Whole salted mullet dried in the wind, peeled and eaten with bread. They have been cured on racks at Velddrif on the Berg River since the eighteenth century, and the fishermen call them the biltong of the sea.
It is ungutted whole fish air-dried for weeks, where the salt and the west coast wind are the safeguards — an ungutted fish drying too slowly spoils from the gut outward.
What goes into it
- harders — southern mullet, whole and ungutted
- coarse salt
- the west coast wind
How it is made
The mullet are brined whole and ungutted for a day or two, then strung in pairs by the tail and hung on open racks facing the wind off the Atlantic. They dry for one to three weeks depending on how firm the maker wants them, ending stiff, salty and oily. The wind, not the sun, does the work.
How long it takes: one to three weeks on the racks
How it is eaten
Skin and bones stripped off by hand, eaten in strips with white bread, butter and grapes.
History
Cured on racks at Velddrif on the Berg River since the eighteenth century; fishermen call them the biltong of the sea.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bokkoms?
Bokkoms is a charcuterie & cured from South Africa: whole salted mullet dried in the wind, peeled and eaten with bread. Cured on racks at Velddrif on the Berg River since the eighteenth century; fishermen call them the biltong of the sea.
How is Bokkoms made?
The mullet are brined whole and ungutted for a day or two, then strung in pairs by the tail and hung on open racks facing the wind off the Atlantic. They dry for one to three weeks depending on how firm the maker wants them, ending stiff, salty and oily. The wind, not the sun, does the work. It takes one to three weeks on the racks.
Can I make Bokkoms at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is ungutted whole fish air-dried for weeks, where the salt and the west coast wind are the safeguards — an ungutted fish drying too slowly spoils from the gut outward.
What goes into Bokkoms?
Harders — southern mullet, whole and ungutted, coarse salt, the west coast wind.
How is Bokkoms eaten?
Skin and bones stripped off by hand, eaten in strips with white bread, butter and grapes.
