Ke Nako produces best biltong in Ireland
The best biltong in Ireland is produced near Ballyclare in Co Antrim by Ke Nako Biltong, an artisan business producing premium cured meats.
Food NI member Ke Nako Biltong, a small business established by chef/butcher Ilse van Staden, originally from Pretoria in South Africa, and lecturer Alanagh Chipperfield in 2012, won the gold award for its richly flavoured and hand cured biltong at the influential Blas na hEireann, Irish National Food Awards in Dingle.
BBC Award
The award follows their success in winning BBC TV’s Top of the Shop series earlier in the year.
The artisan business, based on Ballylagan Organic Farm, has developed an impressive portfolio of authentic South African cured meats including biltong, Droewors, chilli bites and stokkies, a low-fat, high protein snack.
“We were thrilled to receive the Blas gold. It was a marvellous endorsement by an expert judging panel of the quality and outstanding taste of our biltong. It’s great to see our biltong being acclaimed as Ireland’s best,” says Alanagh.
What Ilse has done is to use her knowledge and experience as a chef to create a new role as a food producer specialising in the cured meats she grew up loving in South Africa. “I looked at the local food industry and spotted an opportunity to create authentic biltong and other cured meat products from South Africa,” Ilse explains.
“Biltong has long been popular in South Africa as a snack in particular because it’s rich in protein and especially popular with rugby players and other sports people as an aid to recovery after training and games,” she continues. “This is because it’s an excellent source of vital minerals like zinc, iron, magnesium and vitamin B-12; all essential for the body to function,” she adds.
Together they have created a unique biltong recipe using organic beef that’s been cured in organic red wine vinegar with a rich blend of spices from salt, black pepper, coriander seeds, nutmeg, and cloves before being air-dried in premises on the farm.
Working closely with three local farmers they use quality organically reared beef such as brisket, topside and silverside.
The biltong, and other cured meats, is now being marketed to delis and farm shops in Northern Ireland and through internet sales from their website www.kenakobiltong.co.uk.
