Biltong Soup

Biltong soup is one of many popular spinoff recipes using our beloved South African cured meat, biltong. It's an easy, comforting soup you can serve year-round, and if you ask your local biltong shop nicely, they might even give you the biltong trim for free. On top of that, it freezes extremely well, so I batch-cook it and pull out a few portions whenever I want a cozy bowl of creamy soup and a taste of home.

What is biltong?

Biltong is South African air-dried, cured beef, seasoned with salt, coarse coriander, black pepper, and vinegar, then dried whole and sliced. It's drier, saltier, and more strongly spiced than American beef jerky, which is sweeter and thinner. There's a lot of flavor packed into it, so it works really well in a soup.

Ingredients

• Biltong - Use a good fatty piece of beef biltong. The soup gets blended, so the fat melts in and adds flavor rather than sitting on top. I use a drier piece, ground to a powder, for the base and a moister piece, sliced, for the garnish.
• Cheddar - A mature cheddar makes it sharp and properly cheesy. I grate it fresh from a block, since pre-grated cheese is coated in starch that can leave it slightly gritty.
• Blue cheese - A small amount brings the funk this soup needs. It's optional, but I always use it. Leave it out if you want it milder and add more cheddar.
• Beef stock - The stock is where the infusion happens. Homemade beef stock is best, or use a good store-bought one. Chicken stock will also work.
• Cream - Heavy or whipping cream, 33% fat. There's no milk in this one, so I don't thin it with any.
• Mustard and Worcestershire - Dijon and Worcestershire are the two things that stop a cream soup from tasting bland, and mustard naturally goes well with cheese and meat.
• Coriander and pepper - Whole coriander seeds and black peppercorns, to toast and grind fresh. Coriander seed, not the leaf. These are the spices that make biltong taste like biltong.
• Onion, garlic, butter, oil, flour - Onion and garlic form the base, then we add butter and flour to form a roux, which thickens the soup once the infusion and cream are added.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

1. Slice the biltong thinly - thin slices give up their flavor faster than a stubborn lump, and the blender will thank you.

2. Infuse the stock - warm the beef stock with 100 g of the biltong until it's just about to simmer, then off the heat and steep for at least 30 minutes. It's the difference between beef soup and actual biltong soup.

3. Toast and grind the spices - toast the coriander seeds and peppercorns in a dry pan until fragrant and nutty, then grind them fresh.

4. Sweat the onion and garlic - soften them in the oil with a pinch of salt, lid on, over low heat until soft and translucent with no color.

5. Add butter, mustard, and spices - stir in the butter, Dijon, and the ground coriander and pepper, and cook low for a minute until the butter melts and it comes together.

6. Make the roux - stir in the flour and cook it out for a minute to lose the raw taste, keeping it moving so it doesn't catch.

7. Add the infusion - pour it in, biltong and all, a little at a time, stirring smooth between each addition so the roux takes it in without going lumpy.

8. Add cream and Worcestershire - stir them in and let it simmer gently, a lazy bubble rather than a rolling boil.

9. Stir in the cheese - off the heat, add the grated cheddar and the optional blue cheese and stir until they've melted through.

10. Blend smooth - blitz with a stick blender, letting the steam escape, until it's silky with fine biltong specks running through. Taste and season carefully, since the biltong, stock, and cheese already bring plenty of salt.

Watch how to make it

Tips when making biltong soup

• Blending - Vent the lid on a jug blender, or use a stick blender in the pot, so hot soup doesn't spit at you.
• Infusion - Give it the full 30 minutes, longer if you have the time. It's unattended, so I start it first and prep everything else while it infuses.
• Spices - Toast them whole and grind them fresh. It's the cheapest way to get more biltong flavor into the soup without using more biltong.

Substitutes and variations

• Duck biltong - Swap in duck biltong for a gamier option. The method stays the same.
• Droëwors - A popular dried sausage sold alongside biltong. It's also slightly cheaper, so you can boost the flavor by using half-half biltong and droëwors.
• Mushroom - Cook 150 g of sliced mushrooms with the onion until browned. A common version that makes it earthier and meatier.
• Milder - Leave out the blue cheese and use extra cheddar. You lose the funk, but it's easier to serve to a crowd.
• Dairy-free - Plant butter, oat or cashew cream, and a dairy-free cheddar, skipping the blue cheese. Lean harder on the biltong and spices for more flavor.

Storage and make-ahead

• Reheating - Low and slow, loosened with a splash of warm stock if it's thickened.
• Freezing - It freezes really well. I portion it, thaw it in the fridge, and reheat gently.
• Fridge - It keeps for up to 3 days in a sealed container.

What to serve with biltong soup

• Sourdough - A thick slice of toasted sourdough bread is the classic go-to.
• Rye - Toasted dark rye bread for something heartier.
• Salad - Something sharp and fresh on the side, since the soup is rich. A beetroot and feta salad does the job perfectly well.

Frequently asked questions

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Recipe

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Biltong Soup

Creamy South African biltong soup, made by steeping biltong in beef stock, then blended smooth with mature cheddar and blue cheese.

Author Charlé Visser

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Infusion time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4 servings

Course Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine South African

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• ▢ 120 grams (½ cup) beef biltong
• ▢ 600 grams (2 ½ cups) beef stock - unsalted
• ▢ 1 large (1 large) onion - finely diced
• ▢ 3 cloves (3 cloves) garlic - minced
• ▢ 50 grams (3 ½ tablespoon) butter - unsalted
• ▢ 8 grams (1 ½ teaspoon) olive oil - for sweating onions, alternatively, use beef dripping or cooking oil.
• ▢ 50 grams (⅓ cup) flour - all-purpose
• ▢ 200 grams (¾ cup) cream - at least 33% fat
• ▢ 80 grams (¾ cup) cheddar - grated
• ▢ 30 grams (2 tablespoon) blue cheese - optional but recommended
• ▢ 8 grams (½ tablespoon) Dijon mustard
• ▢ 8 grams (½ tablespoon) Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 2 grams (½ teaspoon) coriander seeds - toasted
• ▢ 3 grams (½ teaspoon) black peppercorns - toasted
• ▢ salt - optionally add ot taste at the end

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Instructions

• Slice the biltong thin. Set aside 20 g for garnish and use 100 g for the infusion. Thin slices release flavor faster and blend more easily.
• Put the stock and 100 g biltong in a pot. Warm until just about to simmer, then take off the heat and infuse at least 30 minutes, longer if you can. The biltong stays in.
• Toast the coriander seeds and peppercorns in a dry pan over medium heat until fragrant and nutty, then grind fresh.
• Sweat the onion and garlic in the oil with a pinch of the salt, lid on, over low heat until soft and translucent. Do not brown them.
• Add the butter, Dijon, and ground spices. Cook on low about 1 minute. Stir in the flour and cook out 30 to 60 seconds.
• Add the infused stock, biltong and all, a little at a time, stirring smooth between additions. Stir in the cream and Worcestershire.
• Simmer gently, stirring - a lazy bubble, not a rolling boil.
• Stir in the grated cheddar and blue cheese until melted, then remove from the heat. Blend smooth (vent a jug blender).
• Salt at the end, once blended, tasting first. Ladle into hot bowls, top with the reserved biltong and fresh black pepper.

Video

Notes

• Biltong - Use a good fatty piece of beef biltong. It blends into the soup, so the fat is flavor, not something to trim. Slice thin so it infuses and blends well. Avoid very sweet or teriyaki-style cured meat.
• The infusion (most important step) - Warming the biltong in the stock and resting it at least 30 minutes is what makes the soup taste of biltong rather than beef. It is unattended time, so start it first. Do not skip or shorten it.
• Salt control - Biltong, stock, and cheese all bring salt. Use unsalted stock, only a pinch to sweat the onions, and taste at the very end before adding more.
• Toasted spices - Toast the coriander seeds and peppercorns whole and grind them fresh. Much of the biltong-like aroma comes from here.
• Cheese and blending - Stir the cheese in the last minute, don't boil for long, and blend smoothly. Grate from a block, not pre-grated.
• Fixes - If too salty, add cream and some unsalted stock. If too thin, stir in a little cornstarch slurry or a bit more roux.
• Substitutions - Gluten-free: gluten-free flour or a cornstarch slurry. Dairy-free: plant butter, oat or cashew cream, dairy-free cheddar, no blue cheese. Milder: omit the blue cheese for extra cheddar.
• Storage - Freezes well in portions. Thaw in the fridge and reheat gently, loosening with warm stock. Keeps 3 days refrigerated. Garnish with fresh biltong at serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 250grams Calories: 561kcal Carbohydrates: 20g Protein: 29g Fat: 42g Saturated Fat: 25g Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g Monounsaturated Fat: 11g Trans Fat: 0.4g Cholesterol: 152mg Sodium: 1166mg Potassium: 475mg Fiber: 2g Sugar: 4g Vitamin A: 1313IU Vitamin C: 8mg Calcium: 256mg Iron: 8mg

Keywords:biltong soup, biltong soup recipe, South African food

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