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Biltong is a South African dried meat made by curing beef in vinegar, salt and spices and then hanging it to air-dry without heat. It comes in moist, medium dry and dry styles, and you can buy it as sticks, slices or pieces. Our family has been making biltong in Perth since 1985 from 100% Australian beef, and we’re happy to share how it’s made, how to tuck into it and how to keep it fresh once the bag’s open.
Picture a summer arvo at a mate’s barbie, with the snags sizzling away and the esky full of cold drinks. Someone from the South African side of the family opens a bag of dark, spiced strips of beef and passes it round. After one savoury, tangy bite, you turn to them and ask what on earth you’ve just eaten.
That’s biltong, a dried beef snack from South Africa made by curing pieces of beef in vinegar, salt and spices, then hanging them up to air-dry until they’re ready to slice and eat. Our family has been making it in Perth since 1985, and these days it all happens at our factory in Malaga. We’ve had plenty of practice answering that exact question.
Biltong is beef that has been cured and then air-dried. Traditional biltong is seasoned with vinegar, salt, coriander and black pepper, which gives it a savoury, slightly tangy flavour that’s quite different to most jerky.
The beef goes in as thick strips or chunks and only gets sliced once it’s dried. Depending on how long it hangs, you end up with anything between a soft, moist centre and a firm, dry bite all the way through. South African families have been tucking into it for generations, and these days it’s easy to get your hands on in Australia too.
Biltong comes from southern Africa, where hanging meat to dry in the open air was a practical way to stop it spoiling long before anyone had a fridge to keep it in. Settlers at the Cape took up and adapted these local methods, adding vinegar and spices such as coriander and pepper, and biltong became a reliable food to pack for long trips inland.
The name comes from Dutch and Afrikaans. “Bil” means rump and “tong” means strip or tongue, so the name is a pretty literal description of the strips of rump meat biltong was traditionally cut from.
For South Africans living in Australia, biltong is a taste of home, and that’s where our own story kicks off. Our founders, Derek and Jo, brought their South African heritage with them when they started making biltong in Perth. If you’d like to go further back, our guide to the history of beef jerky, biltong and droewors digs into the whole story.
At our factory, our team cuts Australian beef by hand into chunks of different thicknesses, depending on which style of biltong we’re making that day. The meat is then cured in our spice blend with salt and vinegar, using a family recipe that hasn’t changed much over the years.
After curing, the biltong is then air-dried using low and slow temperatures to control humidity. That takes anywhere from three to eight days, depending on whether it’s going to end up moist, medium dry or dry. Our master driers keep a close eye on it the whole way through and call it when the texture is right. Then it’s sliced, cut into pieces or left as sticks and packed.
If you’d like to see it happening, our post on how we make our biltong takes you inside the factory.
Biltong and jerky are both air-dried beef, but they’re made in quite different ways. Biltong is cut thick, cured in vinegar and spices and left to air-dry without heat over several days.
Jerky is usually sliced thinner and dried with heat over a matter of hours, which gives it a chewier texture and leaves room for a wider range of marinades. We love both equally (please don’t make us choose). Our post on the difference between biltong and jerky compares the two in more detail, including taste, texture and nutrition.
The biggest thing that changes how biltong eats is how long it’s been left hanging. We make three styles, and each one suits a different kind of snacker.
If you can’t make up your mind, grab a small bag of each and run a side-by-side taste test with your mates at home.
Our Moist Biltong comes in lean or fatty, so you get to pick your team. Fatty biltong keeps more of the natural fat on the meat, which gives it a richer, softer bite, while lean biltong has much less fat running through it.
You can see the difference on the nutrition panel. Per 100g, our fatty Moist Biltong has 11.8g of fat and our lean Moist Biltong has 3.5g, so it comes down to your own taste and what you’re after in a snack.
Biltong is sold in a few different cuts, and the choice mostly comes down to how you like to eat it. Sticks, which South Africans call “stokkies”, are long lengths you can hold and gnaw on, so they’re handy in the car or on a bushwalk.
Sliced biltong is easy to share and looks the part on a platter, while bite-size or chunky pieces are perfect for grabbing a handful at your desk. If you like a bit of crunch, our Snap Sticks are thin strips of Australian beef that are air-dried over several days, and they come in Traditional and Chilli.
There’s no prep involved with biltong, and most of the time it goes straight from the bag to your mouth. It’s a handy one for lunchboxes, gym bags, FIFO swings and long drives, because it travels well and doesn’t need cooking.
It’s also a favourite on grazing boards, and our South African grazing platter post shows you how to put together a lekker one (lekker being South African for great). You can also chop it through salads, scrambled eggs or pasta. Our recipe ideas for cooking with biltong and jerky have plenty more ways to use it up, if it lasts that long.
Sealed packs of our biltong keep their freshness, flavour and texture for up to six months, and every pack is date-stamped. Check the use-by date before you tear it open. Once the bag is open, the right storage depends on the style.
Whatever style you’ve got, keep it out of direct sunlight and away from heat and moisture, so leaving it on the dashboard of a hot car is a no-go. Our storage and shelf-life guide has more detail on freezing and thawing.
Derek and Jo started D.Jays as a family business in Perth in 1985, and in 1999 we moved into our purpose-built, HACCP-accredited factory in Malaga. We do everything in-house there, and our biltong is made from 100% premium grade Australian beef.
Over 40 years on, we’re still family owned and operated, and biltong is still at the heart of what we make, right alongside our droewors and jerky.
Biltong is beef that’s been cured in vinegar, salt and spices and air-dried slowly, the way South Africans have made it for generations. It’s a snack we’re proud to keep making in Perth. You can browse our full biltong range online, or grab our Biltong & Droewors Pack if you’d like to taste biltong and droewors side by side next time the barbie’s fired up.
Our biltong is simply Australian beef, with vinegar, salt and spices. Some styles also include pepper or chilli, and our Moist and Medium Dry Biltong list preservatives, so check each product page or pack for the full ingredient list.
Nope, biltong isn’t cooked with heat. It’s cured in vinegar, salt and spices and then air-dried over several days, which is the traditional South African way of making it.
Traditional biltong tastes savoury and meaty, with a slight tang from the vinegar and a warm spice from the coriander and black pepper. Our Mild Pepper and Chilli styles add a bit more kick.
Biltong is made from whole pieces of beef, while droewors is a thin sausage made from ground beef and spices in a natural casing. Both are cured and air-dried, and our guide on what droewors is explains more.
Sealed packs of our biltong last up to six months, so check the date stamp on the pack. Once opened, keep moist and medium dry biltong in the fridge and eat it within a day or two, and keep dry biltong at room temperature in a container with some airflow.
Arron Zamel has been General Manager of DJays Gourmet since 2015 and under his expert leadership, the company has cemented its reputation as Australia’s leading supplier of packaged jerky and biltong.
His strong family connection to South Africa, his marketing and management degree from Monash University, his technical expertise plus his experience as a successful entrepreneur and import/export business owner made him the ideal candidate for the challenging position.
Additionally, Arron’s innovative approach to management, his proven brand-building credentials, his strong customer focus and youthful energy have ensured that DJays Gourmet’s high-quality biltong and jerky have become Australia's dried meat treats of choice.
He understands traditional South African flavours and the precision techniques required to create truly authentic biltong, jerky and droewors (dried sausage). Part of his job is overseeing operations at DJays' purpose-built facility in Perth, WA where tons of Australian beef goes into making premium dried meat products each month for distribution to retail and wholesale customers across Australia.
For more insights into Arron’s world, visit the DJays Gourmet website, check out their Facebook page or follow them on Instagram @djaysgourmet.