Lehigh Biltong

Lehigh Biltong is a new brand that got started in September 2015 by Dan Levy, based out of Bethlehem, PA. Levy, who grew up in England from South African parents, had always loved biltong. But when he moved to the United States, it was hard to find.

After becoming frustrated with paying high prices for biltong and waiting weeks on delivery, Levy decided to make his own.

Now a senior at Lehigh University, he balances his studies in Mechanical Engineering and running his new biltong brand. He uses antibiotic-free beef, along with the usual ingredients of salt, vinegar, coriander, and black pepper, but throws in a kick of Old Bay seasoning.

Ingredients

Beef, salt, Old Bay Seasoning, coriander, black pepper, distilled vinegar

Review

The first flavors I pick up are coriander seed, a light salt, followed by vinegar. The chewing brings on the natural meat flavors, with the tanginess of vinegar, along with more of the coriander and salt.

As biltong, it definitely fits the bill as the classic South African charcuterie. I get the hallmark biltong flavors of coriander and vinegar, with a light salt and pepper, and the unmistakeable aged beef. The addition of Old Bay Seasoning shows up on the taste buds in very light amounts, and still lets the coriander and vinegar take spotlight.

It's appearance is more clean, in that it doesn't have lots of dried coriander flakes, yet still offers much of that flavor. It also has a more clean flavor, and a little less aftertaste than other brands.

The meat consistency is excellent. It actually chews more tender than competing brands of biltong, almost to that moist softness of prosciutto or capicola. I see light amounts of fat, but otherwise its very meaty, and has the chewing texture of soft, thinly sliced roast beef.

Verdict

Lehigh Biltong offers that famous flavor and chewing South African meat snacks are known for. It's more soft and more easy to chew than competing brands, and it tastes more clean as well. People who've never tried biltong before would do well to start with Lehigh's brand, just to get a good baseline of what biltong is all about. But even those who love biltong will appreciate the softer, more tender chewing, and clean flavor of Lehigh.

Rating: Good