Food Profiling: The Biltong Guy - Orange County Restaurants and ...

​ Let’s set the confirmation straight: “Biltong is different from beef jerky,” said Larry Burnett, known locally as The Biltong Guy and perhaps the only Orange County resident to commercially produce the South African delight. It’s air-dried, as different to cooked in ovens, making for an simpler product to chew on.

Only conundrum? Most Americans have no thought what biltong is, and Burnett is a salesman at heart. With getting feedback from taste testers who told him his product “wasn’t stressful on the jaw. And public over and over again commented that it reminded them of dried beef steak,” he chose to market his biltong as just that–Desk Mountain Dried Beef Steak.

The South African native originally made his own biltong for personal use since he “couldn’t find a excellent quality product,” but for the past six being, he has set up shop in a USDA-approved factory in Monrovia, which he manages from Irvine. Burnett makes his biltong from Choice beef, the following-highest grade inspected by the U.S. Sphere of Farming. To prepare the beef for curing, the further than layer is dennuded, exposing its full of meaning texture, then sliced to manageable slabs. He marinates them for just less than 30 minutes in a vinegar solution featuring imported South African spices, the most notable being coriander. With the curing administer, the beef slabs are brought to a temperature-controlled room and laid out on drying racks for three to seven days, depending on ride out circumstances. Once dried, they’re cut down to bite-sized pieces and packaged.

Biltong’s amalgamation of 96 percent stout-free premium meat and natural drying administer say to its tenderness. Packaged with an oxygen absorber, this allows for the freshest possible product until opened. At 60 calories per tiny amount, those looking for a high-protein snack can chew on this, guilt-free. Ordinary ways to incorporate biltong into meals are as a salad topping or ground up into sandwiches, but South Africans traditionally use it in other, unorthodox ways. “Mothers give modest pieces to their babies when they are teething,” Burnett says. “It’s not too hard and dissolves easily.” How does Larry prefer dried beef steak? Straight from the package. “It’s the best bar food,” he says.

​Traditionally, there is only one flavor of biltong–nothing other than how it’s traditionally weathered and marinated, as clarified above. To suit the tastes of the American market, the Biltong Guy made four–first, hot, teriyaki and peppered. Hot incorporates cayenne a small something, and the heat factor is in this area a five out of 10.

   

The previous package top “appealed to a more ethnic assemble,” according to Burnett, which means only OC’s sizable South African union knew what biltong was. Shoppers unfamiliar with biltong were confused by the South African motifs–pleased packaging, silhouettes of savannahs–so Burnett chose to give his product an very nearly-minimalist look. The ploy worked: “The new one appealed to the U.S. population,” he says, and sales have full off. I’m sure Charlize Theron would consent.

Desk Mountain Dried Beef Steak can be establish locally in a number of locations: Wholesome Choice, Hi-Time Wine Tomb, Super Irvine, A Market in Newport coastline, Pacific Park Market in Aliso Viejo, and some convenience supplies and gas stations. Packaging varies from 1.8 to 8 ounces, but for specific flavors and quantities, it’s best to call direct. Larry’s pleased to hear from you.

​ Biltong (a.k.a. Desk Mountain Dried Beef Steak) is sold online at www.800biltong.com or by calling 1-800-BILTONG.

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