Indiana Biltong Original

Indiana Biltong Original: the South African way with dried beef

Indiana Biltong Original is beef cured the biltong way, marinated in vinegar instead of smoked, then air-dried in thick pieces until dense and properly meaty. If your only reference point is beef jerky, biltong is the sharper, chewier cousin, and Original is where you start.

Why this one

• Vinegar, not smoke: apple vinegar gives biltong its tang and much of its keeping power. It is the single biggest reason this tastes nothing like jerky.
• Cut thick: bigger pieces than a jerky strip, so the chew is dense and fibrous rather than papery.
• Black pepper leads: warm and aromatic, sitting behind the beef rather than shouting over it.
• High in protein: air-drying takes out the water and leaves a lot of beef behind in a small bag.

How Indiana makes it

Indiana marinates the beef in vinegar and spice, then air-dries it slowly in whole strips. Nothing is smoked and nothing is hurried, which is why the pieces hold together and pull apart in strands instead of shattering. Bags are filled under a protective atmosphere and sit happily at room temperature while sealed. After opening, Indiana asks for a couple of days, which has never once been a problem in this office.

Taste and texture

Sharp on the first bite from the vinegar, then it settles into something deeply savoury and beefy with peppery warmth at the back. There is barely any sweetness to it at all, which is precisely why people who find jerky cloying end up here. The texture is the other half of the argument: firm and fibrous, a real jaw workout that softens into strands the longer you work at it.

Who it is for

The rugby crowd, obviously. Anyone convinced that most snacks have been sweetened for no good reason. And anybody curious enough to find out what South Africans and Americans have been arguing about all these years.

Frequently asked

How is biltong different from beef jerky? Biltong is cured with vinegar and air-dried in thick pieces. Jerky is usually marinated, smoked and sliced thin. Biltong comes out tangier and chewier, jerky softer and sweeter.

Does it need refrigerating? No. Keep the sealed bag somewhere cool and dry, and once it is open, finish it within a couple of days.

What is the little sachet in the bag? An oxygen absorber, there to keep the biltong in good condition. It is not edible, so bin it and get on with the biltong.

Order Indiana Biltong Original at Jerky Store Europe

The 25 g and 80 g bags are stocked, multipacks included, with fast delivery across Europe from Jerky Store Europe.