South Africa: rainbows and deserts

Biltong

Biltong (no English translation!) is something you either grow up with and can barely live without, or you feel about it like most Westerners feel about the Japanese habit of eating "raw fish" in the form of sushi. Biltong is meat cured with a special mix of spices, then dried for anything from two to three weeks. It is sliced, or powdered, and normally eaten as it is. It tastes extremely good on a slice of bread with butter, or in the powdered form on savoury snacks.

Biltong was traditionally made in winter, when it is not so hot and the meat could hang in a cool, dry and dark place until dry enough. Only the best cuts of meat would be used for the biltong.

During the winter months, the custom was to slaughter a pig, a cow, and also some sheep. Three kinds of meat and fat would be mixed to prepare the tasty boerewors, another speciality of which each family had their own "secret" recipe. Choice cuts would be sent as gifts to nearby neighbours and friends, who would return the favour a week or so later.

Biltong was made and then carefully packed away in clean cloth bags, to be enjoyed in the summer months - if it would last that long! Some lengths of the prepared wors (boerewors can't really be translated as "sausage", because it just is not the same thing) would also be dried and eaten as a snack. It was not necessary to cure the wors before drying, because the meat used to make it would already have all kinds of spices in it.

It would take about two to three weeks for the biltong to dry, depending on the thickness of the cut. Some people like their biltong a little bit soft, with a touch of redness in the centre. Others prefer it completely dry and brittle.

Biltong is made from all kinds of meat - ostrich provides a biltong that is stringy, and tastes best when completely dry. Springbok, kudu, and several of the other gazelles found in the country could also be used for biltong.

Here are three recipes for beef biltong - the first one comes from my grandmother, who grew up on a farm and brought her own three children up on a farm in the province of the Orange Free State. The other one is from a lady who is a name to be reckoned with in South African cooking circles, and the last one is from a Reader's Digest. So, you decide! The Reader's Digest recipe will also tell you exactly how to hang and take care of the biltong. I'm not going to repeat it for every one of the other recipes.

Biltong (Ouma Annatjie)

This mix is enough to cure the biltong cut from a whole cow.

3 pounds of salt
1/2 pound brown sugar
4 ounces saltpetre
2 ounces bicarbonate of soda
(See below how to prepare and use the mix)

Biltong - Welma du Plessis (her mother made this before her, in the early 1940s)

6 pounds (3 kg) fine salt
1 packet (25g / 1 ounce) bicarbonate of soda
1/2 pound (500g) brown sugar
1/2 cup (125 ml) ground coriander, lightly scorched (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon (12,5 ml) pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons (18 ml) saltpetre
As a variation, this recipe tells you to dip biltong in cold coffee (not instant), then to wipe down, before hanging to dry.

Biltong, the Reader's Digest* way
Preparing a South African speciality.

There are seemingly endless theories as to how biltong is best prepared, and at what stage of dryness it should be eaten. When making biltong, choose good cuts of meat, and make a substantial quantity.

The usual preparation time is three days, and the biltong should be hung until dry.

The following are the ingredients needed to yield 4,25 kg (about 9 pounds) of biltong:

10 kg meat (game, beef or ostrich)
625 ml (2 1/2 cups) brown vinegar
75g brown sugar
8 ml (1 3/4 teaspoons) ground saltpetre
8 ml (1 3/4 teaspoons) bicarbonate of soda
10 ml (2 teaspoons) pepper
45 ml (3 tablespoons) whole coriander seeds
275g (1 cup) salt

Cut the meat into suitably-sized strips (along the length of the meat) and rub thoroughly with vinegar, ensuring that all the meat is coated.
Next, mix the sugar, saltpetre, bicarbonate of soda, and pepper, then set aside. Roast the coriander in a pan over a medium heat, remove and mince (or pound in a mortar) until fine. Combine with the sugar mixture.
Place the thicker biltong strips at the bottom of an enamel container, cover with a layer of salt and then a layer of the spice mixture. Repeat the layers until the thin strips are on top, and add a final dressing of salt. Leave for 12 hours.
Remove the thinner strips at the top and dip them quickly in hot water.
Dry the strips very well (using paper towels or a clean cloth), then hang on S-shaped wire hooks. Take care to hang the pieces of biltong well apart so that air can circulate between them.
After another 12 hours, remove the medium-sized biltong, treat exactly as before, and hang.
After 36 hours, the thick portions may be removed, treated and hung.
The drying time depends on factors such as temperature, air circulation and personal preference.
For serving, cut the biltong into thin slices, and serve as a snack, or eat in sandwiches.

*How to do just about anything, page 33; printed 1989 by The Reader's Digest Association South Africa, 130 Strand Street, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa

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