BROOKLYN — A Brooklyn couple is raising money to relaunch their business selling an "all natural" version of beef jerky that tastes more like steak than Slim Jims.
Ben and Emily van den Heever hope to make biltong — a South African style of dried meat in which the beef is air-dried instead of heated — as ubiquitous in Brooklyn as it is in Ben van den Heever's native country.
The two started selling their Brooklyn Biltong online and in a few small shops last year, making it in a co-production facility in New Jersey up until November, he said.
But after selling to more than 1,500 people online in 10 months, they decided it was time to launch their own facility.
"It's as close as you can get to a natural piece of meat," the South African native explained, noting that Biltong tastes better and is healthier than regular jerky. As part of the air-dry process, he said, "you're not modifying the structure of meat at all by heating it up."
It's cut with the grain — like a steak — and doesn't contain any of the preservatives that jerky often has, he noted.
"It's very close to the actual taste of steak," he said.
Biltong is as common in South Africa as hamburgers are here in the U.S., he added.
The $15,000 the couple wants to raise through Brooklyn Biltong's Kickstarter will go toward buying a machine that air-dries the meat, a process that takes several days.
While the facility will be in New Jersey, the van den Heevers plan to eventually open a retail store where they live in South Slope.
A 2-ounce bag of biltong, made from grass-fed beef, will cost $10 online.
In addition to selling the product, Brooklyn Biltong will be donating 10 percent of its net profits to local food charities in the form of biltong.
One day, the couple hopes biltong will be as common in the U.S. as rooibos tea — another South African import.
"We’re feeling the excitement of getting back to selling," he said. "People are jumping onto this."
