Biltong

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Biltong is a South African dried meat (mainly beef, game, chicken or ostrich) typically made from raw fillets of meat cut into strips following the grain of the muscle, or flat pieces sliced across the grain. It is similar to beef jerky in that they are both spiced dried meats, but differs in typical ingredients, taste, and production process. The word biltong is from the Dutch bil ("rump") and tong ("strip" or "tongue").^[1]

1 Origins
2 Preparation
3 Retail
4 See also
5 Notes and references

[edit] Origins

Biltong arose from wagon-travelling Voortrekkers whose only way to preserve meat was to dry it. This provided a sustainable source of food as the Cape Dutch settlers migrated the Great Trek from the Cape Colony (Cape Town) into the interior of South Africa (Pretoria).

[edit] Preparation

The meat is marinated with rock salt, coarse black pepper, coarse ground coriander, a little saltpeter to improve the colour and vinegar and is then air-dried. It is typically dried out in the cold night air (rural settings), dry boxes (urban) or refrigerated chill rooms (commercial). Depending on the spices used, a variety of flavours may be produced.

[edit] Retail

Biltong is a common product of Southern African butcheries and grocery stores, and can be bought in the form of finger-wide strips or in packets of biltong chips. There are also specialised stores that retail biltong. Its popularity has spread to many other countries, notably the United Kingdom, which has a large South African population, and the United States, where it is FDA approved.