More Than Just a Meaty Snack
Biltong is a popular snack to take hiking or tramping but for something different, here we are cooking with it! For the purposes of these recipes, to make it easier to work with, I whizzed my biltong to a fine crumb and from there, the options are endless. Trust me, you want to start thinking about biltong as much more than just a savoury snack on the run!
Nestled below the Port Hills in the south-east suburb of Woolston Christchurch, export-grade topside steak is cured with salt and spices and air-dried in custom driers to create delicious Canterbury Biltong . An ancient method of preserving meat brought to Christchurch by David and Nicole Stanley in 2004, biltong is an incredibly popular snack in David’s home country of South Africa – sometimes babies even use it as a teether!
Biltong is a protein- and iron-rich snack and was invented in the days of no refrigeration. Once hung from trees it’s come a long way to now being manufactured at the highest standard and packaged in an inert atmosphere high oxygen-barrier pouch to lock in all its goodness. But don’t get it confused with beef jerky, which is usually baked. With biltong, the topside cut is selected and trimmed of excess fat and gristle, then cured with salt and spices as a piece, hung and air-dried before being sliced and packaged up for us to chew on. The minimal human interference makes for a more natural product and if you have a savoury tooth, I can say without a doubt this is your version of chocolate!
Given it’s a condensed chunk of perfectly flavoured seasoned meat, it’s honestly an ingredient I’ll be grabbing for more with my cooking at home. I’m calling it the new Parmesan for scattering over any and everything.
The passion David and Nicole have for biltong shows in the delicious high-quality product they create here in Christchurch and I’m so glad I could create some tasty recipes to show it off. Make sure to throw a pack in your weekly shop! Hot tip, every 100 gpacket of Canterbury Biltong comes from at least 235 g of Quality Mark Pasture-Fed New Zealand meat – now that’s value for money!
Roasted Red Pepper and Pumpkin Salad with Biltong Salsa
Serves 4–6
Prep 15 mins
cooking 45 mins (pictured above)
50 g Original Canterbury Biltong
1/3 cup (80 ml) extra virgin olive oil
400 g pumpkin, cut into 2 cm thick wedges
2 capsicums, cut into 4 cm pieces
200 g halloumi, sliced
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 cup pearl barley
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 small red onion, finely chopped
½ bunch coriander, finely chopped, extra leaves to serve
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Place biltong in a small processor and whiz until finely chopped. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper and drizzle with 2 tbsp of oil and scatter with 2 tbsp biltong. Add pumpkin and capsicum and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through. Add halloumi and pumpkin seeds and cook for a further 10–15 minutes or until halloumi is golden.
Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Add barley and cook for 30 minutes or until just tender. Drain through a fine sieve.
Combine remaining biltong in a bowl with tomato, onion, coriander, juice, vinegar and remaining oil. Season to taste and stand to pickle and soften.
Spoon salsa over pumpkin while hot and serve with pearl barley.
Beer, Beef and Biltong Pie
Serves 4
Prep 15
cooking 3–6 hours
100 g packet Original Canterbury Biltong
¼ cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
800 g blade steak, cut into 3 cm pieces
2 tbsp plain flour
3 brown onions, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp tomato paste
½ bunch thyme, leaves picked, plus extra to serve
1 cup (250 ml) beer of your choice
300 g cleaned medium agria potatoes, sliced 1 cm thick
2 tbsp cornflour
2 sheets all butter puff pasty
1 egg, whisked
Place half the biltong in a small processor and whiz until finely chopped. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a lidded casserole pan. Toss steak with flour and season with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add blade steak and cook, turning, for 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a bowl.
Add onions and cook for 4–5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic, bay leaves, tomato paste and most of the thyme and cook for 2 minutes or until aromatic. Add beer, whole biltong and most of the chopped (we’ll keep some to finish with). Bring to the boil then cook for 5 minutes or until beer is reduced by half. Transfer to a slow
cooker along with potato and 3 cups (750 ml) water and cook over low heat for 6 hours, or high for 3 hours or until meat is tender and shreds when pushed with a fork. Combine cornflour with ½ cup of the cooking liquid to dissolve then return to filling and mix to combine.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200°C fan forced. Transfer beef mix to an ovenproof pie dish. Cut each pastry into 6 squares and arrange, overlapping slightly, over pie filling. Brush with egg and bake for 25–30 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Scatter with remaining biltong to serve.
Chilli Bites with Biltong Onion Jam
Serves 8 as a starter
Prep 5 mins
cooking 30 mins
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup (150 g) chickpea flour (besan)
1 cup (150 g) plain flour
½ tsp each ground coriander, ground cumin, ground turmeric, chilli flakes
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp chipotle hot sauce (optional)
100 g baby spinach leaves
sunflower oil for deep frying
lime wedges to serve
Biltong Jam (makes 600 g)
100 g Original Canterbury Biltong
2 tbsp olive oil
4 brown onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ tsp allspice
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup (250 g) maple syrup
2/3 cup (160 ml) apple cider vinegar
For the biltong jam, whiz biltong in a small food processor until finely chopped. Heat oil in a wide saucepan over medium heat, add onions and mustard seeds and cook until onions start to sizzle. Cover and cook, stirring regularly, for 10 minutes or until onions are softened and translucent. Remove lid and add garlic, biltong and allspice and cook for a further 2 minutes or until aromatic. Add sugar, maple syrup, vinegar and 2 cups (500 ml) water. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to medium and cook for 15–20 minutes or until reduced and sticky.
Meanwhile, for the chilli bites, place onion and 1 tsp salt in a bowl and use hands to squeeze and mix to combine. Stand until required.
Place flours, spices and baking powder in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add hot sauce (if using) and 400 ml water and whisk until smooth. Add spinach leaves and onion mixture and fold to combine.
Fill a saucepan ¾ full of sunflower oil and heat to 180°C (a cube of bread will turn golden in 30 seconds when oil is hot enough). Working in batches, using a tablespoon, add a spoonful of mixture to hot oil and cook for 2–3 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Drain on paper towel and continue with remaining mixture.
To serve scatter with chilli flakes, drizzle with biltong jam and serve with lime wedges and extra jam alongside for dipping.
