Beef Jerky vs. Biltong Compared

Key Takeaways

• Jerky is dried with an oven, dehydrator, or smoker, while biltong hangs to cure in a ventilated space with no heat at all.
• Because it's never cooked, biltong holds onto more moisture than jerky, so it feels closer to sliced steak than a dehydrated snack. In comparison, jerky's heat-driven process gives it the firmer, chewier bite most people associate with the category.
• Jerky leans on wet marinades that prioritize soy sauce and brown sugar for a sweet, smoky profile; biltong relies on a dry or vinegar-based cure with coriander and black pepper, letting the beef's own flavor come through instead of masking it.
• Jerky makers favor thin, quarter-inch strips so heat can penetrate quickly. Biltong producers use cuts closer to an inch thick as the meat isn't cooked and needs a longer drying window.
• Both snacks deliver lean protein with low carbs, though biltong edges ahead slightly at around 16 grams of protein per ounce versus jerky's 9 to 14. 
• Jerky tends to have higher sugar levels when compared to biltong due to its heavier, sweeter marinades.
• Jerky's lower moisture content keeps it shelf-stable for months once sealed, making it the better option for stashing in a bag or glove compartment. Biltong's higher moisture means a shorter window, typically a few weeks after opening.
• Sugar content, cut quality, and marinade or cure choices vary widely from one brand to the next, so the label in front of you tells you more than a general jerky-versus-biltong debate ever will.

Two strips of dried meat sit side by side on a shelf, and most shoppers assume they're the same snack wearing different labels. They aren't. Beef jerky and biltong start from the same basic idea, preserving meat by pulling out moisture, and then split into completely different traditions once you look at how each one is actually made.

Jerky traces back to indigenous drying techniques across the Americas, later shaped by American marinades and smoke. Biltong comes from South Africa, where Dutch settlers cured meat in vinegar and salt to survive long treks without refrigeration. That single split in method, heat versus air, explains almost every difference you'll taste or feel between the two, right down to what's printed on the nutrition label.

At JerkyBrands, we've spent years tracking down the best versions of both from brands that actually know what they're doing with a cure or a marinade. In this guide, we’ll break down what separates beef jerky from biltong across preparation, texture, flavor, and ingredients, so you can figure out which one belongs in your next order.

What Is Beef Jerky?

Understanding beef jerky's own process makes it easier to see where biltong departs from it later on. Here's what defines this variety and what actually goes into a bag of jerky before it reaches the shelf.

The Basic Definition

Beef jerky is lean beef that's been trimmed of fat, marinated, and dried until most of the moisture is gone. The drying step usually involves heat from an oven or dehydrator, sometimes a smoker, and the meat is typically cooked through in the process rather than simply cured raw.

Cuts and Preparation

Round and flank show up most often because they're already lean, which matters since fat doesn't dry the way muscle does and can turn rancid if it's left in. Sirloin makes an appearance too, especially in premium blends. Butchers slice the meat thin, usually against the grain for a more tender bite or with the grain for a chewier one, before it goes into a marinade.

Marinades and Flavors

Marinades built on soy sauce and brown sugar give jerky its familiar sweet and savory backbone, often rounded out with a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Brands layer in black pepper or chili flakes on top of that base, building out flavors like teriyaki and spicy hot. Garlic shows up often too, especially in peppered varieties. The heat used to dry it locks in that seasoning and gives the final product a drier, firmer bite than you'd get from an air-cured snack.

What Is Biltong?

Biltong takes an entirely different approach from the moment the meat is cut. From drying to spices, here's how that process actually breaks down.

The Basic Definition

Biltong is dried, cured beef that originated in South Africa, where it was developed as a way to keep meat edible for months without refrigeration. The name comes from the Dutch words for buttock and strip, a nod to the cuts and shape used in early recipes.

Curing and Air-Drying

Unlike jerky, biltong is never cooked. Strips of meat are soaked briefly in vinegar, then coated in salt and spices before they're hung to air-dry in a temperature-controlled space for one to several weeks. The vinegar does double duty, adding a light tang while also helping preserve the meat, and the slow air-drying process is what gives biltong its signature texture.

Cuts and Flavor Profile

Coriander is the defining spice in traditional biltong, often paired with cracked black pepper for a warm, slightly citrusy backbone. Cuts tend to be thicker than jerky, often silverside or topside, and the meat is left in wide strips rather than thin sheets. Because biltong isn't cooked with heat, more of the meat's natural moisture and flavor stay intact.

Key Differences Between Beef Jerky and Biltong

With the basics of each snack covered, the real differences show up once you compare them side by side across every stage of production.

Preparation and Curing

Jerky preparation starts with slicing thin strips of lean beef, which then soak in a wet marinade for several hours or overnight. Biltong skips the marinade step entirely in favor of a dry or vinegar-based cure, where salt and spices are rubbed directly onto thicker cuts of meat.

The curing philosophy behind each snack reflects its origin. Jerky's marinade is built to season and tenderize before cooking ever begins, whereas biltong's vinegar cure exists mainly to preserve the meat while the air-drying process does the rest of the work.

Drying Process

Heat drives the drying process for beef jerky. Ovens and dehydrators apply consistent, controlled heat that cooks the meat while removing moisture over a period of roughly four to eight hours. Smokers do the same job while adding a wood-fired flavor on top.

Biltong relies on air instead. Strips hang in a ventilated space, often with a fan and controlled humidity, for one to several weeks depending on the desired dryness. No heat touches the meat at any point, so what comes out the other end is technically cured rather than cooked.

That difference in method shapes everything downstream. Heat-dried jerky finishes faster and lasts longer on a shelf, while air-dried biltong takes patience but keeps more of the meat's original character.

Meat Cuts and Thickness

Jerky makers lean on eye of round and top round, cuts prized for being lean and relatively easy to slice thin. Strips typically run about a quarter-inch thick, which allows heat to penetrate quickly and evenly.

Biltong producers favor silverside and topside, cuts that hold up well to a longer drying window. Because the meat isn't cooked, it's cut much thicker, often close to an inch, so the exterior can dry and season while the interior stays tender.

Texture

Beef jerky comes out dry and dense, with a chewiness that takes real work to get through. The heat used to prepare it drives out enough moisture that the strips have some resistance, almost a snap, when you bite in.

Biltong feels closer to a cured deli meat than a dehydrated snack. It's softer and juicier, easier to tear apart because the air-drying process leaves more moisture behind than heat-based dehydration ever would.

Flavor

Sweet and smoky sums up most beef jerky, with a savory backbone running underneath. Marinades built around soy sauce and brown sugar create that familiar teriyaki or peppered profile, and smoke, whether real or liquid, adds depth on top of it.

Biltong tastes cleaner and more direct. Coriander and black pepper carry most of the seasoning, while the vinegar cure adds a light tang instead of sweetness. There's little to mask the beef itself, so the flavor of the meat comes through far more clearly than it does in a heavily marinated jerky.

Ingredients

A typical bag of beef jerky lists beef alongside soy sauce and brown sugar, plus whatever spice blend the brand uses to set its flavor apart. Preservatives like sodium nitrite show up in many commercial versions too. The ingredient list tends to run long because the marinade is doing most of the flavor work.

Biltong keeps things simpler. Beef, vinegar, salt, coriander, and black pepper cover most traditional recipes, with few brands adding sugar or synthetic preservatives since the cure and the drying process already handle preservation.

Moisture Content and Shelf Life

Beef jerky's low moisture content, usually under 25%, is what makes it shelf-stable for months at room temperature once sealed. Less water means less opportunity for bacteria to grow, so a sealed bag can sit in a pantry far longer than most people expect.

Biltong holds onto noticeably more moisture, often landing somewhere in the 30 to 50% range depending on how long it's hung. That extra moisture is part of what makes biltong so tender, but it also means a shorter shelf life, generally a few weeks once opened, and some batches benefit from refrigeration in warmer climates.

Beef Jerky vs. Biltong Nutrition Comparison

Preparation differences carry straight through to the nutrition label, though the gap between the two snacks is smaller than most people expect.

Protein Content

Both snacks are built around lean beef, so protein and low carbohydrates are the common thread. Beef jerky usually comes in around 9 to 14 grams of protein per ounce, whereas biltong typically sits around 16 grams, making it a slightly better choice for those looking to protein-max.

Fat and Calories

Fat content stays low across both snacks thanks to the lean cuts used, though biltong can run slightly higher in fat when fattier cuts are chosen for extra flavor. Calories track closely with fat and protein levels, so the two snacks land in a similar range per serving, usually somewhere between 70 and 120 calories per ounce.

Sodium and Sugar

Sodium shows up in both, since salt is doing real preservation work in each process, though biltong often comes in lower because it skips the soy sauce that many jerky marinades depend on. Sugar is where the two diverge most clearly. Traditional biltong recipes use none, while many jerky marinades lean on brown sugar or honey for that sweet-savory balance, which pushes jerky's carbohydrate count higher.

Why Nutrition Values Vary by Brand

None of these numbers hold steady across every product, and that's worth keeping in mind before assuming one snack automatically beats the other on nutrition. A single brand's decision to add extra sugar, swap in a fattier cut, or use a heavier marinade can shift the numbers considerably, so the label on the bag in front of you matters more than the general category it belongs to.

Which One Is Better: Beef Jerky or Biltong?

Neither snack wins outright, and the better choice really comes down to what you're looking for in a bite. Here's how each one stacks up by category.

Best for Chewy Texture

Beef jerky wins here. If you want something with real resistance, a snack that takes a while to work through, jerky's heat-dried structure delivers that in a way biltong’s softer chew simply doesn't.

Best for Softer, Meatier Texture

Biltong takes this one. Its air-dried process keeps enough moisture in the meat that each bite feels closer to sliced steak than to a dehydrated strip.

Best for Bold, Traditional Flavor

Biltong edges out jerky here too. Coriander and vinegar give it a distinct character that jerky's sweeter marinades don't try to replicate.

Best for Convenient Snacking

Beef jerky wins in this category. It's more widely stocked and keeps longer without refrigeration, which makes it the easier snack to toss in a bag or a glove compartment for weeks at a time.

Why Personal Preference Wins

Personal preference carries more weight here than any spec sheet. Some snackers grab jerky purely out of habit because it's what they grew up eating, while others try biltong once and never look back. The only way to know which side you land on is to actually taste both.

How to Choose Between Beef Jerky and Biltong

Picking a favorite gets easier once the decision is broken down into a few concrete factors, which we've listed below.

Consider Texture Preferences

Start with texture as a first consideration. If you like something firm and chewy that makes you work for each bite, jerky is the safer pick. If a softer, more tender snack sounds better to you, biltong is worth trying first.

Consider Flavor Preferences

Flavor preference matters just as much as the overall chew. Jerky's marinated sweetness suits anyone who enjoys a smoky or teriyaki-style profile, while biltong's coriander and vinegar cure appeals more to people who want the beef flavor front and center.

Check Ingredients and Nutrition Labels

Read the label before you buy either one to determine what ingredients work for you. Ingredient lists vary widely by brand, and a jerky marinated with real spices reads very differently from one loaded with syrups and additives. The same goes for biltong, where cut quality and spice blends separate an average bag from a great one.

Consider Preparation Style and Product Quality

Preparation style and product quality go hand in hand with cured and smoked meats. A brand that controls its curing time and sources good cuts almost always produces a better final product, whether that's jerky or biltong, and skipping shortcuts along the way tends to show up in the taste.

Compare Different Brands and Varieties

Trying more than one brand is the fastest way to find a favorite. JerkyBrands curates a wide selection from both traditional jerky makers and dedicated biltong producers, so you can compare styles side by side instead of settling for whatever your local store happens to carry. Subscription orders also save 10% on every shipment, which makes side-by-side taste testing a lot more affordable.

Find Your Favorite Beef Jerky or Biltong at JerkyBrands

Beef jerky and biltong come from the same basic goal, preserving meat without refrigeration, but they get there through entirely different paths. Jerky leans on heat and marinade (applied to thin cuts) to build a chewy, sweet-and-smoky snack, while biltong relies on a vinegar cure and patient air-drying to produce something softer and closer to the flavor of the beef itself.

The texture, flavor, moisture content, and ingredients all trace back to that one fork in preparation. Neither snack is objectively better, since so much comes down to what you want out of a bite and how a specific brand chose to make its product.

The best way to find your favorite is to try both. JerkyBrands' curated selection pulls together traditional beef jerky and authentic biltong in one place, alongside exotic proteins and plant-based options for anyone snacking outside the beef aisle, so you can explore both styles without hunting across a dozen different sites.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is biltong the same as beef jerky?

No. Both are dried beef snacks, but biltong is air-cured with vinegar and spices while jerky is marinated and dried using heat. The processes produce noticeably different textures and flavors.

What is the main difference between beef jerky and biltong?

The drying method sets them apart. Jerky is dried with heat from an oven or dehydrator, sometimes a smoker, while biltong is air-dried in a cool, ventilated space without any cooking involved.

Is biltong healthier than beef jerky?

It depends on the brand. Biltong generally contains less added sugar and can be lower in sodium, but health considerations are often ingredient-list dependent. Checking the nutrition label on a specific product gives a more accurate answer than comparing the categories in general.

Does biltong taste different from beef jerky?

Yes. Biltong has a tangy, coriander-forward flavor with a clean beef taste underneath, while jerky tends to be sweeter and smokier thanks to marinades built on soy sauce and brown sugar.

Is biltong softer than beef jerky?

Generally, yes. Biltong retains more moisture from the air-drying process, giving it a softer, more tender bite compared to the drier, chewier texture of heat-dried jerky.

Which has more protein, beef jerky or biltong?

Biltong usually has a slight edge, averaging around 16 grams of protein per ounce compared to beef jerky’s 9 to 14 grams.

Is biltong made with raw beef?

Biltong skips any heat during preparation, yet it's fully cured rather than untreated. The vinegar soak combined with salt and a lengthy air-drying period preserves the meat and makes it safe to eat.

Can you make biltong and beef jerky at home?

Both are possible at home with the right setup. Jerky requires a dehydrator or a low oven, while biltong needs a ventilated space with controlled airflow and humidity, often a dedicated biltong box or a spare closet fitted with a small fan.

Which lasts longer, beef jerky or biltong?

Beef jerky generally lasts longer once sealed, often a couple of months at room temperature thanks to its very low moisture content. Biltong typically stays fresh for a few weeks after opening because it retains more moisture.

Which is better for snacking, beef jerky or biltong?

Both work well for on-the-go snacking. Jerky travels a little better thanks to its longer shelf life, while biltong offers a softer bite that some snackers find easier to eat in larger portions.

References

• Freddy Hirsch. “A Brief History of Biltong.” Freddy Hirsch.
• Garden-Robinson, J. et al. “Jerky: A Native American-inspired snack we all can enjoy today.” NDSU, June, 2025.