Boerewors
A farmer's sausage, its name literally meaning farmer (boer) and sausage (wors), tracing to 17th-century Dutch settler sausage-making traditions at the Cape. It's genuinely legally protected in South Africa: government regulation under the Agricultural Product Standards Act requires at least 90% meat and fat content, with no more than 30% of that share being fat, meaning a product falling short of that standard can't legally be sold as boerewors, a real authenticity marker worth stating precisely. Its defining spice is toasted, ground coriander, non-negotiable in a genuine boerewors, alongside black pepper, nutmeg, and clove, and real boerewors is stuffed into natural casing and coiled into a spiral rather than linked, traditionally grilled whole that way on the braai.
Ingredients
- 1.5kg beef, coarsely minced
- 500g pork fat and pork shoulder, coarsely minced
- 3 tbsp coriander seed, toasted and ground
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- Natural sausage casing
Steps
- Mix the beef and pork with the toasted ground coriander, pepper, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and vinegar.
- Stuff the mixture into natural casing, twisting only lightly so it can be coiled rather than linked into separate sausages.
- Coil the sausage into a tight spiral, securing with a skewer if needed.
- Grill whole over hot coals, turning occasionally, until browned outside and cooked through.
- Slice and serve, often alongside pap or in a roll.