Gourt Home::Gourt :: Biltong
Biltong, derived from the Dutch bil ("rump") and tong ("strip"), is a South African dried meat (mainly beef or game) typically made from fillets of choice meat cut into strips following the grain of the muscle, or more commonly flat pieces sliced across the grain.
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).
Preparation
The meat is marinated with rock salt, coarse black pepper, coarse ground coriander, and vinegar and then air-dried. It is typically dried out in the cold night air (rural settings), dry boxes (urban) or refrigerated chill rooms (commercial). Due to its distinctive taste and lengthy preparation procedure, biltong has become a delicacy and is enjoyed as a savoury snack at social gatherings. Depending on the spices used, a variety of flavours may be produced.
Retail
Biltong is a common product of Southern African butcheries and grocery stores, and can be bought in the form of finger-wide strips intended for slow chewing or in packets of biltong chips. There are also specialised stores that retail biltong. Its popularity is slowly spreading, and it is now available in many other countries, notably the United Kingdom which has a large South African population.
See also
Foods similar to biltong include:
"Biltong"