Homemade boerewors patties

Boerewors is a traditional South African sausage.  It is delicious, but like all sausages, it's an involved process to fill the sausage casings.  So I made patties instead! These homemade boerewors patties are based on the traditional recipe for boerewors so you get all the great taste without any of the hassle.

Jump to:

• What is boerewors?
• How to cook boerewors
• What you will need
• What to do
• What to serve with boerewors patties
• Can I freeze homemade boerewors patties?
• Save for later
• Related recipes
• 📋The recipe

What is boerewors?

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 has a distinctive taste, being flavoured with ground coriander, allspice, cloves and vinegar, and is utterly delicious.

No self-respecting South African barbeque would be complete without a bowl of mielie meal (stiff white porridge made 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-respecting church bazaar or school fete would be complete without the obligatory boerewors stand.

Boerewors sausage is the South African equivalent of the American Hot Dog, the German Wurst, or the English Banger. This boerewors patty recipe I am sharing today is made with all the spices that go into proper boerewors, and it tastes just like proper boerewors, but with none of the effort that goes into making proper boerewors sausages.

How to cook boerewors

In South Africa, boerewors is traditionally 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 many people still make their own, using recipes handed down over the generations.

I must admit I haven't actually tried cooking these boerewors patties on a barbeque yet. I tend to either fry them or bake them in the oven. If I did barbeque them, I would be inclined to put them into a folding barbeque basket so there would be less chance of them falling to pieces on the grill.

I remember watching my mother-in-law chop mounds of raw beef and pork before mixing in handfuls of spices.  She fed it through a mincing machine, stuffing a pig's intestines full of the savoury mixture.  It took hours of effort, but it was 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.

Hubby 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 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.

Let me show you how I made them!

What you will need

Equipment

You won't need much, just a large mixing bowl for mixing everything together, and a baking sheet for baking the patties. If you prefer you can fry the patties in a frying pan instead.

Ingredients

**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions on how to make boerewors patties on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

This recipe makes 6 large patties which will be more than sufficient for 4 people (I can only manage one!) If you have children in the family you may want to consider making them a bit smaller.

What to do

This couldn't be easier!

You could also fry these patties in a little sunflower oil on the stove. Fry them gently for about 5 minutes per side until they are no longer pink inside.

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What to serve with boerewors patties

The last time I made these we had them with homemade crispy fries, peas and a leafy green salad.  They also make delicious hamburgers, served in a crusty ciabatta bread roll with shredded lettuce, homemade pickled onions and slices of tomato.  Or why not try them with my delicious home-made chilli tomato sauce.

Of course, you could turn this into a proper 'braai' (barbeque to the non-South Africans) and serve them with a selection of salads. Why not try some of these salad recipes:

• Copper penny salad (otherwise known as sweet and sour carrots)
• Spicy beetroot salad - tangy beetroot and onions in a homemade vinaigrette
• Curried green bean salad - the tangy curry-flavoured sauce is the perfect foil for the sweetness of the beans
• Roasted red pepper pasta - if I was intending to serve this as a barbeque salad I'd be inclined to leave out the prawns

Can I freeze homemade boerewors patties?

These patties freeze very well, both raw and cooked. Both raw and cooked patties can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To freeze raw patties

Form the patties into shapes and then place them on a baking tray in the freezer to open-freeze them. Once the patties are frozen, transfer them to a plastic bag. Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To use, allow to defrost in the refrigerator then cook as per the recipe instructions.

To freeze cooked patties

Allow the patties to cool, pack them into plastic bags in a single layer and place them in the freezer.

To use, either defrost them in the refrigerator or if you are in a hurry, you can defrost them in the microwave. Reheat in a frying pan on the stove-top, or place on a baking tray in a hot oven for a few minutes until they are heated through.

Related recipes

You may also like to try some of my other South African recipes:

📋The recipe

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