South African Boerewors

Prepare

1. Keep everything cold. Cut the meat and fat into 3 cm cubes and chill them, along with the mincer parts, until very cold. 30 minutes in the freezer is ideal.
2. Get the casing ready. Have the casing ready to load onto the filler nozzle. Natural sheep or hog casings are traditional; soak them in lukewarm water for 30 minutes and flush them through.

Mince and mix

1. Mince the meat. Mince the beef, pork and fat together through a coarse plate (about 8 mm). Boerewors should be coarse, not fine.
2. Add the seasoning. Sprinkle the 62 g Boerewors Seasoning over the mince and mix it through by hand first.
3. Add the water. Pour in the 100 ml iced water and mix gently for 1–2 minutes, just until it's evenly combined. Don't overwork it: boerewors should stay loose and coarse.

Tip: Fry a teaspoon-sized patty and taste it before filling. It's the easiest time to adjust the seasoning.

Fill and coil

1. Fill the casing. Slide the casing onto the nozzle and fill it in one long, continuous rope. Fill it firmly but not tightly.
2. Coil, don't link. Boerewors isn't twisted into links. Coil the rope into a flat spiral, about 1 m per coil, and tie off the end.

Rest, cook and store

1. Rest overnight. Lay the coils on a tray in the fridge, uncovered, overnight so the flavours develop.
2. Cook on the braai. Grill the whole coil over medium coals or on a barbecue, turning once with tongs, until the centre reaches 71 °C. A skewer through the coil makes it easier to turn.
3. Store. Refrigerate and eat within 2–3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Make it your own

Everyone makes sausages slightly differently, and that's half the fun. Treat these amounts as a starting point, then adjust to suit your taste: a little more or less seasoning, a fattier or leaner cut, a coarser or finer grind, or a splash more water for a juicier sausage.

Try a dash of vinegar or Worcestershire in the water, a little extra toasted coriander, or swap some of the pork for lamb. Fry a small test patty, taste and tweak, and write down what you changed so your next batch turns out just the way you like it.