How Is Biltong Made? The Step-by-Step

Biltong looks harder to make than it is. The recipe hasn't really changed in about 400 years: beef, vinegar, salt, coriander, and a lot of patient air. No special gear. No secret trick. The whole thing comes down to good meat and the willingness to wait. Rush it and you get something else entirely.

Here's how it actually comes together, step by step.

How is biltong made, step by step?

The whole process breaks into three stages. Here's the short version before we dig into each one:

1. Preparation & curing. Pick a dense, fat-rich cut, slice it thick along the grain, and submerge it in brown malt vinegar and salt for 24 to 48 hours.

2. Spicing & hanging. Press dry-roasted coriander and black pepper onto the strips, then hang them separately in cool, moving air at 60–70°F.

3. Slow air-drying. Let the strips dry for 4 to 7 days until firm but still pliable, the slow way that beats a dehydrator on texture.

That's the whole method. The detail is in how you handle each stage.

Stage 1: How do you prepare and cure the beef?

Topside and Silverside are the traditional cuts. Both carry enough fat to dry evenly and enough density to hold their shape across days hanging on hooks. If those names sound foreign, that's because they're South African and British. In the U.S., they're sold as Top Round and Bottom Round. Same muscle, different label.

The strips are cut thick. Just over an inch, sliced with the grain. Jerky does the opposite: thin slices cut across the grain before any drying starts. Biltong stays in full pieces the whole time. Nothing gets cut down until the drying is finished.

Then comes the soak. The strips sit in an acidic bath, usually brown malt vinegar, though cider vinegar works too, for 24 to 48 hours. Salt goes in at this stage. And unlike jerky, no sugar goes in at all.

Stage 2: How do you spice and hang the strips?

Biltong lives and dies by coriander seed. The whole seed gets dry-roasted in a pan, crushed, and pressed firmly onto the meat. Black pepper goes on next. That spice coat stays put through the entire dry, firming up as moisture leaves the meat.

Some recipes add brown sugar here. Do that and you drift toward jerky territory: sweeter, stickier, a different snack altogether. At Brooklyn Biltong, sugar never makes the cut.

Once spiced, the thick ends go on hooks. The pieces hang in a cool space with air moving around them, a low-speed fan running nearby, the temperature held between 60°F and 70°F. Each piece hangs separately so air reaches every surface. Simple setup. The work is in the waiting.

Stage 3: Why does biltong air-dry instead of going in a dehydrator?

A dehydrator can finish the job in 24 to 72 hours. Traditional hanging takes 4 to 7 days. So why bother with the slow version? Texture. Speed up the dry and the outside hardens before the inside catches up, leaving you with a tough shell around a softer core. Let it hang slowly and the moisture leaves evenly, edge to center.

Plenty of U.S. makers run dehydrators and still print "biltong" on the bag. The texture gives them away.

Anyone who's tried both can tell the difference on the first bite. Properly air-dried biltong bends along the grain. It doesn't shatter or crumble. And that texture isn't an accident, it's the payoff for letting the meat take the time it needs.

What are the best beef cuts for biltong?

Topside and silverside are the traditional cuts. Both have enough fat to dry evenly and enough density to hold their shape while hanging on hooks for days. If those names sound unfamiliar, that's because they are South African and British terms. In the U.S., they are sold as top round and bottom round. Same muscle, different label.

The strips are cut thickjust over an inchsliced with the grain. Jerky is the opposite: thin slices cut across the grain before any drying starts. Biltong stays in large pieces the entire time. Nothing gets sliced down until the drying process is finished.

Ready to taste the difference slow-drying makes?

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