Think jerky has to be beef? Think again!
The 2026 Inaugural Tasmanian Jerky Prize at Highlands BushFest has two main entry types — JERKY and BILTONG — and we’d love to see entrants get creative with their choice of meat.
JERKY
At a very high level, jerky is meat that is sliced into relatively thin pieces, seasoned or marinated and then dried/dehydrated to remove moisture and create a flavour-packed dried meat snack.
Jerky can be made from a huge variety of meats, including:
🥩 Beef
🦌 Venison / deer
🦘 Wallaby
🦘 Kangaroo
🐐 Goat
🐑 Lamb or mutton
🐖 Pork
🐓 Chicken
🦃 Turkey
🐟 Fish — absolutely! Fish jerky is welcome too.
Got access to wild game? We would LOVE to see some uniquely Tasmanian entries using locally harvested meats.
Experiment with your marinades, spices, smoke and flavours and show us what you can produce!
BILTONG
Biltong is different from jerky. Originating in Southern Africa, biltong is traditionally made using thicker cuts or strips of meat that are seasoned and cured — commonly using salt, vinegar and spices — before being air-dried.
The result is generally a thicker, meatier product that can range from relatively moist and tender through to quite dry depending on the maker’s preference.
Popular meats for biltong include:
🥩 Beef
🦌 Venison / deer
🦘 Kangaroo
🦘 Wallaby
🐐 Goat
🐑 Lamb or mutton
🐖 Other suitable game and red meats
Traditional flavours such as coriander, black pepper, salt and vinegar are always popular, but we’re looking forward to seeing what Tasmanian makers bring to the competition.
⚠️ IMPORTANT — WHAT COUNTS AS ONE ENTRY?
Each individual entry must consist of ONE meat type from ONE batch.
For example, if you enter venison jerky, all pieces submitted for that entry must be venison jerky produced as part of the same batch.
Each entry must contain 25 pieces.
If you want to enter another meat, recipe or batch, that needs to be submitted as a separate entry.
This helps ensure the judging is fair and that the judges and People’s Choice participants are tasting the same product.
🏆 TWO DIFFERENT PRODUCTS. TWO DIFFERENT STYLES. PLENTY OF ROOM TO GET CREATIVE.
Whether you’ve been making jerky or biltong for years or you’ve got a recipe your mates keep telling you is unbeatable — this is your chance to put it to the test!
Get the dehydrator going, get the biltong box loaded and start perfecting those recipes.
FOUR PRIZE CATEGORIES up for grabs! 🏆
🥩 Judge Awarded – Jerky
🏆 Jerky Slicer / Meat Tenderiser + $150 CASH
🥩 Judge Awarded – Biltong
🏆 $150 CASH + Wagyu Beef Voucher from Tasmanian Prime Meat
🔥 People’s Choice – Jerky
🏆 $70 Brew Distill Ferment Voucher + Seasoning
🔥 People’s Choice – Biltong
🏆 $70 Brew Distill Ferment Voucher + Seasoning
So whether you reckon your jerky is unbeatable or you’ve perfected your biltong recipe, NOW is the time to start preparing!
We want Tasmanians to get involved, show off their skills and help us make the very first Tasmanian Jerky Prize something special.
A massive thank you to Tasmanian Prime Meat, Carnivore Collective, Brew Distill Ferment and Hunting and The Outdoors for getting behind the event and helping make it happen.
2026 Inaugural Tasmanian Jerky Prize
Highlands BushFest
21–22 November 2026
