Biltong Spice Recipe From Scratch — No Premix Needed
If you live outside South Africa, getting hold of Safari or Crown National spice blends can be difficult and expensive. The good news: those premixes are just individual spices blended together, and making your own from scratch gives you better control, cleaner ingredients, and results that are just as authentic — often better.
Traditional biltong has exactly five core ingredients: coarse salt, coriander seeds, black pepper, vinegar, and meat. Everything else is optional. Master these ratios and you have authentic biltong.
The Traditional Biltong Spice Recipe (per kg meat)
These are ratios for whole muscle biltong — the classic form. All quantities are per kilogram of fresh, trimmed meat.
| Ingredient | Per kg meat | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Coarse sea salt | 20g | 2% of meat weight — minimum safe cure |
| Coriander seeds (toasted, coarsely crushed) | 15g | Toast in dry pan until fragrant — do not skip this step |
| Black pepper (coarsely ground) | 5g | About ¼ ratio to coriander |
| Brown sugar | 5g | Optional — rounds the flavour |
| Bicarbonate of soda | 2.5g | Tenderises the meat |
| Brown/malt vinegar | 60ml | Apply to meat BEFORE dry spices |
| Worcestershire sauce | 20ml | Optional — use instead of 20ml of the vinegar |
Why Toasting the Coriander Matters
Coriander seeds contain aromatic oils that are locked inside the seed. Dry toasting in a hot pan — until you smell that distinctive warm, citrusy fragrance — releases these oils and significantly intensifies the flavour. It also has an antimicrobial effect that helps with preservation. This is not optional if you want authentic-tasting biltong. Toast until fragrant, then crush coarsely in a pestle and mortar. Leave some texture — don't grind to a powder.
The Method
- Toast and crush the coriander seeds. Mix all dry spices together.
- Apply vinegar first. Rub the brown vinegar into all surfaces of the meat. This is important — vinegar penetrates the meat and creates the acidic environment that makes biltong safe. Don't skip this or do it the wrong way around.
- Apply dry spice to all surfaces. Press it in firmly.
- Cure overnight in the refrigerator (minimum 4 hours, ideally 12–24 hours for thick cuts). Turn every few hours if you can.
- Hang along the grain in your biltong box or drying area.
Droëwors Spice Recipe (per kg mince)
Droëwors has a distinctly different flavour profile — warmer, more complex, with cloves and nutmeg giving it that unmistakeable character. Use 80% lean beef + 20% fat.
| Ingredient | Per kg mince | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Coarse sea salt | 18g | Do not use iodised salt |
| Coriander seeds (toasted, ground) | 6g | Toast first — essential |
| Black pepper (cracked) | 2g | |
| Ground cloves | 1g | Very strong — use sparingly |
| Ground nutmeg | 2g | Classic droëwors warmth |
| Brown vinegar | 15ml | |
| Worcestershire sauce | 15ml |
Chilli Bites Spice Recipe (per kg meat)
Chilli bites are thinner cut biltong with added heat. Cut strips to 10–15mm maximum and marinate overnight for maximum chilli penetration.
| Ingredient | Per kg | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Coarse sea salt | 20g | |
| Coriander seeds (toasted, crushed) | 12g | Slightly less — chilli takes over |
| Black pepper | 5g | |
| Chilli flakes | 8g | Adjust: 4g mild / 15g very hot |
| Cayenne pepper | 2g | Background heat — omit for mild |
| Brown sugar | 4g | Balances the chilli |
| Brown vinegar | 60ml |
The Salt Ratio is Non-Negotiable
Salt at 2% of meat weight (20g per kg) is the minimum for a safe cure. Going lower risks bacterial growth during the long drying period. Going significantly higher — some traditional recipes use 25–30g/kg — results in overly salty biltong that burns the tongue. 20g/kg hits the sweet spot for both safety and flavour.
This is one area where the premix blends can mislead you — some pack much more salt to extend shelf life. Making from scratch, you control exactly how salty the finished product is.
Scaling Your Recipe
These ratios scale linearly — making 5kg of meat simply multiplies every ingredient by 5. But be precise with the salt. With larger batches, weigh everything on a kitchen scale rather than estimating. The vinegar and Worcester sauce are more forgiving, but salt and coriander should be accurate.
Making a batch right now?
Our biltong calculator scales these exact recipes to any batch size automatically. Enter your meat weight and it calculates every ingredient in grams and ml instantly. It also includes the drying time estimator and batch planner.
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