Biltong is South African dried meat marinated to a traditional recipe of rock salt, pepper, coarsely ground coriander and vinegar. The meat is then air-dried before being ready for consumption.
Biltong is made using beef or game meat such as kudu, impala or ostrich. Biltong is typically sold as long fillets of meat or more commonly as flat pieces cut across the grain of the meat. It has a very distinctive taste following its lengthy preparation procedure and has therefore become a traditional South African delicacy enjoy by many as a social snack enjoyed at many sporting events or at home watching a sporting event.
The history of biltong goes back to the Dutch Voortrekkers travelling from the Cape inland into South Africa. They needed food to sustain themselves and realised that the only way to preserve meat, was to hang it out to dry.
Today, Biltong can be bought from most grocery stores and butcheries throughout SA. For those in the UK, biltong is available from South African shops such as the Cruga store in Milton Keynes or Cruga Biltong on-line store.