My first trip to South Africa I was introduced to a couple of local snacks, biltong and droewors. The former is a lightly spiced, sliced dried beef, and the latter a dried beef sausage. The origin of both goes back centuries, first to the indigenous peoples and then with updates in the processes from European settlers, most notably the Dutch. The word “biltong” comes from Dutch, bil (“rump”) and tong (“strip” or “tongue”) as the dried beef is sliced after curing (unlike jerky which is sliced prior to drying), and is ‘served’ in small strips.
Both meats have a variety of spices in their recipes, are surprisingly light on salt, and there is a pronounced taste of coriander, clove and nutmeg. Trust me, this works.
One of the upsides of the miserable years I spent living in Portland, Oregon, was that there was a small Polish butcher shop down the road, and he also had an affinity for these meat treats, and made and sold them in his shop. Then he died, and there was no point in staying in Oregon.
Years later, in one of the very few times I have clicked on an internet ad, I discovered Braaitime, LLC, a New Jersey company that produces these wonders and other sub-Saharan delights in the US, following very traditional recipes and preparation methods.
Within minutes of my click, they had my credit card number and an order was winging its way to me.
And am I ever happy about that, and the product, with my only “mistake” being that I drastically underordered; now I am gonna have to get on some “African meat of the month club” plan or something.
Both the bilton and droewors are fantastic; Braiitime has a lot of other treats, including fresh sausage, spices, and cooking devices.
Highly recommended, both the product and company. Prompt service and shipping.
Biltong (top), Droewors (bottom)
Braaitime South African Foods