Frequently asked questions
Our customers ask us lots of good questions (and a few strange ones, but we'll leave those out for now!). Here's a collection of common questions and, more importantly their answers!
Do you make your own spice blends?
We sure do - everything that goes into our biltong, droewors, spices and sauces is hand blended. We start with base spices - for example whole black peppercorns and whole coriander and roast our spices batch by batch before griding and blending. We think this is one of the big differences in our product - you may be shocked to find out how many biltong producers use commercially prepared spice blends full of MSG, preservatives and fillers.
Are your products gluten free?
Sadly, we can't at the moment answer a definitive yes to this question, however we are getting close. We can tell you we use no fillers, so you don't need to worry about that. We use a small amount of soy in the marinading/spicing process of our biltong and we moved early on to use Tamari (made by Spiral Foods in Australia) which is certified gluten free. We currently use malt vinegar - a contentious ingredient that many say is safe, but we think you need to make up your mind about that. We are currently doing some product testing using red wine vinegar and if that goes well we will be able to say our product is gluten free with full confidence!
How do I store biltong?
Biltong is a meat product that has been partially preserved. We say partially because it still contains moisture - and it is the moisture more than anything that will lead to spoilage.
In the same way that you wouldn't expect ham to stay fresh if you left it in a packet in your pantry, biltong is best stored in the fridge. If you store it in the original packaging it will stay fresh for a few weeks if kept refrigerated. Biltong and droewors also freezes very well.
If you wish to store it at room temperature, then please store in a paper bag (any colour will do, but we think brown is best ;)).
We have some more complete storage instructions here.
How quickly will I get my order?
We would love to say "within 1 day" which is what we are working towards, however it is frequently a little longer. This is because we are a new business and demand and supply are a little hard to match. We want you to get the very best product we can make - and that means not making it too far in advance of you receiving it. If you wonder why a lot of biltong tastes very ordinary it is because it hangs around a dusty shop for weeks on end before you eat it.
So, when orders are just ticking over, we tend to despatch/deliver orders within a 24-48hr timeframe. Sometimes (like when lovely customers start raving about our product on Facebook), we see a massive influx of orders and this can blow out our supply. Biltong isn't an overnight process - start to finish it takes anywhere from 4 to 7 days - and so sometimes there are delays.
Whenever there is a delay we get in touch (a good reason to leave us your email when you're ordering) and we will always respond to customer inquiries. If you order a range of products and one is out of stock, we will usually deliver the bulk of the order and then do a second delivery for backorders.
Do you ship interstate?
Yes, we package and ship interstate and have customers all over the country - as far away as Western Australia. We use express parcel services so your product arrives quickly and is as fresh as possible.