Tag: South African Biltong

If you ever had the pleasure of trying Biltong (dried meat), you will know how tasty this South African delicacy is.

South African Biltong is traditionally made from lean beef with salt, spices and vinegar. The name of the recipe comes from the Dutch word Bil, which means buttock of an animal, and Tong, which means the tongue.

If you are looking forward to making this South African delicacy in your kitchen, this guide is here to help.

Choosing the Meat

Traditionally, in South Africa, wild game is used to make Biltong. This can be Kudu, Springbok, or Ostrich. The main factors to consider when choosing the meat are its quality and the right piece.

It would be best if you can hang rump steak. The meat is tender and tastes excellent as steak.

In fact, selecting the right Biltong meat is simple. The meat should be lean, tender and easy to hang. You do not necessarily have to use high-quality rump steak to prepare this dish. The faux-filet or topside of a beef joint will also taste exceptionally good, depending on the quality of the meat.

Ingredients: Basic recipe for original South African Biltong

• 3 kg lean easy to hang beef
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Coriander seeds
• Fresh garlic
• Sugar
• Sausage string
• Vinegar (malt vinegar or white wine vinegar)

Step 1

First, rinse the rump steak in cold water and trim away any fat from the meat. (leave the fat on if you want fatty biltong.

Step 2

Cut the meat lengthwise across the fibre in 2 cm thick slices using a sharp knife. The width of the beef pieces should be at least 5 cm.

Step 3

Lightly toast some coriander seeds in a pan. This will enhance the flavour of the meat. Then roughly crush them in a mortar.

Step 4

The spice mix should include 30-gram salt, one tablespoon coriander seeds, 1/3 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, one crushed garlic clove, along with 50 ml vinegar.

You may add a little bit of chilli, which is optional. You can also use pepperoncino flakes to add flavour to the dish.

Step 5

Pour some vinegar over the meat and mix them well using your hands. Then sprinkle the spice mix over it and give it a mix again.

You can place the bowl covered with foil directly into the fridge, or you can shrink-wrap it. The benefit of shrink-wrapping is that you can knead the meat in the bag as many times as you need. This will ensure the spice mix penetrates deep inside the meat.

Step 6

After 24 hours, hang the marinated meat, evenly distributed, in a Biltong box. Close the box and turn on the lamp.

After around three days, the thinner pieces will be ready. The thicker slices will take up to 4 days to be ready.

It would be best to keep the Biltong hanging up in a cold room. It is not advised to keep the Biltong in the refrigerator. If it is kept hanging in a dry and well-ventilated place, you can store it for a couple of months.

Mufasa Biltong is your one-stop destination for all sorts of dried meat that you can buy at an affordable price. Please pay a visit to the website to learn more. www.mufasabiltong.com.au or visit any of Mufasa Biltong outlets around Perth.

Biltong is one of the most popular and tasty dried and cured meat made and enjoyed by South Africans and other people worldwide. This dried and treated meat is in high demand due to its taste but is very healthy and nutritious compared to the available snacks in the market like chips, chocolates, and oily fast food. People can even eat South African biltong in Australia at the reputed restaurants, and several websites offer biltong and other dried food to the Aussies.

What does The Nutritional Value Biltong provide?

It is one of the best sources of protein. 100 grams of biltong contains 60 grams of protein, high among all the dried and cured meat available. It contains a very low amount of carbohydrates. Unlike the other snacks you get from the market, biltong does not contain any carcinogenic ingredients that might cause several health issues later.

Where Biltong Originate From?

Though biltong is a South African food made from dried beef and game meat, it is found in various parts of the globe. The word “biltong” is derived from two different words- “Bil”, which means buttock, and “tong”, which means strip. Hence, biltong means a long strip of dried and cured meat. This item is very popular in South Africa, and this delicacy is inherited from the ancestors who used dried meat during the expeditions. Biltong has a great interesting history, and it is also having a great future along with ‘droewors’ and caters for the requirement of both the local and international tourists.

Why Does Biltong Generally Not Rot?

Think that you are buying your favourite snack after knowing that it will never expire. Well, it is experienced by all the biltong lovers globally. This is cured and dried in such a manner that prevents contamination and so biltong can never become bad. The meat is mixed with various indigenous spices like salt, sugar, coriander seeds and vinegar. However, it does not mean that you will buy biltong now and think it will last for more than five years from now. Though the meat will not spoil, the longer you will leave, the faster the flavour and freshness will get hampered.

When Biltong Is Will Be Ready To Be Consumed?

If you are making your biltong or are drying the already cured biltong, you will not understand when it is ready to eat. The drying time of this item depends upon the style and type of biltong being prepared. For example, wet biltong gets ready to be consumed faster than the dried South African biltong in Australia. The standard biltong varieties are soft from the centre and dryer on the outer margin. You should dry biltong for 4-5 days before the day when you plan to consume.

How the Biltong Different From Jerky

Many tourists who travel across the globe think that biltong and jerky are similar items, but they are not. They are different in the way they are made and in the overall nutritional value. Biltong is cured and dried with spices and with the help of vinegar, but jerky is made by traditional drying.

Do you want to buy the best quality biltong in Australia? You can place orders from Mufasa Biltong, one of the trusted providers of dried and cured meat.