Page 27 - SAFFER 03

Biltong and Boerie – in Ireland!

n the very first edition of this magazine, we shared
Biltong and Boerie – in Ireland! Iprovided by Steph Nel. I sort of put the article in “I’ve heard that one before” each time the subject was
raised. In fact… I think Jimmy firmly believe yours
a boerewors recipe and preparation method kindly
truly was nothing more than a spoofer – a slightly
the back recesses of my overextended grey matter, with offensive concept best described by the Afrikaans term
the full knowledge that I wanted to make my own. “ja-broer”.

However, I’ve been threatening for years to make There we stood… me asking Jimmy for a lump of
biltong – again. I’ll qualify – the last time I made meat. His face – could he believe what he was hearing
biltong was in the late eighties… yep, I’d won a blesbok or was I simply playing another round of ja-broer-
carcass in a raffle… so, biltong, venison pies and a ing? Well, as they say in the classics… when you leave
quick braai or two later saw the meat well used. Even the butchery armed with more than 2,5 kilos of meat
the bones and offcuts were well received by the family something must be brewing… or curing… or about to
pet and other assorted neighbourhood animals. be happening.

OK, so what? The very same Steph sent me a few Now came the moment of truth. Putting together the
photos of biltong drying in a biltong box. Now, that required spice mix. A bit of this, a bit of that… more
really set me off. I’m a technical type… and here in of this and that… then a pinch more coriander. Whole
Ireland I gained more than just a passing interest coriander and black pepper – toasted lightly before
in the wonders of HVAC and building services grinding. Next – mix the vinegar… remembering to
engineering. Therefore… my biltong box designing add a dash of that dark liquid named after a distant
had taken up deposit boxes of brain cell capacity in my English county. Cut the meat… layer the tub with
mind… for years! meat, spices and splashes of the vinegar mix. Yes…
I did it all… a slice here… a dash there and another
Over time I’d also accumulated many links to recipes splash to round it all off. By the next afternoon the
on the internet. Many. As my grandfather used to strips of juiciness were hanging… all lined up – like
say… given half a chance, each and every Afrikaner troepies on parade.
would want to start their own church and political
party, if they could! So… take that a step further, Twenty-four hours later I was back at Jimmy’s –
each and every carnivorous South African wants to proudly showing him a photo or three… but more
claim to have their own secret recipe or method for importantly, getting another bit of meat… to slice up
the production of wors and/ or biltong. You don’t for chilly sticks. Process roughly repeated… and after
believe me… just do your own search! I read this one’s a bit of rearranging of the first load, the sticks joined
recipe… and that one’s method… and the comments their own parade space in the box.
left on many posts. You want to start WW3? Seems
like all you need to do is get a few of the commenters By the time I was sampling the skinnier bits of biltong
into the same town and war will ensue. But in all we were back at Jimmy’s. By this stage the man must’ve
of this, a nagging thought did just that… it nagged. thought I’d lost the plot. I was back for drywors
Simple is best aka the KISS strategy. material. Lean beef – very lean. The next afternoon I
took the prepared, treated beef back and later collected
On a day, not too long ago, I went off to the nearest the stuffed wors, thanks to Jimmy for doing that for us.
home improvement/ DIY type store. We had And so folk – after removing some of the biltong and
previously priced some of the items I was after, so… chilly sticks there was sufficient space to hang my first
when we found that the plastic containers that I’d eyed batch of drywors. My first ever batch. Yep, I’d made
before were on a two-for special, I grabbed two for biltong before but never drywors.
€20. But wait… today’s story is not about the box but
rather about the content of said box. The verdict? Resounding. I sliced some of the thicker
pieces of biltong and added sticks. The children and
After throwing together Biltong Box Mark 1a we set grandchildren were the prime testers. It was really a
off to our village butcher. Jimmy, an Irish lad of note, pleasure to see fingers large and small dipping into
had long heard of biltong. His store actually sells the tub. The fingers kept dipping – until only a few
boerewors… well, a product resembling boerewors. coriander pips and other spices remained!
Locally made and to be dead honest, not bad at all. We
often get wors to throw on the coals or fry in the pan Yes – I learned lessons – I’ll do a few things slightly
– dependent on the Irish weather – so, I’m not here to differently but I’ll also welcome suggestions from the
knock the wors. old-hands. So… send on the critiques… I promise I
won’t start WW3 – well, not just yet!
Anyway, Jimmy and I had spoken often enough about
biltong and boerie for him to be more than just aware
that I wanted to make my own. We’d even discussed
price per kilo for top quality beef. However, I think
Jimmy was beginning to think I was merely wasting
his time with all this chatter – he’d taken on a look of

27 |