The word
‘biltong’ is derived from two words of Dutch origin;
‘bil’ (meaning
rump) and
‘tong’ (meaning
strip or
tongue). Dutch settlers arriving in South Africa from Europe in the 17th century introduced recipes for dried meat from Europe.
The hot climate of South Africa dictated that standard preservation methods for dried meat would have to be adapted to make meat last longer and, in addition to this factor, Dutch settlers would also trek across South Africa for weeks on end. As a result of this the Dutch settlers stored raw meat for longer than usual so as to preserve it for consumption. The settlers noticed that after storing the meat in vinegar, salt and spices for upwards of two weeks the meat became almost black and rock solid; hence fully cured biltong meat was created.
