Texas Biltong: Where to Find It, and Why Texas Suits It
Published UpdatedTexas biltong is easiest to buy online direct from a US producer, with South African import shops, specialty grocers and warehouse clubs as the in-person options. Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth have established South African communities and the shops that come with them; Austin and San Antonio lean online.
Every biltong sold legally in Texas is produced in the United States. That's the import rule, and it shapes everything below.
Texas has more opinions about beef than any state has a right to, and almost all of them are about heat. Smoke it low, sear it hot, or dehydrate it with sugar and call it jerky. Biltong goes the other direction entirely: no heat, no smoke, no sugar — vinegar, salt, coriander, fennel, black pepper, and moving air for days.
Where to buy Texas biltong
Four realistic routes, and they trade freshness against convenience:
- Direct from a US producer online. Best traceability and usually the freshest, because it ships when you order rather than sitting in a distribution chain. You can ask when it was dried and get a real answer. Our first choice if it isn't us: Lowfeld Soul Food, South African-run and made to order, shipped within days.
- South African import shops. Concentrated around Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth. They stock the full South African grocery list, and many carry biltong produced domestically. What they can't stock is biltong imported from South Africa, because that's prohibited.
- Specialty and natural grocers. Increasingly carry one or two of the national air-dried brands in the meat snack set, usually next to the jerky.
- Warehouse clubs. Costco and similar carry biltong regionally in large bags. Availability moves around by region and by season, so don't plan a trip around it.
If you're in the capital specifically, we go deeper on the local options in biltong in Austin, TX and the best biltong in Austin.
Biltong by Texas city
| City | What the scene looks like | Best route |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | Strong specialty grocery and local food culture, no large South African community. Direct-to-door is the strongest option. | Online direct |
| Houston | Established South African expat community with dedicated shops. Angus Biltong operates in Spring, north of the city. | Import shops, online |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | Also home to a long-standing South African community, with import grocers serving it across the metroplex. | Import shops, online |
| San Antonio | Thinner specialty retail for this category. Warehouse clubs and shipping do the work. | Online direct, clubs |
The pattern holds across the state: where there's a South African community there are shops, and where there isn't, there's shipping. Texas is big enough that shipping's the only thing that covers all of it.
Why Texas suits biltong, and why August does not
Texas is a beef state with an enormous cattle industry, which makes it exactly the kind of place that understands biltong — and it's the reason I'm glad to be selling it here rather than somewhere that argues about lettuce. Biltong is whole-muscle beef and nothing else does the work for it — no sugar, no smoke and no marinade to hide behind, so the cut and the animal show up in the finished product. A state that already argues about beef quality is a good home for a product that can't disguise it.
The climate's a different story. Biltong is air-dried, which needs steadily moving air and moderate humidity over several days. South Africa's Highveld does this naturally — Texas doesn't.
The Gulf Coast's humid enough that meat left hanging in July would spoil before it dried, and inland summer heat pushes the surface too fast, sealing the outside while the middle stays wet. That's why nobody in Texas is air-drying beef on a porch in August, and why serious production happens in a controlled drying room where airflow, temperature and humidity are actually held steady.
The full process is in how biltong is made, if you want the mechanics rather than the geography.
Texas does jerky. Biltong is the other thing.
The confusion's worth clearing up, because it drives most purchase mistakes. Jerky is typically marinated, often sweetened, and cooked or dehydrated with heat, then sliced thin. Biltong is cured in vinegar and salt, spiced, hung whole, air-dried for days without heat, and sliced afterward.
Different texture, different flavor, no sugar. We put them side by side in biltong vs jerky.
The practical difference for a Texas buyer: jerky's sweetness comes from the marinade, so a jerky that tastes of beef is doing well. With biltong there's nowhere for the beef to hide.
What to check on a Texas biltong label
- Vinegar in the ingredients. No vinegar means it isn't biltong, whatever the bag says.
- No sugar near the top of the ingredient list. Sweetened air-dried beef is jerky wearing a different name.
- Whole muscle, not ground and formed. Ground meat sticks are a separate product entirely.
- A stated dry time. Days, not hours. A producer who won't tell you is telling you something.
- Grass-fed, if that matters to you. It should be stated plainly rather than implied by a photograph of a field.
Getting biltong in Texas to your door
Ours is whole-muscle beef, air-dried for days, from an Austin brand craft-made in South Carolina. When the store opens, it ships from our South Carolina kitchen — $15 flat anywhere in the USA, free over $250.
Austin, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio all fall under the flat USA-wide rate, so the whole state's covered at one price — and so is the rest of the country. The Classic is where to start, and Hill Country Heat if you want some argument in it.
FAQ
Where can I buy biltong in Texas?
Biltong in Texas is available online direct from US producers, at South African import shops concentrated in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth areas, at some specialty grocers in the meat snack aisle, and regionally at warehouse clubs. Online direct is the only route that covers the whole state reliably.
Where can I buy biltong in Dallas?
Biltong in Dallas is available at the South African import grocers serving the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, which stock domestically produced biltong alongside imported pantry goods, and online direct from US producers, who ship to Dallas at a flat USA-wide rate. Warehouse clubs in the area carry it regionally, with availability that rotates.
Is biltong made in Texas?
Yes, biltong is produced in Texas and across the United States. All biltong sold legally in America is domestically produced, because importing it from South Africa is prohibited. Production requires a controlled drying room rather than open-air drying, given Texas humidity and summer heat.
Why can't you air-dry beef outdoors in Texas?
Texas humidity and heat make open-air drying unsafe. Air-drying beef needs several days of steadily moving air at moderate humidity. Gulf Coast humidity slows moisture loss enough to risk spoilage, and inland summer heat dries the surface too quickly while the interior stays wet.
Do Houston and Dallas have South African food shops?
Yes. Both metros have established South African communities and the import grocers that serve them, stocking South African pantry goods and domestically produced biltong. Angus Biltong operates in Spring, north of Houston. Austin and San Antonio have thinner specialty retail for this category.
What is the difference between Texas jerky and biltong?
Jerky is marinated, frequently sweetened, and dried with heat, then sliced thin. Biltong is cured in vinegar and salt, spiced, and air-dried whole for days without heat before slicing. Biltong contains no sugar and has a softer, denser texture than most Texas jerky.
Straight talk: the store isn't open yet and nothing's shipped anywhere in Texas or beyond. The only thing you can buy today is the $100 Founding 50 first-batch box — 50 numbered spots, full refund if it never launches — and questions go to cal@btbiltong.com.
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