A South African Guide to Outdoor Cooking with Game (Wildsvleis)
The winter veld, the coals, and centuries of South African tradition — this is what wildsvleis season is all about.
South Africa is a nation built around fire. Long before braai earned its own public holiday, our forebears were turning meat over open coals — and nowhere does that tradition run deeper than with wildsvleis, our game meat. From the plains of the Karoo to game farms across Limpopo, the Free State, and the Eastern Cape, winter marks culling season: the carefully managed annual harvest that keeps herds healthy and puts some of the leanest, most flavourful protein in the country onto our tables. Kudu, springbok, blesbok, impala, eland, gemsbok, warthog — the variety on offer is enormous, and so is the opportunity for the home cook and braai master alike.
And yet, for all its abundance, venison still carries a reputation problem. Ask around and you'll hear the same old complaints: “It's dry.” “It tastes too wild.” “I never know what to do with it.” This post sets out to fix that. We'll unpack what game meat is actually used for, the real secrets that biltong makers and potjie cooks swear by, why the dry-and-gamey reputation persists (and how to make sure it never happens on your fire), and we'll finish with recipes — including how to make your own biltong from scratch.
A Proudly South African Tradition
South Africa's game culture is unlike almost anywhere else in the world. Game ranching now covers more land nationally than the formal conservation estate, and with more than 20 species farmed and hunted commercially, “game meat” is never just one thing on the shelf. Winter culling season exists for good reason: animals are in peak condition after a summer of good grazing and before the leaner, harder months of late winter and spring set in, herd numbers are kept in balance with the land's carrying capacity, and the proceeds help fund the conservation areas the animals depend on. It's a system that is, at its best, both sustainable and delicious.
Here's a quick tour of what's likely to land in your freezer or at your local game butchery this season:
• Springbok — South Africa's national animal and the most “beef-like” in flavour; mild, tender, and endlessly versatile.
• Kudu — large, well-marbled by antelope standards, and the most popular choice for biltong and braai steaks.
• Impala — very lean and mild, but unforgiving if overcooked — handle with care.
• Blesbok — firm-textured and full-flavoured, a favourite for potjie and stews.
• Eland — the largest antelope, prized for its marbling — arguably the closest venison gets to a good beef fillet.
• Gemsbok (oryx) — robust, dark meat from the Kalahari, excellent dried as biltong.
• Warthog — closer to pork in texture and fat content; brilliant on the braai and in sausages.
• Red hartebeest, bushbuck and duiker — smaller volumes, but well worth seeking out for their delicate flavour.
From Veld to Plate: What Venison Is Actually Used For
Wildsvleis is remarkably versatile — far more than a once-off roast. Here's where it really shines:
Biltong: South Africa's original method of turning lean venison into a shelf-stable, deeply savoury snack.
Biltong
Our national snack has its roots in exactly this kind of meat. Long before refrigeration, salting, spicing and air-drying strips of venison was simply how meat was preserved on trek. Lean game is ideal for biltong: because there's so little fat to turn rancid, the dried result keeps beautifully and develops a deep, concentrated flavour that fattier meats can't match.
Droëwors (and “Drywors”)
These are the same product — droëwors is the correct Afrikaans spelling (“droë” meaning dry), while “drywors” is simply how it's often written phonetically. Either way, it's boerewors that has been dried rather than braaied: a coriander-forward spiced sausage mix, stuffed into casings and air-dried in the same way as biltong. It's one of the most popular ways to use venison mince blended with a little fat.
Fresh or dried, wors relies on a proper fat ratio — venison alone is simply too lean to hold together well.
Boerewors and Fresh Sausage
Venison mince makes superb fresh boerewors and sausages, provided fat is added back in — typically pork fat or beef fat blended at roughly 70:30 (meat to fat), plus the classic coriander, nutmeg and clove spice blend.
Tender cuts — fillet, backstrap, rump and loin chops — belong over hot coals, cooked quickly and rested well.
Braai Cuts
Fillet, backstrap, rump, loin chops and rib cuts from the larger antelope are outstanding over the coals — as good as, if not better than, a quality beef steak, provided they're treated with the respect a lean cut deserves (more on that below).
Tougher cuts — shoulder, neck and shin — come into their own after hours of slow, moist cooking in a potjie.
Potjiekos
Shoulder, neck, shin and other harder-working cuts are made for the potjie. Long, slow, moist cooking over gentle coals breaks down connective tissue and turns tougher venison meltingly tender — arguably the single best way to cook game for a crowd.
And Everything Else
Venison mince also does excellent work in bobotie, cottage pie, meatballs and burger patties; venison pies are a Cape winter institution; and offcuts and trim make superb biltong-spiced snacks, droë sosaties, salami and jerky-style bites. Very little of a well-processed animal needs to go to waste.
The Secrets to Cooking Game Successfully
Almost every disappointing plate of venison comes down to one of a handful of fixable mistakes. Here's what the professionals do differently:
1. Respect the lean factor
Game typically carries 1–5% intramuscular fat, compared to well-marbled beef. Treat a venison steak like a lean beef fillet, not a fatty ribeye — the cooking approach needs to change accordingly.
2. Never overcook
This is the single biggest cause of “dry” venison. Cook tender cuts to medium-rare or medium at most (roughly 54–60°C internal), use a meat thermometer rather than guesswork, and always rest the meat for five to ten minutes before slicing.
3. Add the fat back in deliberately
Bard lean roasts with bacon or caul fat, baste steaks with butter as they cook, and when making sausages or mince dishes, blend in pork or beef fat rather than relying on the venison alone.
4. Match the cut to the method
Tender cuts — fillet, backstrap, rump — want quick, high-heat cooking over the coals or in a hot pan. Tougher, well-worked cuts — shoulder, neck, shin, brisket — want low, slow, moist cooking: potjie, braising or stewing.
5. Marinate or dry-brine ahead of time
A wine, vinegar or buttermilk-based marinade adds moisture and tenderness; a simple salt dry-rub applied a few hours ahead does the same job for steaks headed straight for the fire. For tougher cuts, a few hours (not days) in an acidic marinade helps considerably — much longer and the texture can turn mealy.
6. Hang and age the meat properly
Correctly hung and aged venison (typically seven to fourteen days at the right temperature) develops noticeably better flavour and tenderness than meat that's rushed straight from carcass to freezer.
7. Get it from field to fridge fast
Quick, clean field dressing and rapid cooling of the carcass is, more than any other single factor, what separates clean-tasting venison from meat with an unpleasant “gamey” edge. This matters more than the species of animal itself.
8. Give the potjie time — and leave the lid alone
Low heat, patience, and resisting the urge to lift the lid and stir are what turn a tough cut into a spoon-tender potjie. Rushing the process with high heat is the quickest way to end up with tough meat and a scorched pot.
Busting the Myth: Why Does Game Still Get a Bad Rap?
If venison is this good when handled well, why does the “dry and too wild” reputation persist? A few honest reasons:
• Overcooking is public enemy number one. Because there's so little fat to protect it, a lean cut of venison cooked to well-done dries out far faster than a fatty steak would — and that single mistake accounts for most complaints.
• A “gamey” taste is almost always a handling problem, not a meat problem. Slow or careless field dressing, gut contamination, meat that wasn't cooled quickly enough, or long freezer storage (freezer burn) will all produce off flavours — and it's easy to blame “the animal” rather than the process behind it.
• Generational habit plays a role too. Many South Africans grew up with beef and lamb as the default braai meat, with venison seen as hunting-camp food rather than everyday fare — and unfamiliarity breeds hesitation at the meat counter.
• Inconsistent supply matters. Meat from a rushed or inexperienced source varies wildly in quality, while meat from a reputable game butchery — properly hung, correctly cut and well packaged — delivers consistently mild, clean results every time.
The fix is simple: buy from a reputable source, cook to the right temperature, add fat back in deliberately, and match the cut to the method. Do that consistently, and the “dry and wild” reputation stops applying to anything on your table.
Recipes: Put It Into Practice
Classic Venison Biltong
The definitive way to turn lean, well-hung venison into South Africa's favourite snack.
Ingredients
• 2 kg venison silverside or topside, trimmed of silverskin
• 250 ml brown vinegar
• 45 ml coarse salt
• 30 ml coarsely cracked black pepper
• 45 ml coriander seed, toasted and coarsely crushed
• 15 ml bicarbonate of soda (optional, as a natural tenderiser)
Method
1. Cut the meat into strips roughly 2.5 cm thick, following the grain, about 15–20 cm long.
2. Dip the strips briefly in the vinegar, then drain.
3. Mix the salt, pepper and coriander and coat the strips generously on all sides.
4. Layer the meat in a non-reactive container, cover, and refrigerate for 12–24 hours, turning once.
5. Shake off the excess spice and thread the strips onto biltong hooks.
6. Hang in a biltong box or well-ventilated dryer at 22–25°C for 4–7 days, depending on thickness and how dry you like it.
7. Slice against the grain to serve.
Droëwors
The dried, spiced sausage every biltong maker eventually graduates to.
Ingredients
• 2 kg venison mince
• 1 kg fatty pork belly, minced
• 30 ml coarse salt
• 15 ml coarsely ground black pepper
• 30 ml coriander seed, toasted and coarsely ground
• 5 ml ground cloves
• A splash of brown vinegar
• Beef middle or hog casings
Method
1. Combine the mince, fat and all seasonings thoroughly by hand.
2. Stuff the mixture into casings, twisting into a continuous coil or links.
3. Hang in the same conditions used for biltong (22–25°C, good airflow) for 5–10 days, checking regularly, until firm and dry throughout.
Marinated Braai Steaks (Kudu, Springbok or Impala)
A simple, reliable method for tender cuts straight over the coals.
Marinade
• 60 ml olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• A few sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme
• 125 ml red wine
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• A splash of Worcestershire sauce
Method
1. Marinate the steaks for 2–4 hours in the fridge — no longer, or the texture can turn mealy.
2. Remove from the fridge and bring to room temperature; pat dry and season with salt just before cooking.
3. Sear over hot coals for 2–3 minutes per side for medium-rare (internal temperature around 55°C).
4. Rest for 5–8 minutes under foil, then slice against the grain.
5. Finish with a knob of butter and flaky salt.
Venison Potjie
Low, slow and unhurried — exactly how the tougher cuts want to be treated.
Ingredients
• 1.5 kg venison shoulder or neck, cubed
• 150 g streaky bacon, chopped
• 2 onions, quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 carrots, chunked
• 500 g baby potatoes
• 1/2 butternut, cubed
• A handful of dried apricots
• 250 ml red wine or dark beer
• 500 ml beef stock
• 2 bay leaves, a pinch of allspice
• Cornflour to thicken, salt and pepper to taste
Method
1. Render the bacon in the potjie pot over medium coals, then brown the venison in batches and set aside.
2. Layer the onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, butternut and apricots into the pot without stirring — return the meat on top.
3. Pour in the wine or beer and stock until the liquid reaches just below the top layer, then add the bay leaves and allspice.
4. Cover and simmer over low coals for 2.5–3.5 hours, resisting the urge to lift the lid or stir.
5. Season to taste and thicken with a little cornflour mixed with water in the final 15 minutes, if needed.
Get the Right Gear for the Job
Whichever method calls to you this winter — a proper biltong box and cutter, a well-seasoned potjie pot, a solid braai grid, or a reliable meat thermometer — OnlineBraaiShop has the gear to help you turn this season's wildsvleis into next season's favourite braai tradition. Browse our range and get the fire going.