Boerewors

Ingredients

Meat

• 1.4 kgbeef chuck or brisket, chilled and cut into 3 cm cubes
• 300 gpork shoulder, chilled
• 300 ghard pork back fat or beef fat, chilled

Spice

• 3 tbspcoriander seeds, toasted and coarsely ground, husks winnowed off
• 30 gfine salt (1.5 percent of the meat weight)
• 1 tbspcoarsely cracked black pepper
• 1 tspground cloves
• 1 tspfreshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tspground allspice
• 80 mlbrown spirit vinegar, ice cold
• 50 mldry red wine or water, ice cold

Casing

• 3m natural sheep casing, 24–26 mm, soaked 30 min and flushed

To serve

• 8soft rolls
• 1quantity chakalaka or tomato-and-onion relish
• mustard

Directions

1. Chill the meat, fat, mincer parts and mixing bowl until very cold, close to 0°C (30°F). Warm fat smears and the sausage turns greasy and crumbly.
2. Toast the coriander seeds until they smell of orange peel, grind coarsely and blow off the papery husks. South African law requires boerewors to be at least 90 percent meat, and coriander is its defining spice.
3. Mince the beef through a coarse 8–10 mm plate. Mince the pork and fat separately through the same plate; the texture must stay chunky, never a smooth emulsion.
4. Combine the minces with the salt, pepper, coriander, cloves, nutmeg and allspice, then add the ice-cold vinegar and wine and mix by hand for only 60–90 seconds, just until it comes together. Overmixing makes it rubbery.
5. Fry a teaspoon of the mixture and taste for salt and spice; adjust the whole batch before stuffing.
6. Stuff the sheep casing on a slow setting, keeping the fill even and moderately loose so the sausage does not burst when it swells over the fire.
7. Do not link it. Coil the whole length into a flat spiral and pin it through with two crossed skewers, then rest uncovered in the fridge for a few hours so the casing dries slightly.
8. Braai over medium coals with the grid about 10 cm above them, turning every 4–5 minutes for 20–25 minutes, until the casing is bronzed and taut and the centre reads 70°C (160°F). Rest 5 minutes and serve in a roll with relish.

Technique

• The coil is not decorative: an unbroken spiral cooks evenly, keeps the juices in and is how it is sold and grilled across South Africa.
• Never cook boerewors over flames or fierce heat. Fat renders, drips, flares and burns the casing black while the centre is still raw; medium coals and patience are the rule.
• Never prick the sausage. Every hole is lost fat, and dry boerewors is a public disgrace at a braai.

Substitutions

• No sheep casing: use 28 mm hog casing, accepting a slightly thicker bite, or form the mixture into thick free-form ropes and grill on a fish basket.
• Some traditional recipes use beef and lamb instead of pork; keep the total fat at about 20–25 percent whichever you choose.
• Malt vinegar works in place of brown spirit vinegar.

Variations

• Droëwors, the same mixture in thin casings and air-dried like biltong.
• Chilli boerewors, with dried chilli and extra garlic, popular in Gauteng.
• A boerie roll, the standard street and stadium serving with tomato relish and mustard.

History

Farmer’s sausage of beef with coriander, clove and vinegar; South African regulation requires at least ninety percent meat for it to carry the name.

Frequently asked questions

What is Boerewors?

Boerewors is a main from South Africa: coiled coriander-spiced farmer’s sausage, braai essential. Farmer’s sausage of beef with coriander, clove and vinegar; South African regulation requires at least ninety percent meat for it to carry the name.

How long does Boerewors take to make?

Boerewors takes 1 hr of preparation and 25 min grilling of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings (about 2 kg of sausage). It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Boerewors?

Yes, within limits. No sheep casing: use 28 mm hog casing, accepting a slightly thicker bite, or form the mixture into thick free-form ropes and grill on a fish basket. Some traditional recipes use beef and lamb instead of pork; keep the total fat at about 20–25 percent whichever you choose. Malt vinegar works in place of brown spirit vinegar.

What is the most important thing to get right in Boerewors?

Mince the beef through a coarse 8–10 mm plate. Mince the pork and fat separately through the same plate; the texture must stay chunky, never a smooth emulsion.