Biltong as we know this delicacy today, is a rich inheritance from pioneering South African forefathers who sun dried meat during their trek across the African Subcontinent.
The basic spicing is a dramatic blend of vinegar, salt, sugar, coriander and other spices. These were in abundance in the then Cape Colony, as the French Huguenots produced wine and vinegar from their grape crops and the colony was the halfway stop for seafarers plying the spice routes of the East. Various brine recipes and marinades were created and handed down for generations
 Ingredients: 2 kg lean beef or game (deer, dove, elk) 125 gram rock salt (Any coarse salt will do. The coarser the better) 25 ml brown sugar. 5 ml bicarbonate of soda. 2.5 ml coarsely ground black pepper. 12.5 gram coarsely ground coriander seeds. 200 ml vinegar mixed with 50ml Worcestershire sauce. 1 liter warm water | Directions: Cut meat into strips of approximately 1cm thick. Mix together all dry ingredients. Rub dry spice mixture into the meat. Layer meat in bowl with the thicker pieces at the bottom, sprinkling a little vinegar mixture over each layer. Leave in cool place for 24 hours. Remove meat, strain the vinegar mix and add a liter of warm water to the mix. Dip the meat into the vinegar/water mix and rub off any salt and spices that still cling. Squeeze meat dry with hands or dry with paper towel. Skewer meat and hang. |