Boerewors translated means “Farmers Sausage”, It originated in the Karoo (South Africa) and is often cooked in a spiral on the braai (Barbecue).
Boerewors also known as “South African Sausage” or “Wors” is what you will find at every braai in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
It has now expanded and is cooked by the expatriate community around the world, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and Taiwan.
What is Boerewors
It is a mixture of beef and pork. It does not contain more than 30% fat which is needed to add flavour and also keep the sausage moist while cooking.
Boerewors Sausage
The Environmental Health Research Network published guidelines to what could be included to make South African Boerewors and legally use the name boerewors.
The published guidelines give clear indications of the following:
- Meat Content should be not less than 90%
- Not more than 30% fat content.
- No offal except for the sausage casing should be used.
The meat that can be used is to make boerewors include Bovine (cow), Ovine (sheep), Porcine (Pig) and Caprine (Goat).
No other meat can be used. If any other ingredient is used that the sausage is labelled as wors only.
How to Cook Boerewors
It is traditionally cooked on a braai, using Camel Thorn wood, this enhances the flavour and burns longer than charcoal giving a more stable fire to cook the meat on.
It is often served with Pap (Porridge from South Africa), Polenta (Maize Meal) and Potatoe Salad. It is also eaten as a Boerewors Roll (Hot Dog) on a straight bun with tomato sauce and relish.
You can also cook boerewors inside in a grill or in a pan. The way I like to cook my boerewors inside is to grill it for 15 minutes until cooked. In summer I only cook it on the braai outside.
Traditional Boerewors Recipe
This boerewors sausage recipe (Affiliate Code) tastes delicious and freezes very well.
- 2 kg beef
- 1 kg pork
- 20 g coriander
- 3 ml ground cloves
- 2 ml grated nutmeg
- 30 g fine salt
- 5 ml freshly ground black pepper
- 500 g Spek (fat)
- 100 ml vinegar
How to Make Boerewors
First prepare the coriander by roasting it slightly until the seeds turn a golden brown colour. Once the are golden brown, empty them into a pestle and mortar and grind and then sift to remove the husks.
Cut the meat into 50 mm cubes and combine with the spice and seasoning. Mince the meat and dice the spek. Add spek and vinegar to the minced meat and mix lightly but thoroughly. Loosely stuff the minced meat into sausage casings.
Turn the finished sausage into a spiral and let it rest for 24 hours.
It takes us from start to finish about three hours to make 6 months supply. We also make other sausages at the same time, to add variety to our meals.
When working with Sausage casings first put them into a tub of water and let the water run through them. When you stuff the sausage casings onto the sausage machine use water to lubricate the spout before you put the casings on as this makes it a lot easier to load the sausage casings.
South African Sausage Casings
You can buy the spice and sausage casings in the United Kingdom from a company called Weschenfelder. Speak to Rob or Tim and they will be able to help you. I only use them to buy my spices and sausage casings.
It is a wonderful experience to make your own food at home. You only need to buy a sausage mincer and stuffing machine, the spices and the casings. You can speak to your butcher to get the meat.
Once you have made a few batches it gets really easy and you can make a lot of sausage really quickly. I hope you enjoyed this article if you have any questions please leave a comment.