Boerewors – Traditional (Beef)

What is boerewors

Boerewors (pronounced BOO-ruh-VORS) is a sausage popular across Southern Africa. The “Farmers Sausage” derives its name from the words “Boer” meaning Farmer and Wors meaning sausage. It was First made on farms in South Africa in the 1800s. Here, finely cut / minced meat was originally stuffed through a cattle horn into cleaned pork, beef or sheep intestines.  This uniquely coiled sauceage can be kept fresh or dried in open air to make a health snake called “Droëwors” (drywors / dried sausage) and is arguably the King of African sausages.

Traditional Boerewors

Traditional boerewors has a mild to medium flavour. The flavour profile consists of a beautiful meaty note enhanced by coriander, cloves and nutmeg. A good boerewors is dependent on the meat that it used. It must contain 90% meat that is coarsely grount with the other 10% being spices and other ingredients. This leads a sausage with a chunky and coarse texture.

Traditionally you serve it with sadza/ pap (cooked maize meal).  Alternatively, a boerewors sandwich known as a boerie roll (similar to a hot dog) makes for a great quick meal with chips and your favourite beverage.  In Southern Africa, no braai (bbq) is complete without boerewors. As a result you will find this coiled favourite at most social gatherings.

There are many ways to cook  traditional boerewors. Firstly you can braai (bbq) on some hot coal alternatively you can use a gas bbq. Secondly you can simply pan fry them and thirdly you can oven grill your sausage. We have created a  database of recipes for you to try. For more recipe ideas visit food24.com. Because of the many ways you can cook this unique sausage, it is perfect for any meal be it breakfast, lunch or dinner.

A quick and easy Boerewors Recipe

A quick and easy boerewors recipe can be usefully on those days when you dont want to spend too much time in the kitchen. Below is a 20 min recipe for such days.

Ingredients

• 600g  traditional boerewors or chilli boerewors
• 30 ml (2 T) sunflower oil
• 1 brown onion, chopped
• 1 medium egg plant, chopped
• 4 small zucchinis, chopped
• 2 x 410 g diced Italian Style Tomato
• 4 x 250 ml (4 C) cooked penne pasta
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• to serve: 3 T ( ¼ C) fresh basil leaves, grated parmesan cheese

Method

1. Remove the sausage or boerewors from its casing.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the sausage meat until almost cooked. When done remove the sausage meat from the pan and set aside.
3. Discard excess fat in the pan.
4. Add the onion and fry for a few minutes until softened.
5. Add the aubergine, pepper and baby marrow and fry, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes more and then add the diced Italian Style tomato.
6. Bring the sauce to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer the sauce until the vegetables are cooked through.
7. Return the sausage meat to the pan.
8. Continue to simmer the sauce for a further 5 minutes or until the sausage meat is cooked through.
9. After that add the cooked penne pasta to the sauce and toss well to mix.
10. when cooked, serve immediately with the fresh basil leaves and sprinkled with the parmesan cheese.

Fun Fact

There are legal requirements that define what boerewors is in South Africa (see below):

Raw boerewors shall be manufactured from the meat of an animal of the bovine, ovine, porcine or main caprine species or from a mixture of the meat of two or more thereof, shall be contained in an edible casing.

Firstly, it shall contain a minimum of 90% total meat content and not more than 30% fat content.  Secondly, it shall contain no offal except where such offal is to be used solely as the casing of the raw boerewors; Thirdly, it shall contain a maximum of 0.02 g of calcium per 100 g of the product mass; Fourthly, it shall contain no mechanically recovered meat;

When manufacturing of raw boerewors no ingredients shall be added except –
(a) cereal products or starch;
(b) vinegar, spices, herbs, salt or other harmless flavourants;
(c) permitted food additives;
(d) water

The Zangers Difference

At Zangers, our products are superior in quality, flavoursome and made from the best ingredients sourced locally and directly from Africa. Perfected over time, Zangers products contain a unique blend of spices. Small batches allow for quality and consistency in the production process. Consequently we take pride in the products that we make and believe that they make for great food. Our trusted recipes have been developed over the years are sure to deliver the best product always. We are a listening company and we are always taking on the feed back we get from our customers.