Biltong is air-dried, spiced meat from South Africa. Thick strips of beef are cured in vinegar and salt, coated in toasted coriander and black pepper, then hung in cool moving air for several days. Unlike jerky, it is never cooked.

Is biltong the same as beef jerky?

No. Jerky is cooked at high heat and usually contains sugar and additives. Biltong is cured with vinegar and salt and air-dried without any heat, so it keeps its natural texture and typically has more protein and no sugar.

What is biltong made of?

Traditional biltong has five ingredients: beef, coarse salt, brown vinegar, toasted coriander seeds, and black pepper. No sugar, nitrates, or artificial preservatives.

What Is Biltong? (And Why Most of What You're Buying Isn't Really It)

Most of what you’ll find in UK retailers isn’t really biltong. It’s beef jerky wearing a biltong costume.

You’ll spot it in Express shops, Sainsbury’s, the usual suspects. It’s fine if you don’t know better. But once you’ve had the real thing, you can’t unsee it. The texture is wrong. The spice is flat. The drying process has clearly been rushed to hit a shelf-life target.

The actual good stuff? That’s coming from independent makers, mostly South Africans who’ve brought the craft over and aren’t cutting corners on drying time or spice ratios. Those makers get it right. The retail chains are chasing margin, not flavour.

I grew up eating biltong in South Africa. I have been making it in the UK for years. Kured Food is where I share what I make and what I learn.

So. What actually is biltong?

The basics

Biltong is air-dried, spiced meat. The word comes from Dutch: bil (rump) and tong (strip). It originated in South Africa centuries before fridges or preservatives existed. Salt, vinegar and dry air were the only tools available, and they worked.

The process is simple: marinate thick strips of beef in vinegar and spices, hang them in moving air for several days, and let time do the work. No heat. No smoke. No shortcuts.

Why it’s not beef jerky

This is the question I get most often, and it matters.

Jerky is cooked, either smoked or oven-dried at high heat. That process breaks down the meat fibres and drives off most of the flavour, so manufacturers compensate with sugar, soy sauce and a long list of preservatives. The texture goes flat and chewy.

Biltong is never cooked. It’s cured with vinegar and salt, then cold air-dried. The meat keeps its natural structure and fat marbling, which is why a proper slice cuts clean and has depth of flavour that jerky just doesn’t.

The macros are different too. A 25g serving of biltong typically has 15 to 17g of protein and almost zero carbs. The same amount of jerky usually gives you 10 to 12g of protein with 5 to 8g of added sugar. If you want the full side-by-side, I have written a proper biltong vs jerky comparison.

What goes into it

Classic biltong has almost nothing in it, which is the point:

Beef. Silverside, topside or rump. The cut matters more than most people realise. Here’s which cut of beef makes the best biltong.
Coarse salt. Draws out moisture and starts the cure.
Brown vinegar. Tenderises the meat and acts as a natural preservative.
Coriander seeds. Toasted and cracked. This is the non-negotiable one. If it doesn’t smell of coriander, something’s off.
Black pepper. Coarsely ground.

That’s it. Some recipes add garlic, chilli, or worcestershire sauce, but those are variations on a foundation. No nitrates. No stabilisers. No ingredient list that requires a chemistry degree.

Wet vs dry

Once you start eating biltong regularly, you’ll develop a preference. I eat it at every stage of drying. Here’s the difference:

Wet biltong comes off the dryer early. It still has give when you press it, the centre is dark pink, and the texture is closer to a very dense steak than anything you’d call a snack. Best flavour, but it only lasts a few days at room temperature.

Dry biltong stays on longer. It is firm all the way through, deep brown and snaps cleanly. It has concentrated flavour and a longer shelf life. This is what most retailers sell, when they bother making it properly.

Most people start on dry because that’s what’s available, then try wet and wonder why they waited so long.

Is it actually healthy?

For most people, genuinely yes:

15 to 17g protein per 25g serving
Low carb, often zero sugar
Minimal processing
No artificial preservatives in quality biltong
Good source of iron, zinc, and B12

The one caveat is sodium. Curing uses salt and biltong has a fair amount of it. Worth knowing if you’re eating a lot of it, but for most people it’s one of the cleanest snacks you can buy. There’s an honest breakdown of the nutrition here.

Where to start

If you’ve never had biltong, start with a classic recipe. No heat, no distractions. Just beef, coriander, salt and vinegar done properly. Once you have that as your reference point, everything else makes sense as a variation on something you already understand.

If you want to go further down the rabbit hole, I will keep documenting different cuts, spice ratios, home drying and humidity control here.

Kured Food is where I document making biltong in the UK, testing recipes and learning what changes from batch to batch. Follow the Field Guide for future notes.