Biltong is a hugely popular food in South Africa whose history travels back for many years. It has been said that it was the Dutch who first introduced what we now know as biltong in the 17th Century when they brought with them their own recipes and methods of preparing dried meat. The actual word biltong is derived from two words, ‘bill’ meaning rump, and ‘tong’ meaning strip.
African tribesmen, would also carry strips of meat under their horse’s saddles in an attempt to tenderise them, not to mention the fact that the horse sweat would add to the flavour. Voortrekkers (South African pioneers) further evolved biltong since they needed stores of meat that were preserved while they travelled from Cape Town across the country.
The preparation of biltong starts with the meat. Typically made from beef, biltong can also be made from venison, ostrich, chicken, or even fish. Once the meat has then been chosen, it is then marinated in balsamic or cider vinegar for a few hours before being mixed with a blend of spices, rock salt, black pepper, coriander, and brown sugar. As well as this, sometimes saltpetre is added as an extra preservative, especially if the meat is not going to be frozen.
Once fully marinated and prepared, biltong is then dried, which if done using traditional methods will take four days. These traditional methods involve hanging in a cardboard or wooden box and using cold air to dry the meat. Modern methods however take around four hours using electric fan assisted ovens with open doors to release moisture.
Biltong is often compared to beef jerky, as there are some distinct similarities, after all, they are both dried and spiced meat products. This is where the similarities end however since biltong is usually thicker and the salt and vinegar cures the meat combined with drying. Jerky on the other hand, is dried using just salt and pepper.
Biltong can be found in many shops and butchers across South Africa. Available in various guises, biltong can be purchased as stockkies (little sticks), in bags, or as biltong chips, which are finely shredded. Biltong is also available to be bought in wet, moist or dry from specialist biltong suppliers. Great to be eaten as a snack, it can also be used in cooking and is popular as a pizza topping. It has even been used to help teething babies.
Due to the large population of South Africans here in the UK, biltong is now proving to be increasingly popular. For this reason, expatriates are actively seeking to find stockists of biltong in order to enjoy this tasty snack that they loved when living in South Africa. Biltong is both readily and easily available online and can be found at www.sanza.co.uk.
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