Boerewors Food

BOEREWORS (SOUTH AFRICAN SAUSAGE)

Steps:

• Cube the beef and pork into pieces that will fit easily into your meat grinder. Sprinkle the spices over meat and mix to coat. Cover the seasoned meat and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• After the meat has rested, follow the instructions that came with your meat grinder to grind the seasoned meat using the coarse grinding blade.*
• Add the vinegar to the ground meat and mix well.
• Thoroughly rinse (inside and out) one salted hog casing. Prepare the casing for stuffing as directed on the casing package.
• If using a Kitchen Aid, or similar, mixer, attach the thick sausage stuffer attachment to the meat grinder attachment.
• Place the entire casing onto the sausage stuffer attachment, leaving 4 inches hanging off the end. Tie a knot in this end of the casing to keep your sausage mixture from oozing out. Begin to stuff your casing as directed for your machine, moving slowly and being careful not to over-stuff the casing. (Don't worry too much about unevenly stuffed sausage, we will take care of that later.)
• As you stuff the casing, coil the sausage onto a large plate. Stop stuffing when you only have 5-6 inches of casing left. Remove the casing from the sausage stuffer attachment.
• Before you knot the end, check the sausage for uneven areas. If you find any, gently even out the sausage mixture in the casing with your hands.
• Once the sausage is even to your liking, knot the end of the casing.
• If you still have additional sausage mixture (for us, this recipe made two 1.5 lb sausages), rinse and prepare another casing and stuff it as before.
• Once all your sausage mixture has been stuffed, refrigerate your sausages overnight (at least 12 hours) so that the flavors can come together before cooking.
• The traditional way to cook boerewors is on the grill. Heat your grill to a medium-high heat (400F). (You should be able to hold your hand a few inches from the cooking grate for 4-5 seconds.) If desired, soak a large wooden skewer or two in water. Place the skewers through the sides of the sausage coil to make it easier to turn the sausage when it's on the grill. If you like a little grilling adventure, cook the sausage coil loose.
• Place the boerewors onto the grill and cook for 4-5 minutes on the first side, until the color has changed and the sausage has nice grill marks. Flip the boerewors and cook for 3-4 minutes on the second side, until the sausage is firm.
• Remove the sausage from the grill and place on a large platter to serve.

SOUTH AFRICAN SAUSAGE (BOEREWORS)

Steps:

• Skip the first few steps if you are using ground beef and pork.
• Prepare beef and pork by trimming off all sinew, and other nasty bits and pieces that may affect the texture.
• To facilitate mincing, cut meat into long, narrow strips about 3 inch in diameter and freeze for about 30 minutes.
• Mince meat through a course mincer for a rough texture, or finely if you prefer.
• Allow the meat to be fed through with very little assistance from the tamper.
• Finish off by mincing a piece of bread to remove every vestige of meat from the mincer.
• Roast coriander and cloves in a dry frying pan, tossing the spices about until uniformly brown and aromatic.
• Don't allow to burn.
• Grind spices with a pestle and mortar, sift to remove husks, mix with remaining spices and sugar and sprinkle over the mince.
• Lightly mix in wine or vinegar.
• Drain the casings and place over one end of the filling horn (I use the kitchen aid attachment and carefully push all of the casings on leaving a 3 inch length hanging down).
• Tie a knot in this.
• Grabbing hold of a second pair of hands at this point makes wors-making less traumatic.
• You can then feed the mixture in while your assistant hold the casings, guiding the filling inches.
• Feed the mixture into the mincer a little at a time, while securing the casing with a gentle pressure of one hand on the horn to control the unrolling of the casing as its filled.
• Mould the sausage with your hand to make it uniformly thick.
• Don't pack the casings too full, or the wors will burst while cooking, but try to avoid air bubbles.
• After the casing has been filled, remove it - still attached to the horn - from the machine.
• Push any remaining filling into the casing and tie a knot in the end.
• BBQ quickly over hot coals.
• The skin should be crisp and the middle just pink.
• Serve immediately.

BOEREWORS AND TOMATO BREDIE

Steps:

• One day ahead: In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, coriander, salt, pepper, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. Mix until combined. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
• On the day of serving: Grind the meat mixture in a meat grinder. Add the fatback and vinegar to the meat and mix well. Stuff the meat into sausage casing, if using, or else form the mixture into sausage patties. In a skillet set over medium-high heat, cook the boerewors until browned.
• Serve the boerewors with the Tomato Bredie.
• Heat the oil in a large saute pan set over medium heat, and saute the onions until they're transparent. Add the pork and cook until brown. Add the tomatoes, potatoes, and chile to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and the tomato liquid is almost gone, about 20 minutes.