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 pâté
Ilse’s Biltong Paté · Biltong dip · Biltong paté
A cold biltong spread with sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon and herbs; serve it with crackers, crostini or bread.
A biltong spread, despite the pâté name
Ilse van der Merwe’s recipe is a cold spread built around finely powdered biltong, sour cream and mayonnaise. Mustard, lemon rind, lemon juice and fresh herbs sharpen the savoury meat, while the dairy makes the texture scoopable. The published recipe gives four servings and suggests crackers, crostini or French bread.
Here pâté is a serving name rather than a technical promise about liver, cooking or preservation. The source contains no liver and no heating stage. Its biltong is an ingredient in a newly mixed dairy dish; once combined with sour cream and mayonnaise, the spread should be handled as a perishable prepared food. It does not keep like dried meat on its own.
Sources for this section
The source formula and what each ingredient does
The measured core is 100 g fine biltong powder, 250 ml sour cream, 60 ml mayonnaise, 5 ml wholegrain or Dijon mustard, 5 ml finely grated lemon rind and 5–10 ml fresh lemon juice. A handful of finely chopped chives and/or Italian parsley supplies the green herb note. The recipe finishes with a sprinkle of Ina Paarman’s Meat Seasoning, without a numeric quantity.
Fine powder disperses more evenly than large strands and makes the texture closer to a smooth dip. Coarser biltong would create a more textured spread, but that is a development variation, not the source formula. Sour cream contributes a tangy, soft base; mayonnaise adds richness and helps the mixture hold together. Mustard and lemon balance the salty, concentrated meat, while rind supplies aromatic citrus oils and juice adds acidity. The source permits either wholegrain or Dijon mustard and either or both of its named herbs; keep those choices visible rather than collapsing them into a single mandatory ingredient.
Sources for this section
Method: mix, taste, serve
The whole method is to stir the ingredients in a mixing bowl until combined, taste, and adjust the seasoning. No blending time, resting period, chilling duration or temperature is given, so none is added here. A wide bowl makes it easy to incorporate the powder without leaving dry pockets; scrape the sides and bottom as you stir. It says to taste after mixing, when the biltong and seasoning are distributed through the dairy.
Because the seasoning is specified only as a sprinkle and the biltong may vary in saltiness, season gradually. The recipe’s instruction to taste and adjust supports this judgement; it does not establish an extra measure of salt. Serve with one of the source’s stated accompaniments. Crackers make the pâté a dip or canapé filling; crostini and French bread give a broader, softer surface for spreading.
Sources for this section
Serving, variations and practical handling
The published recipe is one contemporary interpretation of biltong in a shared snack. Other biltong spreads use different bases and textures, but they are separate formulas. Do not substitute an unrelated cream-cheese or mushroom pâté recipe while retaining this title: those changes would alter both the ingredient list and the method. A measured herb quantity, a different dairy base, or a roasted biltong garnish would be a new variation requiring its own tested quantities.
Sour cream and mayonnaise are chilled foods; the Food Standards Agency advises keeping chilled foods cold, following package directions and keeping them out of refrigeration for the shortest practical time. This recipe supplies no shelf-life duration. Store the mixed spread according to the dairy packaging and applicable food-safety guidance, and make only the amount needed if those instructions cannot be met. No sensory check can establish that a perishable food has been safely stored.
Sources for this section
History
The cited page attributes this recipe to Ilse van der Merwe’s book Easy Al Fresco and serves it as a spread or dip. That establishes a contemporary published formulation; it does not establish when biltong spreads began or claim the dish as an old regional tradition.
Ingredients
Yield 4 servings · Scaling: source batch only
Biltong powderFine
100 g
250 mL
60 mL
Wholegrain or Dijon mustardUse either wholegrain or Dijon mustard.
5 mL
Finely grated lemon rind
5 mL
Fresh lemon juiceUse 5–10 ml to taste, as printed.
5 mL
The source gives a range of 5–10 ml.Fresh chives and/or Italian parsleyFinely chopped; the source specifies a handful.
Amount not stated
A handful; no weight is supplied.Ina Paarman’s Meat SeasoningA sprinkle, to taste.
Amount not stated
The source names the branded seasoning but gives no measure.Method
Risks and precautions
Perishable dairy spread
Sour cream and mayonnaise make this a chilled prepared food rather than a dry meat product.
Hazard sourceKeep the prepared spread chilled when not serving and follow the product storage instructions; limit time out of refrigeration.
Control sourceThis recipe is not shelf-stable and does not inherit biltong’s drying properties.
- Measure the fine biltong powder, sour cream, mayonnaise and mustard into a mixing bowl.
- Finely grate the lemon rind and chop the chives and/or parsley. Add them with the lemon juice and a sprinkle of Ina Paarman’s Meat Seasoning.
- Stir all the ingredients together until thoroughly combined.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve as a spread with crackers, crostini or French bread.
Conditions
Yield4 servings
Places
South Africa
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe source documents a contemporary recipe by Ilse van der Merwe, not a historical or regional origin.
Related
Made from
Herbs
Culinary herbs are the leaves and tender shoots of aromatic plants, used for flavour and aroma. The plant and its fresh, dried or extracted form decide what a cook is handling.
Lemons
Lemons are aromatic, acidic citrus fruits whose peel, pith and juice serve different jobs in food and drink. The fruit is a hybrid with a complex history.
Neutral classic mayonnaise
A plain mayonnaise of 200 g refined neutral oil emulsified into pasteurised yolk, vinegar, water and a little Dijon mustard: a clean base for tasting, comparing and flavouring.
Sour cream
Sour cream is light cream thickened and soured by a lactic starter. This Canadian method uses homogenized cream and lets the gel form in its storage container.
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Sources
Ina Paarman’s KitchenRecipe · Method · Serving
Ilse’s Biltong PatéAdapted from Ilse van der Merwe’s Easy Al Fresco; serves four.
100 g fine biltong powder, 250 ml sour cream, 60 ml mayonnaise, 5 ml wholegrain or Dijon mustard, 5 ml lemon rind, 5–10 ml fresh lemon juice, a handful of chopped chives and/or Italian parsley, and a sprinkle of Ina Paarman’s Meat Seasoning.
Stir ingredients together, taste and adjust seasoning, and serve with crackers, crostini or French bread.
Cited in: A biltong spread, despite the pâté name; The source formula and what each ingredient does; Method: mix, taste, serve; Serving, variations and practical handling
Food Standards AgencySafety
How to chill, freeze and defrost food safelyOfficial guidance says dairy products and ready-to-eat foods should be kept chilled and storage instructions followed.
Cited in: A biltong spread, despite the pâté name; Serving, variations and practical handling