside weight | 8.2 kg
- Pieces | 21 (hook 10 is missing)
- Total net weight | 8,214 g
- Expected dried yield | ≈ 3,697 g (45% of net)

## Estimated Cost

Inspired by professional estimation practices, here is a line-item breakdown of your project costs. Prices are estimated based on typical [German supermarket prices][1].

| Item                        | Quantity | Estimated Cost | Notes                            |
| --------------------------- | -------- | -------------- | -------------------------------- |
| Silverside Irish Beef       | 8.2 kg   | €216.61        | Source: [Gourmet Experts][3]     |
| Worcestershire sauce        | 70 g     | €1.20          | Estimated from 150g bottle       |
| Red-wine vinegar            | 27.8 g   | €0.30          | Estimated from 500ml bottle      |
| Apple-cider vinegar         | 22.5 g   | €0.20          | Based on supermarket prices [2]  |
| Condimento blanco           | 26.5 g   | €0.20          | Cheapest white condiment vinegar |
| Black-malt vinegar          | 21.2 g   | €0.30          | Chinese black vinegar estimate   |
| Salt                        | 110.5 g  | €0.20          | Estimated from 500g pack         |
| Black pepper                | 13.9 g   | €0.60          | Estimated from 50g container     |
| Coriander (coarse-ground)   | 47.3 g   | €2.40          | Estimated from 50g container     |
| Star-anise pods             | 9-10     | €1.00          | Estimated from 20g bag           |
| Garam masala                | 54 g     | €1.60          | Estimated from 100g bag          |
| Tandoori masala             | 50 g     | €1.50          | Estimated from 100g bag          |
| Direct-from-India masala    | 50 g     | €2.00          | Specialty item estimate          |
| Chipotle + guajillo chilies | 5 + 3    | €3.00          | Dried chilies estimate           |
| Piment d'Espelette          | 80 g     | €9.60          | AOP specialty item estimate      |
| **Total Estimated Cost**    |          | **€240.71**    |                                  |

Piece characteristics: Larger individual loins resulted in fewer but bigger sections compared to previous batches.

| Index | Gross (g) | Net (g) | Expected 45% (g) | Actual (g) |
| ----- | --------- | ------- | ---------------- | ---------- |
| 1     | 310       | 297     | 133.7            |            |
| 2     | 558       | 545     | 245.3            |            |
| 3     | 567       | 554     | 249.3            |            |
| 4     | 395       | 382     | 171.9            |            |
| 5     | 786       | 773     | 348.0            |            |
| 6     | 555       | 542     | 243.9            |            |
| 7     | 702       | 689     | 310.1            |            |
| 8     | 942       | 929     | 418.1            |            |
| 9     | 524       | 511     | 229.9            |            |
| 11    | 393       | 380     | 171.0            |            |
| 12    | 436       | 423     | 190.4            |            |
| 13    | 550       | 537     | 241.7            |            |
| 14    | 471       | 458     | 206.1            |            |
| 15    | 479       | 466     | 209.7            |            |
| 16    | 219       | 206     | 92.7             |            |
| 17    | 133       | 120     | 54.0             |            |
| 18    | 160       | 147     | 66.2             |            |
| 19    | 91        | 78      | 35.1             |            |
| 20    | 96        | 83      | 37.4             |            |
| 21    | 107       | 94      | 42.3             |            |

Net weight = Gross – 13 g hook
Expected dried weight = Net × 0.45 (55% loss)

### Batch-5 notes

- Largest piece: Item 8 (929 g net)
- Smallest piece: Item 19 (78 g net)
- Average piece weight: 410.7 g net
- Projected drying window: ≈ 13–15 days, based on 4.21% average daily loss observed in Batch 2.

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### References

[1]: https://www.globalprice.info/en/?p=germany/berlin-supermarket-prices 'Supermarket Prices in Berlin, Germany'
[2]: https://www.nanuko.de/epages/79558993.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/79558993/Categories/ZUTATEN/OeLESSIGMIRIN/ESSIG 'Nanuko.de - Japanese and Korean Food Online Shop'
[3]: https://gourmet-experts.example.com 'Gourmet Experts (placeholder)'