Types of Biltong: Cuts, Formats and Thickness Explained
There are three things people mean by "types of biltong": the cut of beef it was made from, the format it is sold in, and how far it was dried. All three change the eating experience more than flavor does. This guide covers each, and ends with a table telling you which combination to buy for what.
Type 1: the cut of beef
Biltong is made from lean, long-grained muscle. Cuts with heavy marbling do not work, because fat does not lose water the way muscle does — it stays soft while the meat around it dries, and it can go rancid before the piece is stable.
| Cut | Character | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| Silverside | Very lean, long straight fibers, firm | The classic. Clean shred, holds shape, dries evenly. The benchmark cut. |
| Topside | Lean, slightly softer, a little more give | More tender, slightly higher yield, less structure |
| Eye of round | Extremely lean, uniform | Very consistent pieces; can be austere on its own |
| Sirloin / rump | More fat, richer | Richer flavor, shorter shelf life, harder to dry evenly |
| Brisket / forequarter | Fattier, coarser grain | Used where hindquarter is unavailable; needs careful trimming |
Most serious makers use a blend, usually silverside-led with some topside. The ratio is a real production decision: silverside gives structure and consistency, topside gives tenderness and yield. Shift it too far toward topside and pieces lose their shape in the bag; too far toward silverside and the result can be tough.
Grass-fed versus grain-fed
Grass-fed beef is leaner and more deeply flavored, with a firmer texture. Grain-fed is fattier and milder. For biltong, leaner is generally better, because the drying works more predictably and there is less fat to oxidize. Grass-fed biltong also tends to be darker.
Type 2: the format
This is the choice you actually make on a product page, and it matters more than most buyers expect.
| Format | What it is | Typical size | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slab | A whole dried strip, uncut | ~1 lb | Boards, hosting, slicing to taste | You need a sharp knife and a minute |
| Sliced | Cut across the grain into pieces | 3 oz bags | Everyday eating, sharing, lunchboxes | More surface area, so it dries faster once open |
| Minis | Smaller pieces, single-serve bags | 1 oz | Trying flavors, gym bags, kids, travel | Highest cost per ounce |
| Bulk sliced | Sliced, in quantity | 1 lb | Households, offices, meal prep | Must be portioned on arrival |
| Sampler | Mixed flavors, small quantities | ~3 oz mixed | First order, gifts | Not enough of any one to settle in with |
| Sticks / droëwors | Dried sausage, biltong spice profile | Varies | Snacking on the move | A different product, not biltong |
| Chili bites | Small, drier, spiced pieces | Varies | Heat seekers, beer snacks | Drier by design; not for everyone |
Slab versus sliced — the real difference
A slab is not just an unsliced bag. It behaves differently.
Because a slab has far less exposed surface area, it holds its moisture much better once opened. A slab left out for a week is still good; sliced biltong left out for a week is jerky-hard. A slab also lets you choose thickness at the moment of eating, which is genuinely useful — thick for chewing, paper-thin for a board.
The trade-off is friction. Sliced biltong is ready. A slab requires a knife, a board and thirty seconds, and that is enough to stop most people most of the time. Buy a slab if you enjoy the ritual or you are serving people. Buy sliced if you want to eat it in the car.
Type 3: how far it was dried
This is the axis South Africans argue about, and it is entirely preference.
| Style | Character | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Wet | Soft, deep red core, yields immediately | People new to biltong; anyone who dislikes chewy snacks |
| Medium | Firm edge, tender center — the standard | Most people, most of the time |
| Dry | Firm throughout, shreds, intense flavor | Traditionalists; long keeping; strong flavor |
A useful fact: you can move down this table at home but not up. Leave a bag open overnight and medium becomes dry. There is no way to add moisture back without ruining it. So if you are unsure, buy on the wetter side and dry it to taste.
Thickness
Slice thickness changes the eating experience as much as dryness does. Thin slices — under 2 mm — read as delicate and disappear quickly; good on a board with cheese. Standard slices of 3–5 mm are the everyday format. Thick cuts of 8 mm or more are for chewing slowly, and are what most people picture when they think of biltong.
Flavors
Flavor is the last thing to worry about, not the first, because the cut and the dryness decide texture and texture decides whether you enjoy it.
- Original — coriander, black pepper, salt, garlic, vinegar. The reference point. Start here.
- Peri Peri — real heat, built on red pepper, usually with a little sugar for balance.
- Garlic — roasted garlic forward, savory rather than hot.
- Chili bites — heat plus a drier texture.
- Smoked and BBQ variants — closer to jerky in profile; less traditional.
One practical note: judge a maker on their Original. It is the blend with nowhere to hide. If the Original is good, the flavored versions will be too.
Which should you buy?
| Situation | Buy |
|---|---|
| Never had biltong | 3 oz sliced, Original, medium dry |
| Deciding between flavors | Minis, one of each |
| Feeding a household weekly | Bulk sliced, portioned on arrival |
| Hosting or building a board | Slab, sliced thin at the table |
| Gym bag or desk drawer | Minis — the portion control is the point |
| Kids | Minis, Original, on the wetter side |
| Long trip or camping | Slab — it survives being opened for days |
| Gift for someone you do not know well | Sampler or mixed minis |
| You found jerky too sweet | Sliced Original — it is the opposite end |
| You like it very chewy | Any format, then leave the bag open overnight |
Quick answers
What is the best cut for biltong? Silverside, usually blended with topside.
Is slab better than sliced? Better at keeping and at thickness control; worse at convenience.
Why is biltong cut with the grain? To keep the long fibers intact so the dried meat shreds rather than tears. It is then sliced across the grain after drying, which is what makes it easy to eat.
Is thicker biltong better? Not better — different. Thick chews longer and tastes stronger; thin is more delicate and works on a board.
What is droëwors? Dried sausage using the biltong spice profile. A relative, not a type of biltong.
How the three axes interact
Cut, format and dryness are not independent choices — they compound, and some combinations work much better than others.
| Combination | Result |
|---|---|
| Lean cut + slab + medium dry | The traditional benchmark. Keeps well, slices to taste, holds structure. |
| Lean cut + sliced + wet | Excellent eating, shortest window. Buy small and finish it. |
| Lean cut + sliced + dry | Very stable, intense, chewy. The style that travels best. |
| Fattier cut + slab + wet | Rich but risky — fat plus moisture is the shortest shelf life of any combination. |
| Fattier cut + sliced + dry | Works, but the fat can taste rancid before the meat does. |
| Any cut + minis + wet | Best for children and newcomers. Small pieces, soft texture, portion controlled. |
The pattern worth remembering: fat is the variable that shortens everything. A lean cut forgives a lot; a fatty one narrows your options on both format and keeping time.
Reading a bag before you open it
You can learn most of what you need through the window of the pack.
- Color gradient on the cut faces. Sliced biltong should show a darker rim and a lighter center. Uniform color throughout means it was dried hard, or dried with heat.
- Piece size consistency. Wildly varying pieces suggest offcuts rather than a graded product. Not necessarily bad — often better value — but know what you are buying.
- Visible fat. A little is fine and adds flavor. Thick white seams mean the trimming was casual, and those pieces will go first.
- Spice coverage. An even coat of cracked coriander and pepper. Bare patches mean the coating was rushed.
- Loose spice at the bottom. Normal, and a small amount is a good sign — it means the spice was cracked rather than powdered.
- An oxygen absorber. Small sachet, usually flat. Its presence is what makes a months-long shelf life credible.
Why format decides whether you finish the bag
An underrated point, and it changes what people should actually buy.
Format determines friction, and friction determines consumption. Sliced biltong is eaten because it requires nothing. A slab requires a knife and a board, and in practice most households will do that twice and then leave it. Minis get eaten because they are portioned and portable.
So the honest advice is to buy the format that matches how you will really behave rather than the one that sounds best. A slab is genuinely the better product — better keeping, thickness control, more impressive on a table. It is also the format most likely to sit unopened. If you know you will cut it, buy it. If you are not sure, buy sliced.
What changes between makers
Two bags labeled the same way can differ substantially, and the differences are not random — they trace back to specific production decisions.
- The silverside-to-topside ratio. More silverside means firmer, more consistent pieces; more topside means softer and higher yield. Makers rarely publish the ratio, but you can taste it.
- How long the salt sat. Longer salting draws out more water before drying begins, which shortens hang time and pushes the salt level up.
- Dip or soak on the vinegar. A soak gives a pronounced tang; a quick dip leaves it in the background.
- Whether the coriander was toasted. The single biggest flavor variable, and the easiest to detect — toasted coriander smells nutty and citrusy, untoasted tastes flat and slightly soapy.
- How far the batch was dried. The same recipe at 50% and 65% weight loss produces two noticeably different products.
- Slice thickness. Often set by machine and rarely mentioned, but it changes the eating experience more than flavor does.
This is why brand loyalty in biltong is stronger than in most snack categories. People are not attached to a logo; they are attached to a specific combination of these variables that they have decided is correct.
See every format we make — slabs, sliced, minis and bulk, in Original, Peri Peri and Loaded Garlic.
