This is what I call Jerky where i come from....biltong maker

So few weeks back i was in the truck with my new Canadian and we passed a house that had put out for garbage a broken wine fridge /cooler. I spotted it and said there is the perfect biltong box ( in American....Jerky Making box ).

Well he could not believe we could just pick it up so i had to show him the ropes.
Well following weekend we got to work on it in the shop.

Finished it up last weekend.

We first took the fan tray out, then hauled rear inside cover off, removed the compressor and its cooling fins and all the wine racks.

Now we dismantled the fan tray repurposed the three fans it came with, they were all still working, so was compressor but we don't need that.
Then cut a hole in the top rear wall to suit the one 5×5 fan, cut a hole through the rear bottom wall wide enough to mount the two 3x3 fans which we used a piece of off cut stainless pressed mesh i had kicking about from bbq repair to support them.

Make up a wood and acylic box for the repuposed power supply which again was still working even had molex connectors that fitted on the fans.

Did a touch up spray job on one side. Then a quick run to the HD for some copper 1/2 tubing and few T pieces and we had rods for hanging jerky.

Made sure to install screens on inlet and outlet and voila a biltong maker.

Here are the pics to prove it.



Dont know why my pic are rotated they not on my device

Nice, looks tasty too!

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That's a cool conversion and it's already in production! You guys don't waste any time standing around admiring your work!

More useful than it was before!

Very nice. Does the meat dry strictly by ambient air circulation, or is a heat source of some kind involved?

No heat Ted just gentle air circulation. Too much and it forms a hard case on outside. The fans in this cooler were absolutely perfect for the process.

I found Jerky like this made from deer meat in Pittsburg once. Being sold in a off the beaten track hardware store from a jar.
Never seen it again, guess all the modern day so called health regs have killed off things like this, but man its tasty.

The stuff sold in plastic packets at convenience stores is pure junk to me.

Nothing like "real" biltong . Wet with juicy fat. Great with a few Castles.
The jerky that is advertised your side looks like old bits of streaky bacon.
Does not look nice.