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Biltong

Name: Biltong
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: International
Ingredients: 1.5 kg beef silverside or topside, cut with the grain into 2-3 cm thick strips; 150 ml red wine vinegar; 45 g coarse salt; 4 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted and roughly crushed; 1 tbsp black pepper, coarsely ground; 1 tbsp brown sugar, optional

South Africa’s air-dried beef: vinegar-cured, crusted in toasted coriander, hung for days. Patience, airflow and the best snack you can make.

prep: 30 min
cook: 0 min
total: 30 min
serves: 10
level: medium

Biltong is not jerky, as any South African will explain at length: thicker cuts, a vinegar cure instead of cooking, air instead of heat, and toasted coriander seed as the defining spice. The result is dense, tender and deeply savory.

All it asks is airflow and days. A purpose-built biltong box is a modest buy or an easy build (a ventilated box, a low bulb, a fan), and it turns the process into set-and-wait.

Biltong is one of the world's classic dishes from 67 countries.

method

Toast the coriander seeds in a dry pan until fragrant and crush them roughly.
Toss the beef strips with the vinegar and let them sit 30 minutes, turning once.
Drain, then rub all over with the salt, coriander, pepper and sugar.
Cure in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours, then pat dry; some wipe with a splash more vinegar for insurance.
Hang the strips on hooks in a biltong box or a ventilated space with a fan, not touching each other.
Dry for 4 to 6 days: firm and dark outside with a rosy, slightly yielding center, or longer for fully dry. Slice thin across the grain to serve.

chef's tips

Toasted coriander is the taste of biltong; without it you made salty dried beef.
Vinegar plus salt is the traditional safety system; airflow is the drying system. Respect both.
Wetter or drier is personal doctrine in South Africa; slice a test piece daily until it is yours.