Biltong snacks (biltonghappies)

Biltong happies (biltong snacks) are a slightly fancy version of the old favourite, biltongbroodjies, which are simply finely sliced or even ground biltong spread over a slice of buttered bread.

Being a bit on the posh side, biltonghappies goes well with a fancy afternoon tea, but also as treats in lunch boxes, or even for padkos (food a road trip).

In 2014 Huisgenoot got the idea that you can add apricot jam and Marmite to biltonghappies. We tried it and our verdict is that the traditional version is unbeatable, but you will have to try it yourself. You might like it.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup (100g) biltong, as dry as possible
  • 6 slices of white bread
  • Butter

For the Huisgenoot version, you also need to add:

  • ¼ cup apricot jam
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons Marmite (or use a similar spread; try Our Mate or Vegemite if you live in New Zealand)
  • ¼ cup butter

Method

Traditional version

  1. If your biltong is very dry, use a food processor or grinder to turn it into powdered biltong. If your biltong is not quite dry enough, slice it thinly.
  2. Soften the butter, and spread evenly over the bread slices.
  3. Cover with biltong.
  4. Cut the sandwiches into snack-size bites. We use a small round cookie cutter to press out biltong circles, which looks very swish. 
  5. You get to eat the crusts and left-over bits right there in the kitchen. 

To make the Huisgenoot version:

  1. Grind or slice the biltong, as described above. Ground biltong will work better than sliced biltong.
  2. Soften the butter, and mix the Marmite into it.
  3. Use the apricot jam to sandwich half of the bread slices onto the other half.
  4. Cut the sandwiches into small squares, and spread them all over (top, bottom, and sides) with the butter-and-marmite mixture.
  5. Place the ground-up biltong in a bowl, and roll the buttered beard in the biltong, until it is completely covered.