Biltong

The history of biltong goes back to the Dutch Voortrekkers travelling from the Cape inland into Southern Africa from 1836. They needed food to sustain themselves on the long trips and realised that the only way to preserve meat, was to salt it and hang it out to dry.

Biltong is a South African recipe of typically Beef, rock salt, pepper, coarsely ground coriander seeds and vinegar. The meat is then air-dried in a unique drying room or a home dehydrator and then hand picked before being sliced ready to enjoy. You can enjoy it as a healthy snack or grated on top of your favourite soup or in a salad. There are so many ways to enjoy it. Which ever way you choose it is really delicious. I was first introduced to Biltong many years ago and still is my favourite snacks today. I’m so lucky to have family connections to South Africa and have been to visit this amazing country many of times.

Red meat is an essential part of the human diet. It is an incredibly efficient source of a number of important proteins, amino-acids and vitamins.

Biltong is made using prime cuts of beef the best cut is silverside. Biltong is typically sold as long fillets of meat or more commonly as flat pieces cut across the grain of the meat that are in a ready to snack pack. It has a very distinctive taste following its lengthy preparation procedure and has therefore become a traditional South African delicacy enjoyed by many now across the world.

However, biltong can also be made using other types of meat besides beef. Chicken, game, ostrich and fish have all been used to make biltong. Biltong can even be made without meat. Mushroom biltong provides a nice vegetarian option that has a similar texture and look to it traditional beef variety.

Basic Biltong recipe..

• 2 kg meat (Silverside or Topside)

• 100 ml brown sugar

• 30 ml coarse Rock salt

• 125ml crushed coriander seeds

• 125 ml red wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp cracked black pepper