Biltong
|
|
Biltong is South African dried meat (mainly beef or game) marinated with rock salt, coarse black pepper, coarse ground coriander, and vinegar and then dried. Biltong can be made in long strips with the grain of the muscle, or flat pieces cut across the grain.
It is similar to the Inca's charki (or jerky), but biltong arose from wagon trekkers whose only way to preserve meat in a covered wagon was to dry it.
At present, biltong can be bought in Southern Africa in grocery stores in a form of tasty finger-wide stripes intended for slow chewing. Its popularity is slowly spreading, and it's now available from specialist meat suppliers in many other countries, notably the UK.
The word is derived from Dutch "bil" - rump, and "tong" - tongue.