Biltong
Strips of whole-muscle beef or game seasoned with salt, vinegar, roasted coriander and pepper and air-dried without cooking, sold anywhere from soft and moist to hard and very salty.
Biltong braaibroodjie
Biltong Braaibroodjie · Braaibroodjie with biltong
Chopped biltong, sweet onion, cream cheese and Cheddar fill bread toasted in a hinged grid over gentle coals, then finished with biltong dust.
A braaibroodjie filled with biltong
A braaibroodjie is a toasted sandwich cooked over a braai, often in a hinged grid. Jan Braai’s version builds the filling around finely chopped biltong, sweet red onions, plain cream cheese and Cheddar. The outside is buttered or brushed with olive oil, then toasted over gentle coals until the bread is golden and the cheese has melted. After cooking, more soft butter and biltong dust go over the top.
The source calls the recipe four servings but lists 12 slices of bread, enough for six sandwiches. This page preserves that inconsistency rather than guessing whether the serving field means people eating more than one or the total sandwich count. Each assembled sandwich is cut in half and served immediately.
The source amounts
Set out 12 bread slices, butter or olive oil for the outside, two sliced red onions, one tot each of sugar and balsamic vinegar, about 200 g biltong, one tub of plain cream cheese, 240 g Cheddar, 250 ml biltong dust and additional butter for finishing. The source does not give an amount for the oil or butter, and it does not state the size of the cream-cheese tub. It says one tub is enough. A tot is kept in the unit used by the source rather than converted to a volume.
The unusual finishing quantity of 250 ml biltong dust is printed on the original recipe page. It has been retained faithfully; check the source before measuring, since the volume will vary with grind and packing. It should not be silently reduced to a smaller guessed amount. The biltong itself is listed as about 200 g and should be finely chopped, not powdered, for the filling.
Sources for this section
Cook the onion filling
Warm some of the listed butter or oil in a pan and soften the sliced onions. Add the source’s sugar and balsamic vinegar and simmer over low heat for 15–20 minutes, until the onions are sweet and sticky. It says to let this mixture cool before assembly. Cooling helps the filling remain in the sandwich rather than making the bread wet as it is built; no extra cooling time is specified.
The slow onion stage is distinct from cooking the sandwich over coals. It concentrates the sweet-sour onion mixture before it is enclosed with the cheeses and meat. The recipe gives visual texture language for this stage—soft and sticky—but not a temperature setting or pan size.
Sources for this section
Assemble and toast over gentle heat
Butter or oil one face of each bread slice. Place six slices with the coated faces down, spread cream cheese over each, then divide the cooled onions, chopped biltong and Cheddar across the sandwiches. Close them with the remaining bread, coated sides facing outwards. The two cheeses play different parts: cream cheese is spread directly onto the bread, while the Cheddar is layered with the meat and onions.
Use a closed hinged grid over gentle, medium-paced coals, held relatively high. Turn the sandwiches often. The goal described by Jan Braai is for the cheese to melt and the fillings to heat by the time the bread outside has browned. The source cautions that the bread can stick: slightly opening and closing the grid a few times after its first turns may help it release. This recipe gives no precise coal temperature, so the fire must be managed by observation and regular turns rather than an invented setting.
Sources for this section
Finish and serve
As the sandwiches come off the fire, spread soft butter on top and dust the warm surface with biltong dust. Slice each in half, preferably diagonally, and serve immediately. That sequence leaves the topping fragrant and keeps the bread crispest at the point of serving.
News24’s 2020 roundup presents the biltong-filled sandwich among several contemporary braaibroodjie variations and attributes it to Jan Braai’s cookbook. That is evidence of a modern published version and the wider adaptability of the format, not a date for the invention of the sandwich or proof that any one filling is compulsory.
History
Jan Braai’s published version documents a contemporary braaibroodjie variation using biltong, caramelised red onion and two cheeses. It is a recipe source, not evidence that this exact filling is an old or universal braai tradition.
Ingredients
Yield 6 sandwiches · Scaling: source batch only
Bread slices
12 slices
Butter or olive oilFor the outer faces of the bread; source gives no amount.
Amount not stated
Use enough to coat the outside faces; no quantity is specified.Red onionsSliced
2
1 tot
Balsamic vinegar
1 tot
BiltongFinely chopped; source says about 200 g.
200 g
The source gives approximately 200 g.Plain cream cheeseOne tub is enough; source gives no tub size.
Amount not stated
One tub is described as enough, without a pack weight.Cheddar cheeseSliced or grated
240 g
Biltong dustFor dusting over soft butter after cooking.
250 mL
ButterAdditional soft butter to finish; source gives no amount.
Amount not stated
The source specifies more butter, without a measure.Method
Risks and precautions
Open fire and hot hinged grid
The cooking method uses hot coals and a metal grid.
Hazard sourceKeep the hinged grid stable and handle it as hot equipment; follow the braai's own fire-safety practice.
Control sourceThis dish uses already made biltong; this recipe does not validate or make the biltong.
- Heat butter or oil in a pan and fry the sliced red onions until soft. Add the sugar and balsamic vinegar and simmer over low heat for about 15–20 minutes, until the onions are sweet and sticky. Set aside to cool.
- Finely chop the biltong. Butter or oil one side of each bread slice; these are the outward-facing sides. Lay six slices buttered-side down, spread cream cheese across them, then divide the cooled onion, biltong and Cheddar over the bread. Close with the remaining six slices, buttered sides facing up.
- Cook in a closed hinged grid over gentle, medium-paced heat, with the grid held relatively high. Turn frequently so the outsides brown while the cheese melts and the filling heats. The source suggests briefly opening and closing the grid a few times after the first turns to reduce sticking.
- Spread soft butter on the cooked sandwiches and dust with biltong dust while warm. Slice each sandwich in half, preferably diagonally, and serve immediately, as the source recommends.
Conditions
Yield6 sandwiches
Places
South Africa
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThis country-level association identifies the source context, not a claimed origin date.
Related
Made from
Butter
Butter is a milk-fat emulsion made by churning cream. It enriches dough or finishes bread; melted, cool and room-temperature butter serve different recipe roles.
Cream cheese
A fresh cultured-cream spread, set gently and drained in muslin in the refrigerator. This home method uses light cream and a small amount of cultured buttermilk.
Onion
The onion is the bulb of Allium cepa, built from swollen leaf bases, and is eaten raw, cooked, pickled and as a seasoning in ferments. It is known only from cultivation and probably began in Central Asia.
Sugar
Sugar is a family of sweeteners with different forms and food roles; refined white sucrose may come from cane or beet, while less refined forms add other flavours and moisture.
Equipment
Hinged braai grid
A closed, hinged grid holds food between two cooking faces so a braaier can turn it together over coals. Braaibroodjie recipes specify this tool, but sources do not establish one standard design or size.
Read more
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Sources
Jan BraaiRecipe · Method · Serving
Biltong BraaibroodjiePublished yield says serves four; the ingredient list uses 12 bread slices for six sandwiches.
12 bread slices, butter or olive oil, 2 red onions, 1 tot sugar, 1 tot balsamic vinegar, about 200 g finely chopped biltong, one tub plain cream cheese, 240 g Cheddar, 250 ml biltong dust and additional butter.
Cook onions with sugar and balsamic until soft and sticky; assemble with buttered outer faces and cream cheese, onions, biltong and Cheddar; toast in a hinged grid over gentle heat, turning often; finish with butter and biltong dust.
Cited in: A braaibroodjie filled with biltong; The source amounts; Cook the onion filling; Assemble and toast over gentle heat; Finish and serve
News24Context · Image
The ultimate braaibroodjies: 6 tasty toasted treats to serve at your braai this holidayThe article includes a biltong braaibroodjie variation attributed to Jan Braai’s cookbook and describes serving it sliced diagonally and immediately off the fire.
Cited in: A braaibroodjie filled with biltong; Finish and serve