Boerewors is a traditional South African sausage. It is delicious, but like all sausages, it’s an involved process to fill the sausage casings. These homemade boerwors patties are based on the recipe for boerewors so you get the great taste without the hassle.
Boerewors (literally translated as ‘Farmer’s Sausage) is a traditional South African sausage made from ground beef, pork and spices and normally sold in a coil, unlike the more common links we are used to today. It is quite a spicy sausage, flavoured with ground corriander, all spice, cloves and vinegar.
No self-respecting South African barbeque would be complete without a bowl of mielie meal (stiff white porridge mail from ground maize meal), a dish of tomato and onion gravy and a link of boerewors sizzling over the coals.
On a Saturday morning, the smell of boerewors permeates the air around all the shopping centres, as pop-up caravans sell boerewors rolls to hungry shoppers. And no self-respeting church bazaar or school fete would be compete without the obligatory boerewors stand.
Boerewors is the South African equivalent of the American Corn Dog, or the German Wurst, or the English Banger.
How to cook boerewors
In South Africa, it is normally cooked over coals as part of a barbeque, or fried in a pan on the stove. It is normally served in a bread roll topped with a delicious tomato and onion sauce (boerewors roll). In South Africa, it is readily available at any butcher or supermarket, but a lot of people still make their own, using recipes that have been handed down over the generations.
I remember watching my mother-in-law chop mounds of raw beef and pork before mixing in handfuls of spices. She then fed it through a mincing machine, stuffing pigs intestines full of the savoury mixture. It took hours of effort, but well worth it for the delicious result. She filled our freezer to the brim – it must have lasted about 6 months.
Today, of course, we just head for the nearest South African shop and purchase our boerewors ready made.
Graham had his first taste of boerewors last Christmas when we were visiting my daughter in South Africa. His verdict – delicious!!! So when we got home I stocked the freezer with a few packets from our local South African shop, even though the price of it made my eyes water.
The price of local boerewors got me thinking – why not make your own? But the thought of all the effort involved was a bit of off-putting, so I came up with another idea that would give us the great taste of boerewors but with minimum effort. I decided to try my hand at homemade boerewors patties.
Made in minutes
These patties are delicious, they taste like authentic boerewors, but take minutes to make.
They are so easy, even a child could make them – you just mix all the ingredients together, form into patties on a baking sheet and pop them in the oven.
To serve
The last time I made these we had them with chunky chips, peas and a leafy green salad. They also make delicious hamburgers, served in a crusty fresh bread roll with shredded lettuce and a slice of onion and tomato. Or why not try them with my delicious home-made Chilli Tomato Sauce
Recipe – Homemade boerewors patties
Boerewors Patties
Ingredients
- 500 g minced beef
- 250 g minced pork
- 1/4 cup white spirit vinegar
- 2 heaped teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon all spice
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees F
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl
- Form into patties
- Arrange on a foil-lined baking sheet
- Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes
Related Recipes
Here are a few more of my South African recipes that you might like:
If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, why not pin it for later. If you have any comments, let me know in the box below.
Til next time – happy cooking – VJ
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