If you miss South African food in Portugal, biltong is the easiest taste of home to get hold of. It is air-dried spiced beef, made the traditional way from six ingredients with no sugar, and we make ours here in Portugal alongside a South African butcher. For anyone missing the flavours of home, it is the closest thing to the real article.
If you are new to it or want to explain it to a Portuguese friend, our beginner's guide to biltong covers where it comes from and how it is made.
What South African foods can you find in Portugal?
Portugal and South Africa share a long history, so some things travel well. You will find braai culture alive among expats, the odd shop stocking familiar sauces, and a growing community that cooks the food they grew up with. What is harder to find is proper biltong made the right way.
That is the gap we set out to fill: real air-dried beef, made locally, so South Africans in Portugal do not have to go without.
Why is biltong the taste of home for South Africans?
Biltong is woven into South African life, from rugby matches to road trips to the drawer in the kitchen that always has some. It is more than food, it is a habit and a memory. The smell of coriander and dried beef takes people straight back.
For an expat, a pack of good biltong is a small piece of home you can hold. That is why getting the recipe right matters so much to us.
Is Raw Sintra biltong authentic?
We think so, and we built it to be. Raw Sintra was co-founded by Anthony Day and Sergio Graçioso, and we make our biltong with a South African butcher who knows how it should taste. The base is six ingredients: Portuguese beef, Worcester sauce, vinegar, salt, coriander and black pepper.
It is air-dried for about five days in the cool Atlantic air of Sintra, at around 400m, which is close to the dry conditions biltong was born in. Local beef, traditional method, the flavour you remember.
How is biltong different from jerky?
This is the line every South African knows. Jerky is cooked and usually sweetened with sugar. Biltong is air-dried, never cooked, and has no sugar. The texture is different, the taste is different, and to a South African palate there is no comparison.
If the only dried beef you can find locally is sweet jerky, real biltong is the swap that finally tastes like home.
How do you get South African biltong in Portugal?
Order online and we deliver within Portugal. Pick from Lean, Garlic and Piri Piri, all made from the same traditional base, and it arrives at your door. If you want it regularly, the monthly subscription keeps the drawer stocked, the way it always was back home.
No more asking friends to bring some in a suitcase or paying a fortune to import it. It is made here in Sintra, so it reaches you fresh and fast rather than sitting in transit for weeks.
What makes biltong such a strong link to home?
Food carries memory better than almost anything. For South Africans, biltong is tied to the people and places of home: the braai in the garden, the drive to the coast, the packet passed around at the rugby. Tasting it again does not just feed you, it brings a piece of all that back.
That is why we care so much about getting it right rather than close enough. When you are far from home, a food that tastes the way you remember is worth a great deal, and it is exactly what we set out to make here in Portugal.
Which biltong flavour tastes most like home?
It depends on how you grew up eating it. Our Lean is the plain, traditional taste, all beef and coriander and pepper, and for many South Africans that is the one that lands closest to memory. Garlic adds a savoury depth that suits people who like a bolder bite, while Piri Piri brings gentle heat for those raised on a bit of spice.
All three come from the same six-ingredient base, so none of them stray from the traditional recipe. It is worth trying more than one to find the version that matches the biltong you remember, because everyone's home taste is a little different.
Is biltong part of South African sporting culture?
Very much so. Biltong and rugby go hand in hand, from the stands at a Test match to the sofa at home on a Saturday. It is the food people reach for while they watch, the thing that gets passed down the row, and a small ritual that ties the game to home.
For South Africans in Portugal, keeping biltong in the house for match day is a way of holding on to that. The rugby is on, the packet is open, and for an hour or two it feels a lot like home, wherever in Portugal you happen to be.
Is Raw Sintra biltong made by South Africans?
It is co-founded by Anthony Day and Sergio Graçioso and made with a South African butcher, using the traditional method.
Is biltong the same as jerky?
No. Jerky is cooked and usually sweetened. Biltong is air-dried and unsweetened, the way South Africans know it.
What is Raw Sintra biltong made from?
Six ingredients: Portuguese beef, Worcester sauce, vinegar, salt, coriander and black pepper. No sugar and no additives.
Can I get biltong delivered anywhere in Portugal?
Yes. We ship within Portugal, so you can order online and have it arrive at your door.
Missing the taste of home? Shop our biltong and get a proper piece of South Africa in Portugal. Packs are 17.50 EUR, with a monthly subscription to keep you stocked. It is made by hand in Sintra and ship within Portugal.
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