Traditionally speaking Biltong is a form of dried, cured meat that originated in South Africa. Various types of meat can be used to produce biltong, ranging from beef, game meats to fillets of ostrich for example. It is typically made from raw Beef fillets of meat cut into strips following the grain of the muscle. Flat slices of meat are cut across the grain. It is similar to American beef jerky in that they are both spiced, cured meats. However the typical ingredients, taste and production processes does differ.
How is Biltong Made?
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The history of Biltong.
The word BILTONG is derived from the words "BIL" (BUTTOCK) or meat and 'TONG" or strip. So it is just a strip of meat.
For many centuries mankind has endeavored to preserve there meat. Seafarers, centuries ago, used pickled meat in large wooden caskets and were dependent on this as a food source this during the months they were at sea. No wonder they got scurvy!!
African folklore tells us that migrating African tribesmen, herding their live-stock, would hang strips of venison under the saddles on their horses as the chaffing would tenderize the meat and believe it or not the sweat of the animals would actually spice it!
BILTONG as we know this delicacy today, is a rich inheritance from pioneering South African forefathers who sun dried meat during their trek across the African Subcontinent. The basic spicing is a dramatic blend of vinegar, salt, sugar, coriander and other spices. These were in abundance in the then Cape Colony, as the French Hugenots produced wine and vinegar from their grape crops and the colony was the halfway stop for seafarers plying the spice routes of the East. Various brine recipes and marinades were created and handed down for generations!
Today Biltong and Droëwors (dried South African sausage) is a massive industry and the most sought after delicacies in Southern Africa. Source: The Biltong Story