Our all-time favourite snack — salty, spicy, dried meat — also makes a great garnish for salads, soups and vegetables when finely shaved with a sharp knife. Creative cooks even blend it into pâté to spread on toast. Drying meat and fish was a necessary method of preservation prior to refrigeration.
The concept isn't the sole preserve of Afrikaners, though. An earlier delicacy — tassal meat — was similarly prepared: strips of meat were rubbed with salt and coriander, laid in vinegar for a time, then panfried. In rural communities, black tribes would cut up and dry the flesh of animals that died accidentally or of natural causes (cattle were seldom slaughtered for food).
The Swazi people call it umcweba or umcwayiba. Coriander seeds, formerly brought from Asia, are an essential ingredient in the preparation of good biltong. The name is Greek for bedbugs — nasty goggas that the seeds resemble!
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Cut the meat into strips about 2 cm x 3 cm (3/4-inch x 1 1/4-inches). Roast the coriander seeds in a dry frying pan to bring out the flavour. Crush lightly with a pestle and mortar and mix with the salt and pepper. Sprinkle a little into a glass dish, top with a layer of meat strips, and season once more. Continue this way until meat and seasoning are used up.
Step 2
Refrigerate for a day, mixing every couple of hours so that the meat flavours evenly.
Step 3
Hang up to dry in a suitable spot (high in the garage rafters or behind the fridge where there is some movement of air). Straightened paper clips make handy fasteners!
Step 4
Drying time is about 5 days, depending on the weather, and whether you prefer your biltong crisp or slightly moist.
Leave a Review
Reviews (6)
Back to Toptasty tasty tasty, nice work guys
luke rat
Australia, VIC
7/14/2021
There are dozens of recipes for biltong on the internet, but yours is the ONLY one that does not include vinegar! Did you forget this vital ingredient?
mikemead3@gmail.com
Yuma, AZ
3/4/2020
This is a great recipe for sure. Easy to make and turned out delicious. However, it does take some time, which I don't always have. I found a Biltong website here in the USA that has some of the best biltong & droewors I have ever had! www.Ayoba-Yo.com, they are located in Virginia. Definitely worth a try if you don't want to make your own.
SA-ExPat-InTheUSA
Boston, MA
7/17/2017
Great recipe! Made my own biltong box and used this recipe three times already and got same great results each time! Big thanks to the author!
Anonymous
Santa Barbara, California, previously Cape Town
5/13/2017
This is a really nice and simple recipe. I don't think it is necessary to roast the coriander if you are crushing it - I've tried both and didn't notice much difference. I also recommend either leaving meat to soak in vinegar for 4 - 12 hours then drying before applying spices. Try using ground coriander powder and some sugar (along with the salt and pepper) to get a really good flavor. Finally, I would recommend hanging it to dry somewhere protected from insects. I made a biltong box machine at home which I found on this site: www.biltongblog.com I also tried the dry wors recipe which was very tasty but a little more difficult to make.
Anonymous
Atlanta GA / Plett, South Africa
8/17/2016
This is almost exactly as my relatives and their ancestors from south africa and now in the states have made their biltong for over 100 years.Everyone always looks forward to the tasty treat as it typically still possesses the flavor of the flesh and not the candied up finish we have come to expect from our jerky industry.My relatives however typically dry a 12"x1" slab if you will as opposed to the strips you describe.You then carve a slice as you wish to enjoy it.They also implement the use of a fan and hang it in the attic rafters,utilizing a vinegar and water solution to insure spoiling does not take place,,,Absolutely great for people who enjoy the out doors and look for a protein laiden boost .
jorkvilleyoe
Yorkville,Illinois
10/25/2009
