It was Saturday afternoon and it was time for a beer. I’d smashed through a list of to-dos and errands and such. It was hotter than hell and, as it often does, a cold beer at the local seemed like a well-deserved next step. Truth be told, a bit of quiet time over a beer strategically in between the crowds of happy hour hunters has become something of a refuge for an oddball introvert like myself. A familiar bartender, my own thoughts and catching up on the rest of the world through media windows while sipping a cold one is a recipe for self-recharge after a long week.
Halfway through my first one, a fella a couple of stools down sparked up small talk over the golf on the big screen. He was a South African immigrant named Peter. After I’d horrendously mistaken his accent for being Swedish, don’t ask me how, and much to his and my obvious shock, we skidding past my awkward apology and somehow ended up on the subject of meat — biltong to be specific. Now, anyone that knows me will attest that I’m hardly one to rely on for small talk, but however random this might seem, I’d suddenly gone from the boredom of wedge shots into the green to a very keen interest in what the man had moved on to. I’d spent all last week engrossed in wrapping up the best part of this issue and the piece After The Kill (pg. 84) got me thinking above and beyond the typical cuts and cooking of meat. I’d only got as far as jerky for my next tasty pursuit, and even just a few hours earlier on Saturday, I’d been contemplating the idea of a dehydrator to explore ideas.
Then along came Peter and the biltong (bil-tawng as it’s pronounced in his very non-Swedish accent) — a food that he described as “life-changing” to anybody partial to jerky. A bold and likely biased opinion, but nonetheless another interesting take on the process of drying meat.
As we put back a couple more beers, Peter kindly shared a passed-down method of making his beloved biltong along with the all-important native spices and necessary tips. Gratefully, I made one or two notes, and it’s safe to say I’ll be giving it a go very soon.