What Is Biltong? South Africa's Air-Dried Beef, Explained
Biltong is whole-muscle beef cured in vinegar and spices, then air-dried for days — never cooked. Born in South Africa 400 years ago, this dried meat snack is tender like dry-aged steak, with 0g sugar and serious, protein-packed nutrition. Americans usually meet it and ask the same three questions: what is it, is it raw, and why isn't it jerky. Here are the answers.
What is biltong?
Biltong is a South African dried meat snack made by curing whole-muscle beef in vinegar and salt, seasoning it with toasted coriander, and hanging it in moving air for days until roughly half its weight in water has gone. No oven touches it at any point. The name is literal Afrikaans — bil (rump) plus tong (strip) — and the method predates refrigeration by centuries. On an American shelf the same thing is often labelled air-dried beef, because most US shoppers have not met the word yet. The full etymology and the history are in what biltong means and where the word comes from.
What is biltong made of?
Beef, vinegar, salt, toasted coriander seeds, fennel, black pepper. Time. That's the entire spice mix — protein-packed, 0g sugar, naturally keto and paleo. Nothing a grandpa wouldn't recognize. What each spice is actually doing is broken down in biltong seasoning, and the macros in full are in is biltong keto, paleo, carnivore?
How is biltong made?
Whole-muscle cuts of meat — traditionally silverside — are dipped in a vinegar cure (a marinade in reverse: it preserves instead of sweetens), seasoned with salt and toasted coriander, and hung in cool moving air for days — no ovens, ever. In southern Africa the same curing process turns game meat like kudu and ostrich into traditional biltong; the method began as a way to preserve meat long before refrigeration. The full step-by-step, plus the Khoikhoi-to-Voortrekker history: How Biltong Is Made → · Which cut to use: the best cut of beef for biltong · The full taxonomy: types of biltong.
Is biltong raw? Is it cooked?
Biltong is never cooked — but it isn't raw either. Whole-muscle beef takes a vinegar-and-salt cure, then hangs in moving air for days until it's ready. The cure drops the surface pH and pulls moisture, and days of airflow finish the job — the same preservation logic behind prosciutto, salami, and every great cured meat. Peer-reviewed research meeting the USDA-FSIS standard confirms the process achieves a 5-log pathogen reduction with no heat step. Four centuries of South Africans got there first.
What do Americans call biltong?
Mostly, they call it jerky — and then get corrected by a South African. There is no real American equivalent. The closest cousins are air-dried European charcuterie like bresaola, not the sweet, heat-cooked meat in the jerky aisle. If you need a shorthand: it's air-dried beef. The point-by-point comparison lives here: Biltong vs Jerky →
What does biltong taste like?
Deep, concentrated beef flavour with a sharp vinegar edge and toasted coriander — closer to dry-aged steak than to anything in the jerky aisle. Tender, not tough. Dangerous in the "where did the whole bag go" sense. The flavour broken down in order, and how moisture changes it: what does biltong taste like · wet vs dry biltong.
Is biltong a snack?
Yes — biltong is South Africa's national meat snack, eaten by the handful at rugby matches, on road trips, and everywhere in between. As a dried meat snack it's shelf-stable and portable, and the flavour is concentrated enough that a small bag counts as a serious snack, not a sad one. It's the South African staple America is only now discovering. How it stacks up against the rest of the aisle: high-protein beef snacks, compared.
Where does the beef come from?
Grass-fed beef — and we're working toward beef worth bragging about. Billi Tong's is searching for a local, sustainable and regenerative Texas ranch partner; nothing is signed yet, and when it is, you'll see their name on this site. We won't claim the word before we've earned it. Why grass-fed matters more in biltong → · Ranchers, start here →
Why is biltong expensive?
Because roughly half of it evaporates. Biltong loses about half its weight in water while it dries, so a pound of finished biltong started as about two pounds of beef — you are buying concentrated steak by weight, not a marked-up snack. The rest of the arithmetic, including lean cuts and days of drying space, is in why biltong is so expensive.
Where can I buy biltong in Austin?
Not quite yet — Batch One is still drying. When Billi Tong's launches, it will be hand-delivered free within 5 miles of downtown Austin by Calvern Tong himself (yes, that's his real surname — the whole story is worth 60 seconds), $6 elsewhere in the Austin metro, $8 flat to the rest of the USA, free over $99. Until then the only way in early is a numbered Founding 50 spot — $100 for a first-batch founder box, full refund if we never launch. More on biltong in Austin →
How do I store biltong?
Cool and dry, out of the fridge, in a breathable bag. Eat within two weeks of opening — a rule nobody has ever needed. Full guide: How to Store Biltong →
Keep reading
The sausage cousin: what is droëwors? → · Why biltong has no sugar → · Why was biltong illegal in the US? → · Is biltong gluten-free? → · What's actually in the cure → · The best biltong brands in the US →
More questions? FAQ · cal@btbiltong.com