What’s the Real Difference?

We’ve been busy! Fulfilling online orders & monthly subscriptions, increasing our production capacities, improving on our spices and meat quality, and getting out there at local farmer’s markets to help spread the good word of Biltong.

Inevitably the question arises, “what is the difference between Biltong & jerky”?

We love this question. It makes our mouths water with anticipation of delivering the Biltong gospel. First and foremost, and contrary to our actual tag line - Biltong is not jerky. They are two completely separate processes. Here’s the rundown:

Processes

While jerky is almost always machine-dehydrated, which sucks out all aspects of moisture within the meat itself, Biltong is air-dried and technically dry-aged without the use of dehydrating machines. There are those who sell Biltong dehydrated in the same fashion as jerky, while using traditional South African spices, real South Africans know the real formula to authentic Biltong is keeping the moisture in. This lends itself to a “medium-rare” steak-like texture that melts tender in your mouth without having to lose a tooth or spend the next 30 minutes with a toothpick.

Natural & Unnatural Ingredients

Although jerky has come a long way, the fact remains that mass-produced, store-bought jerky has levels of preservative chemicals and ingredients that are mandated by the USDA in order for them to remain “shelf-stable” (non-refrigerated). This can and usually does include large amounts of sugar, salt and also nitrites, which are widely used in lunch meats as a means of keeping meats from developing bacteria. And although nitrites are naturally formed within our bodies, the intake of too much can lead to cancer in lab animals according to the USDA.

What’s interesting is store-bought Biltong must also fall within these USDA guidelines and some brands are using sugars and nitrites to keep their product shelf-stable. Many of these brands have a very similar consistency to beef jerky, and although (in our opinion) any Biltong is better than jerky, those who know what authentic South African Biltong tastes like take up issue with the big Biltong brands.

Spices

What’s great about jerky is that you can make it from anything and with anything. Growing up in Texas (possibly the jerky capital of the world), we’ve seen everything from pork jerky to alligator to ghost pepper and coffee flavors. The combinations are endless, which make Texas the right place to find what your heart desires.

Meanwhile traditional Biltong is really just made up of a handful of flavors. Aside from your spicy versions, which usually include Peri-Peri as a spice, what you’re really getting is a proprietary combination of Coriander, Salt & Pepper. We can’t divulge our recipe, but we do know that it comes from many generations of South Africans in our family, which makes Happie Bees the most authentic South African-Style Biltong on the market. Our spices are imported from all over the World and procured in our kitchen to bring our own special blend.

Quality

It’s kind of sad to say, but because jerky is dehydrated to the point of no return the quality of the meat doesn’t matter. You can spice, slice and dehydrate a Prime Tenderloin in a dehydrating machine and the odds are you’re not going to tell much of a difference if it was a lesser quality Select cut or even lower.

Most store-bought jerky AND Biltong brands won’t tell you what the cut or the quality of meat is in their products, which means if they aren’t even bragging that it’s Select (the lowest USDA quality) then you’re literally eating something off the lowest end of the chart. If you need a reference to meat quality comparisons, here’s one from the USDA.

Here at Happie Bees, we take pride in our local Texas farmers and we only use USDA Texas Choice Angus Beef. Our cut is marbled to perfection, which lends to a more tender bite and a flavorful profile. We know that no other Biltong company on the planet can lay claim to that.

Flavor & Preference

What’s interesting to watch are our first-time customers’ faces when they first try our Biltong. You can see the uniqueness of the texture - something they’ve never had before…combined with the traditional South African flavor profile. 99% of peoples’ eyes light up when they exclaim how good it tastes. Sometimes people walk away with a free sample only to stop in their tracks 40 yards later to come back & buy a bag.

And we’d be lying if we didn’t say that 1% of people say it’s just not for them. These are usually the older Gents, usually Texans, who’ve been eating jerky all their lives. And while we believe 99 out of 100 people would choose Biltong over jerky, we also know that some old dogs just ain’t gonna learn a new trick.

Try it for Yourself! If you don’t think our Authentic South African-Style Biltong is better than any jerky (OR Biltong) you’ve ever had, we’ll buy the bag back from ya’.