By Donwynne and Amy Bergh
Biltong is not cooked, but it is not raw meat either. It is cured in vinegar and salt, then air-dried until most of the moisture has gone. That's a traditional way of preserving meat, and it's how biltong has been made in South Africa for a very long time.
How is biltong made?
The short version is: beef, a vinegar and spice cure, then time in dry air.
The longer version, for ours, is this. We start with 100% pasture-fed British beef. It is marinated overnight in apple cider vinegar and our own spice blend, then air-dried for about a week, then rested. After that it's sliced and packed. Our recipes are made in the UK by our specialist production partner, to our recipe and our spice specifications.
There's a plainer introduction in What is biltong?, and the ingredients are in What's in our biltong.
If it isn't cooked, why isn't it raw meat?
"Raw meat" usually means fresh meat that hasn't been preserved or cooked, which is why it belongs in the fridge and needs cooking. Biltong starts as fresh beef, then two things happen.
First, it is cured. Salt and vinegar draw out moisture and make the surface a poor place for the bacteria that spoil fresh meat. Vinegar has long been used in biltong for that reason, as well as for flavour. Second, it is air-dried slowly, so most of the remaining water leaves the meat. What's left is a stable, ready-to-eat product, which is why you can keep an unopened pack in the cupboard.
It is still meat, and it should be handled like any other ready-to-eat food: check the best-before date, store it properly, and use your senses if something seems off.
Is shop-bought biltong safe to eat?
Commercially packed biltong is made to be eaten as it comes, straight from the pack, if it has been stored as the label says and is within its best-before date. Ours is packed for sale in the UK, with the date printed on every pack.
Keep unopened packs in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight. They store at room temperature, so they don't need the fridge. Once you've opened a pack, eat it within 24 hours, though in our experience an open pack rarely lasts that long.
If a pack is damaged, swollen, or smells unpleasant, don't eat it. Just give us a shout at hello@inyamabiltong.co.uk and we'll help.
Can you eat biltong when pregnant?
The NHS doesn't mention biltong by name. It does say cold cured meats such as salami, pepperoni, chorizo and prosciutto should be cooked until steaming hot before eating in pregnancy, because of a small risk of toxoplasmosis and listeria. Biltong is a cold cured meat, so the safest thing is to speak to your midwife or GP before eating it. We've written a longer note in Can you eat biltong when pregnant?.
How is this different from jerky?
Jerky is usually sliced thin and dried with heat, and often has a sweeter marinade. Biltong is cured in vinegar and spice, then air-dried in thicker pieces, without being cooked. There's a fuller comparison in Biltong vs jerky.
What goes into Inyama biltong?
Our Original is 100% pasture-fed British beef, apple cider vinegar, and a spice blend of coriander, sea salt, black pepper, garlic and onion, with potassium sorbate as a preservative. Our Original Beef Sticks use the same ingredients. All our beef comes from Farm Wilder farms across South West England.
Want to try it?
Start with Original Biltong (6-pack £24.99, 12-pack £44.99), or try everything with The Whole Herd mixed 6-pack for £24.99. Delivery is free from £65.