How Biltong Is Made: 400 Years of Method, Dried for Days

Quick answer: Biltong is made by dipping whole-muscle beef in a vinegar cure, seasoning it with salt, toasted coriander, and black pepper, and hanging it in cool moving air for 4–7 days until it loses about half its weight. No heat is ever used — that's the entire secret.

(Looking for the basics first? What is biltong, explained →)

The name is literal (and personal)

Biltong comes from Afrikaans, rooted in Dutch: bil (rump) + tong (strip/tongue). "Rump strip." The settlers were not poets.

My surname is Tong. Calvern Tong. When your family name is literally half the word, starting a biltong company stops being a business idea and starts being a prophecy. That story here.

Where the method comes from

The method is older than the name. Southern Africa's indigenous Khoikhoi were preserving meat — cut into strips, salted, air-dried — long before Europeans arrived. When Dutch settlers established the Cape supply station in 1652, they added vinegar (the Cape's new vineyards supplied it in abundance) and spices carried in on the trade routes: coriander, pepper, cloves.

Then came the part every South African knows by heart. During the Great Trek of the 1830s and 1840s, the wagon-travelling Voortrekkers needed food that could cross the veld without refrigeration. They'd slaughter cattle — or game like kudu — before a trek and hang biltong in cloth bags from their ox-wagons; the dry interior air kept it perfect for the journey. Survival engineering that accidentally produced one of the world's great foods. The method hasn't meaningfully changed in 400 years because it never needed to.

The process, step by step

1. Cut thick, with the grain. Whole muscle only — traditionally silverside or topside, never ground, never re-formed. How you cut the meat determines everything downstream: thick pieces dry slowly and stay tender inside.
2. The vinegar dip. This is the food-safety engine — traditionally brown vinegar. It drops the surface pH so bacteria can't establish; it also tenderizes and adds biltong's signature tang.
3. The spice bed. Coarse salt (moisture out), coriander seeds toasted in a dry pan and cracked in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder (the soul of the flavor), coarse black pepper. Traditional recipes stop there. So do we.
4. Hang in moving air. Cool, dry, constant airflow and low humidity — a slow river of air doing what an oven never could. Heat cooks; air concentrates.
5. Wait 4–7 days. The meat loses roughly half its weight and doubles its personality. When it yields to a squeeze just so, it's ready. Drying time is judgment, not timers.

Making biltong at home: biltong box, dehydrator, or patience

Every South African expat eventually attempts homemade biltong. The guide is short.

• Biltong box — a DIY setup with a ventilated cabinet, a small fan for gentle airflow, and hooks. The classic biltong maker.
• Food dehydrator — works only if it runs fan-only with no heat. Warm settings just make thick jerky.
• The cure — salt and vinegar (some add a splash of worcestershire; old-timers swear a dusting of bicarb keeps the surface friendly), toasted coriander, then days of hanging.

Two warnings from everyone who's tried: case hardening (air too hot or too fast seals the outside while the middle stays wet) and impatience, which has ruined more batches than bacteria ever has. A proper biltong slicer is the reward at the end.

Or skip the fortnight of hovering: the best biltong you'll taste this week is already made and a delivery away.

Why no ovens, ever

Cooking sets proteins hard — that's why jerky (dried at ~160°F) chews like a tekkie. Raw air-drying keeps the muscle tender, which is why good biltong slices like dry-aged steak. The full biltong-vs-jerky breakdown →

Is it safe without cooking?

Yes — same logic as prosciutto and salami, and it's been validated in the lab. Peer-reviewed food-safety research shows the vinegar-cure-and-air-dry process achieves a greater-than-5-log reduction of pathogens like E. coli O157:H7 and Listeria — the same bar the USDA sets for commercial dried beef. Acid + salt + airflow is a preservation system four centuries older than your refrigerator, with the track record to match.

What two pounds becomes

Every pound of finished biltong began as roughly two pounds of beef. That's why it costs more than jerky and why every bite tastes like concentrated steak: you're eating the flavor of twice the meat.

Taste the method

We slang ours exactly this way — grass-fed, hand-delivered free within 5 miles of downtown Austin ($6 across the rest of the metro). Try The Classic → · Monthly office delivery →

FAQ

How is biltong made, step by step? Whole-muscle beef is dipped in a vinegar cure, seasoned with salt, toasted coriander, and black pepper, and hung in cool, moving air for four to seven days until it loses about half its weight. No heat is used at any stage.

How is biltong made in South Africa? Exactly this way — the traditional South African method is the vinegar cure, coriander spice bed, and days of air-drying, done in home biltong boxes, butchery drying rooms, and everywhere in between. Beef is standard; game like kudu is prized.

Is biltong raw? Technically it's cured, not raw and not cooked — like prosciutto. The vinegar and salt cure transforms and protects the meat, and air-drying finishes it. It's shelf-stable and validated to USDA-FSIS food-safety standards without any heat.

Why isn't biltong cooked? Cooking sets proteins hard and makes meat tough. Air-drying the beef raw keeps the muscle tender, which is why good biltong slices like dry-aged steak instead of chewing like jerky.

How long does biltong take to make? Four to seven days of air-drying, depending on how thick the cut is and how firm you want the finished piece. It's judged by feel, not a timer.

Why does biltong cost more than jerky? It loses about half its weight while drying, so every pound of finished biltong started as roughly two pounds of beef. You're paying for that concentration.