South Africa: rainbows and deserts

Boerewors

There is not really a translation for the very South African favourite. It is not a "sausage" and nothing really tastes the same.

According to a book printed by the Reader's Digest*, it is a favourite that has as many recipes as there are farming districts in South Africa.

In the beef farming districts, beef and pork are used, while in the Karoo beef, mutton and pork are used. In the northwestern districts of Calvinia and Namaqualand only mutton is used.

All recipes normally include sheep tail fat, cut by hand into tiny pieces. Boerewors must have fat which can be grilled out. If it is to be dried (and therefore eaten raw) no pork at all should be used. (See also page dealing with biltong).

Here are two recipes, one from Welma du Plessis from Fauresmith, and the other from the book by Readers Digest*.

Welma's Boerewors (this recipe made since 1940)


10 pounds beef
2 pounds diced fat
1 teaspoon (5ml) pepper
3 tablespoons (45 ml) salt
4 tablespoons (60 ml) coriander, minced (see biltong)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) All Spice

Dice fat by hand. Cut meat into smaller pieces. Mix all spices well and season the meat. Rub pieces well.
Ground the meat after this process, but not too finely. Add the fat. Mix lightly. Shape into balls, which will make the stuffing process easier (see below how to do that.)

The following recipe from Reader's Digest will take about 2 to 3 hours to prepare, then a standing time of about 3 hours, and a maturing time of about 2 days.

Ingredients for about 7kg (15 pounds) Boerewors:

3kg (6.6 pounds) beef, preferably topside
3kg boneless mutton (preferably leg - do not use lamb)
1kg (2.2 pounds) sheep tail fat
30-45 ml (2-3 tablespoons) salt
10ml (2 teaspoons) freshly ground black pepper
5ml (1 teaspoon) finely ground allspice
60ml (1/4 cup) ground coriander
100g sausage casings, soaked in salted water and rinsed

The meats must be well ground, but not too finely, or the sausage will have too firm a texture. Dice the tail fat into 5mm cubes. Mix the salt, pepper and spices well together. Mix the minced meats, and toss the fat pieces into the meat with a fork. Do not handle too much.
Pack the meat in layers in a basin, take out a small lump and fry to test for flavour, adding salt and pepper if required.
Stuff the mixture into the casings, using a forcing bag with a long, wide nozzle. Knot one end of the sausage casing (about 90cm / 3 feet long). Place the other end over the nozzle until the knot is as close as possible to the nozzle.
Force the meat in, drawing the filled skin away from the nozzle. Stuff fairly loosely, and, if preferred, make twists for individual sausages every 15cm (6 inches). Normally one person has to do the stuffing while another is the catcher who must make sure the sausage is curled neatly.
Allow the boerewors to mature for at least 2 days before using. It tastes excellent on the fire!

Dried sausage:
Use less sheep tail fat - 200g instead of 1kg.
Add 60 ml (1/4 cup) vinegar to the mix, sprinkling it over the meat together with the spices. Roast the coriander before grinding, and add 5ml (1 teaspoon) ground cloves and 5ml (1 teaspoon) finely grated nutmeg. Do not twist the sausage casings, but knot the ends of each length.
To dry the sausages, hang them in a cool draught, well above the floor, for at least a week.

*From
How to do just about anything, page 40; printed in 1989 deur The Reader's Digest Association South Africa, 130 Strand Straat, Kaapstad, 8001, South Africa

Thank you to for this space

The Author of this website is a proud member of The HTML Writers Guild.