Grizzly Foods Biltong Classic

Grizzly Foods Biltong Classic — air-dried beef, the South African way

Grizzly Foods Biltong Classic is beef cured and slowly air-dried rather than smoked, in the South African tradition. The ingredient list is short enough to recite from memory, and that is rather the point: this is biltong that tastes of beef and very little else.

Why this one

• Air-dried, not smoked: the flavour stays clean and mineral instead of picking up woodsmoke.
• A very short ingredient list: five things, none of which you would need to look up.
• Concentrated by drying: the water goes, the beef stays, and what is left is high in protein — which is biltong's whole reputation.
• The plainest of the three: start here, then decide which direction you want to travel in.

How Grizzly Foods makes it

Whole slices of beef are cured with sea salt and coriander seed, then hung to dry slowly in air rather than run through a smoker. Air-drying takes longer and concentrates the meat differently, so the slices stay open-textured and soft instead of tightening into a strip. Apple cider vinegar does the traditional biltong job in the cure, which is where that faint sharpness in the background comes from.

Taste and texture: savoury and deeply beefy, with the warm citrus note coriander seed always brings to biltong and a slow peppery finish trailing it. The texture is yielding rather than snappy — closer to rare roast beef than to a jerky strip — so a piece tears off without a fight. If you have only ever eaten jerky, this is the bag that shows you the difference.

When to reach for it

Straight after training, when a 30 g pack disappears in the car park before you have got your breath back. It is also a good match for a match: biltong is the traditional thing to eat while watching rugby, and the pack survives a stadium better than most snacks do.

Frequently asked

• Is biltong the same as jerky? No. Jerky is usually marinated and dried with heat or smoke; biltong is cured and air-dried, which leaves it softer and more savoury.
• Does it need a fridge? Not until you open it. After that, keep the pack tightly sealed somewhere cool and dry and enjoy it soon.
• Which Grizzly biltong should I try next? Wild Rosemary for a herbal edge, or Red Heat if you want chilli behind the beef.

Order Grizzly Foods Biltong Classic at Jerky Store Europe

In stock as a single pack or a case of 16, and it ships fast across Europe from Jerky Store Europe.