What is biltong? Where to find the best of South Africa's answer to jerky

THE DISH

Biltong, South Africa

PLATE UP

Granted, this is not something you would think of as a full dish. Biltong is more of a snack to most people. However, to zealots such as myself, to people who seek out specialist butchers the world over in the hope of accessing a good stash of South Africa's famous dried, cured meat, biltong is something else entirely. Jerky, take a seat. The king of dried meats is most definitely biltong, which could be made with just about any protein, from beef to ostrich to kudu to springbok to even fish, as long as it's cured with salt and vinegar, plus black pepper and coriander seeds, and a whatever secret spice blend the maker creates. The result is highly addictive, and best consumed alongside cold beer.

FIRST SERVE

Like most of the great dishes of the world, biltong was born of necessity. Back in the 1600s in South Africa, there weren't too many fridge-freezer combos getting around, and the indigenous Khoekhoe people had begun preserving meat by curing it with salt. When Dutch settlers arrived, they added vinegar, pepper and coriander to the process, thus creating the biltong we know today (the word is a portmanteau of the Dutch terms "bille", meaning meat, and "tonghe", meaning tongue or strip).

ORDER THERE

Pretty much every butcher in South Africa makes biltong, and it's all good. If you're in Cape Town, try The Butcher Man (thebutcherman.co.za) in Green Point.

ORDER HERE