Food is about memories. Anytime you eat something that you grew up with it makes you happy. Most people who try sadza for the first time they find it bland butt to me and many other Zimbabweans it is the best food ever. It envokes memories from days past with your family. For me it is also about how we all used to eat from the same plate. I have no idea why I enjoyed that, I am a slow eater so more often than not I would not have enough to eat and would end up eating with my grandmother.
Whenever I go to Zimbabwe, I make a list(mentally) of all the things I would like to eat before I leave. Very close to the top is Boerewors- it is a sausage. First of all, the beef in Zimbabwe is the best. Most if not all is grass fed and does not cost you an arm and a leg. It is for this that I think the Boerewors is the best sausage ever.
Boerewors, which I pronounce “Bhuruvhosi” in my Shona accent is a South African creation. You can find it in most butcheries in Zimbabwe, probably in other Southern African countries as well. I found this brief history on it:
An inheritance from the German settlers in the Cape colony and popular with our pioneering forefathers the “Voortrekkers”, who used to combine coarsely minced meat and cubed speck (pork and / or beef) with spices and preservatives (vinegar). Over centuries it gradually evolved to what we know today as “Boerewors”.
Although it comes in many varieties, The traditional “Boerewors” is a somewhat coarsely textured sausage, usually consisting of 50% beef and 50% pork, flavoured with spices such as coriander, cloves, nutmeg and allspice. Highly popular at “braais” (barbecues), where it is grilled over hot coals. Like biltong, it has become an institution in South Africa.
It is also very affordable and the best I had is from a butchery at Machipisa Shopping Centre. I think they make it there and they quickly run out of it.
I decided to make my own using a recipe by Africhef. I adapted it to my own use since I do not eat pork. As I was making it I realised that the scent I have always associated with boerewors is actually coriander.
I do not have a meat grinder so I used ground beef and added all the ingredients in a bowl.
I was determined to find a way to put my meat in casings, until I found out I was going to have to pay $60 for them. There was no way I was going to do that. I found out you could make caseless sausages with plastic wrap so that is what I did.
Scoop a little meat onto the plastic wrap and roll it.
I tied the sausage links together and froze them.
Here is the full recipe:
How To Make Boerwors
Ingredients
- 6 lb beef ·
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic
- 4 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 to 3 ½ oz sausage casing
- 2 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 tablespoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
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Cut the beef into 1 to 1 ½ inch cubes. Mix it well with all the other ingredients except the sausage casing.
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Grind the meat using a medium-coarse grinding plate. Fill the sausage casings firmly, but not too tightly with the meat mixture.
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Refrigerate for 24 hours before using. Boerewors can be kept for a week or for 3 months if frozen Makes 6 to 7 lbs
For the price you can get Boerewors in Zimbabwe this would be too much work but those like me, TOTALLY WORTH IT!
If you want the sausage to keep its shape, parboil them for a minute before grilling.
