People in many countries enjoy jerky and biltong. Traditional recipes for these dried meats use the sun to dry the meat before being stored in airtight containers. Today, most people heat or cool the heart before it is dried. This helps prevent illnesses that come from bacteria that grow when food spoils, but it also changes the taste of biltong and beef jerky.

Biltong is made by taking thin strips of beef (traditionally a more brutal cut like sirloin steak), placing them in a dry marinade, and curing them for several hours or even days. Once the meat strips have been thoroughly dry-cured, they are hung up on lines in a cool, dry place (the fridge would work fine), and then every few days, they are spiced up and turned over until completely dehydrated and ready to eat.

Biltong has been around for centuries, originating from the Dutch-speaking people in South Africa who used ingredients that were available to them at the time – salt and vinegar. These days different spices are used depending on the region of South Africa, and sometimes clove is included in the marinade, which gives a unique flavor. Biltong is usually made with beef or game meat, but it can also be made with ostrich or other red meats such as kudu. Any red meat will work well with this recipe. 

People can buy traditional dried buffalo meat in several countries around Africa. Dried beef is also famous in some places. It comes as thin slices of beef called biltong. People usually eat this without cooking it first because they like its chewy texture and robust flavor.

Dried meats are often eaten with porridge, a cereal made by boiling grains in water or milk. This is because it takes a long time to find fresh meat when you live in places where there are few trees. People can dry their remaining beef after they have eaten all the soft parts. They spread the biltong on flat rocks and leave it outside to dry in the sun for about 30 days.

If people don’t have much time, they use special drying machines instead of the sun to make biltong. If they want to eat traditional African food, tourists often visit markets near game parks to buy dried games like kudu, impala, and buffalo. Some game meat isn’t good for eating because it has too much fat or is challenging. But this kind of meat is perfect for making dried meat.

Biltong is very popular in South Africa today. In the past, only affluent families could buy it because they could afford to give their servants enough money to make a big batch of biltong. But now everyone can buy it at shops and grocery stores in most towns.