Biltong USA - Original Sliced Biltong

Biltong USA was among the earliest brands of American-made biltong, dating back to 1996. South African immigrants, Dawid Joubert and Salome Joubert founded the company in Stallings, NC based on the same family recipe that dated back into the 1600s. Over the years, their biltong products helped launched a new meat snack category in the States.

In January 2018, Biltong USA was acquired by a rival biltong brand, Stryve Foods. However, Biltong USA continues on under its own brand, and is still manufactured at its original USDA inspected facility in Stallings.

This Original Sliced Biltong is the brand's most popular product, it's their lean variety, whereas their "Traditional Sliced" is the fatty variety. The package is also marked "Gluten Free".

Ingredients

Beef, salt, flavorings, vinegar, raisin juice concentrate

Review

The first flavors that I pick up are a light salt and a well-noticeable coriander seed. There's a light vinegar flavor too. The chewing brings on a bit more salt and coriander, but there's a light black pepper spice that comes in. The natural meat flavors trickle in towards the end.

That South African-style biltong flavor is well represented in this, mainly through the coriander seed and vinegar. The raisin juice concentrate, listed in the ingredients, is actually lightly noticeable, giving this a bit more flavor complexity. The black pepper is sharp, and creates a light spicy heat, enough to warrant a "mild medium" on our heat scale (level 2/5).

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a classic, South African-style biltong, marked primarily by a stronger coriander and vinegar, but accompanied by light levels of black pepper, salt, raisin.

The meat consistency looks very lean (note: Biltong USA also offers a fatty variety). It's sliced thin, yet rather chewy due to a more dry, almost rubbery, texture. It takes on a meaty, almost steak-like feel once chewed down soft.

Verdict

This Original Sliced Biltong from Biltong USA takes on a more old world South African interpretation with its chewy texture, soapy coriander, and tangy vinegar ingredients. The light raisin adds more body and depth to the seasonings, while the sharp black pepper combines with the coriander to give this more kick. This is a little more chewy than competing brands of biltong, but I think is also more reflective of the dry, arid climate you'd expect from the old country. Overall, this is a biltong that certainly retains the classic biltong characteristics, yet takes on a more intense flavor with a stronger coriander and black pepper.

Rating: Good (4/5)