If you like to eat as much biltong as I do, you might begin to think…Will I go broke buying this much biltong? Pre-made biltong comes with a costly price tag, so perhaps it’s cheaper to make it yourself?
The simple answer is yes. Over the long run, it will be much cheaper to make your biltong than to buy it.
Consider how much biltong you can easily make and eat compared with the cost of buying that same amount pre-made.
In countries like Australia, premium biltong retails at around 70-80 dollars per kilogram.
Making biltong at home will cost you the price of the meat, vinegar, spices, and a small amount of electricity. These items would amount to roughly 30 dollars a kilogram. The start-up cost for buying a biltong maker or making one would redeem itself within a few batches. Before you set out to make your biltong, there are a few questions you should ask yourself. These will determine if it’s worth it, not just for budget but for your time and consumption.
If you eat a lot of biltong, it is worth making it at home. You will save close to 50% of the cost compared to shop-bought biltong. If you have minimal time or just don’t eat it very often. You should probably keep buying your biltong and appreciate it as a pricy pleasure.
So if you are an avid biltong consumer, you should consider making your own…but maybe you need more convincing. Let us discuss the breakdown of the cost and the implications that are involved.
The Cost Comparison
Commercially made biltong is convenient but expensive! Let the knowledge that the price tag is high for a good reason comfort you. Top-end beef is very pricy! Then consider that meat is around 60% water, which means it loses over half the weight once it’s dried as biltong. On average, 2.5kg of meat will make 1 kg of biltong.
Buying commercially also means you pay for packaging, the facilities used to make it, employees, and more. After this breakdown, it may be clear that making it yourself is a wise decision, especially if you eat a lot and want to save money!
Or it might not convince you that the cost of equipment, meat, spices and electricity wouldn’t add up to be more. But in fact, it’s still cheaper, by a lot. Here is an approximate breakdown, or in other words, here is the math.
Buy
In Australia, you will pay 70 to 80 dollars per kilogram of biltong. This is the price if you buy in bulk, starting at a kilogram and up. If you purchase a standard pack of sliced biltong at the grocery store, you will pay more than $100 a kilogram. One popular biltong brand retails at $14.25 for 100 grams…That is $142.50 per kilogram!
Make
To make biltong at home, your expenses will be (approximately) per kilogram:
Meat, Utilising standard silverside beef, 2.5 kilograms = $40 (Remember that 2.5kg will give you 1kg of biltong)
Vinegar brown malt = $1
Salt & Spices = $2
Electricity to power a fan & optional lightbulb = $3
Total cost per kilogram = $46
If you’re making biltong, you will have a start-up cost for either making a biltong box or buying one. You can make a biltong box from a storage container for about $50 (the price includes the optional light and fan). Or you can buy a pre-made biltong box starting at $100. With the cost per kilogram and the start-up expense, you will make your money back within two batches of biltong. Therefore, you will have made an excellent investment and save money in the long run.
(For more information, I wrote an article on the cheap and lavish ways to make biltong).
Is It Worth Making?
What if you don’t care about the price of buying biltong? Is it still worth making?
As a biltong lover, I say it’s absolutely worth making! It makes sense to save money if you can, but it’s also the best way to access delicious fresh biltong. By making biltong at home, you can customise the taste and texture to your liking. You can experiment with different spices and infused flavours. You can also have as much biltong on hand, at any time, as you like. But there are a few questions to ask yourself before you jump into biltong-making.
Do You Eat Enough?
Biltong lovers who wish they could eat more, but it’s too darn expensive should make their own. But if you are someone who eats it now and then, you might not consider it worthwhile spending the time and effort. Biltong could stay your pricy indulgence or you could find a friend who makes biltong.
Do You Have The Time?
Biltong does take time to make, as well as the days of drying it requires before being ready. Marinating and preparing your meat will take about 30 minutes. The marinating will take anywhere from 4 to 24 hours, depending on your taste preference. And drying will take anywhere from 3 to 7 days until it is dry enough to cut up and eat. This is very inconvenient if you want biltong right away, but a rewarding practice if you have the time to do it.
A side note is to consider if you have the space. A biltong box might not be practical in a cramped apartment or tiny house.
Are You Willing To Learn?
Biltong takes a lot of trial and error. It takes experimentation. It takes engaging in forums to figure out what went wrong when your biltong turned out too salty!
There are some people who get it perfect on the first try, but this is seldom true. You will need to try different recipes, drying times and marination times to see what suits your taste and what works for you. You will most likely develop a passion for making biltong and want to try more adventurous flavours. I must warn you to be careful. Once you start, you might never stop! But that can only be a good thing.