What to Look for in a good quality biltong

Biltong as a product is not very standardized, Some is. Dry some is wet, some is salty and some spicy. No two batches are made the same. The weather will affect the quality of the biltong. Humidity, damp dry weather will all have an impact on the quality

It is with this in mind it is important that you are careful when choosing your biltong. Now in the UK it is very easy to buy biltong online. There are many online shops that will send you. Biltong by post. While this is very convenient and saves time on money, you no longer have the chance to see for your self what the quality of the meat that you buy is like. The meat is sold either sliced or in sticks and there are things to look for when you receive your meat that will tell you the Quality of the biltong.

The first thing that you. Should be looking at is the color of the biltong, there should be a dark outer layer and a dark reddish inner core, if the biltong is all black then there is a chance that the meat has been sitting for a while and is dry. Although some like it dry, it generally looses a lot of the flavor when it goes dry and becomes quite tough. Most of the people that I know quite like a soft slightly moist biltong, personally I like mine very moist ... Almost "raw". Ideally it should be somewhere in the middle, a little hard on the outside and soft and a bit juicy in the center, having it sliced or whole is a personal preference really

Another very important thing to ask is how the meat is dried, different methods will bring different results, the closer to a natural drying process the better the taste, biltong should take about 4 days to dry, if left to do so naturally, it is common in the uk to use some assistance to help with the process as it is often damp and a little cold for the drying process to work well

Another very important component of biltong is the fat, the fat should ideally be almost translucent and slightly darker kind of yellowish in color.. This is always a sign of good quality biltong, the color of the fat will also indicate the cut of meat. Top side or silverside are the best cut for biltong but any type of meat can be used. In South Africa and Zimbabwe a lot of Game meat is used and this can also make for some really good biltong. generally in this country though this is not the case, it is better that you stick with the tradition beef.
If you are inclined to buy biltong that is flavored with other extra spices then it is a good idea to find out at what stage is the spice (such as peri peri ) is added this make a big difference to the final taste of the biltong. If it is added during the marination the taste tends to be stronger.

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