Chilli bites are cut small and dried hard, so the spice hits immediately. Cutting across the grain here — unlike with sticks — gives that crumbly, snappy texture you get from a good roadside farm stall.
Peri-Peri Chilli Bites
Small cubes of beef cured with chilli, garlic and peri-peri, dried hard for a proper fiery snack.
- Prep
- 25 minutes
- Drying
- 2-3 days
- Total
- 3 days
- Yield
- About 700 g of bites
Ingredients
Meat
- 2 kg beef topside, cut into 2 cm cubes
- 45 ml coarse rock salt
Chilli cure
- 125 ml brown spirit vinegar
- 30 ml crushed dried chilli flakes
- 15 ml peri-peri powder
- 15 ml garlic powder
- 30 ml cracked coriander seed
- 10 ml cracked black pepper
Method
- 1
Cube the topside into even 2 cm pieces so they dry at the same rate.
- 2
Salt the cubes and stand for 45 minutes, then shake off the excess.
- 3
Toss the cubes in vinegar until evenly coated, then drain.
- 4
Mix all the dry spices and toss the cubes through until every face is coated.
- 5
Spread on drying racks in a single layer, or hang in a mesh basket.
- 6
Dry at 28-30 C for 2-3 days, shaking the rack daily, until hard right through.
Tips from the box
- • Add 10 ml brown sugar to the spice mix if you want the heat rounded off.
- • Bites dry much faster than sticks — check from the end of day 2.
Frequently asked questions
Why cut chilli bites across the grain?
Cutting across the grain shortens the muscle fibres, giving the crumbly snap that bites are known for, instead of the chewy pull of a biltong stick.
How hot is this recipe?
Medium-hot. Halve the peri-peri powder for a milder batch, or double the chilli flakes if you want it fierce.