South African Sausage (Boerewors)

Ingredients

• 2 kg well matured beef
• 1 kg fatty pork (neck, shoulder, belly)
• 45 ml whole coriander seeds
• 5 ml whole cloves
• 30 ml salt
• 15 ml fresh ground black pepper
• 2 ml grated nutmeg
• 10 ml ground allspice
• 10 ml brown sugar
• 125 ml dry red wine or dark vinegar
• 90 g thick sausage casings, soaked in water

Directions

1. 1

   Skip the first few steps if you are using ground beef and pork.

2. 2

   Prepare beef and pork by trimming off all sinew, and other nasty bits and pieces that may affect the texture.

3. 3

   To facilitate mincing, cut meat into long, narrow strips about 3 inch in diameter and freeze for about 30 minutes.

4. 4

   Mince meat through a course mincer for a rough texture, or finely if you prefer.

5. 5

   Allow the meat to be fed through with very little assistance from the tamper.

6. 6

   Finish off by mincing a piece of bread to remove every vestige of meat from the mincer.

7. 7

   Roast coriander and cloves in a dry frying pan, tossing the spices about until uniformly brown and aromatic.

8. 8

   Don’t allow to burn.

9. 9

   Grind spices with a pestle and mortar, sift to remove husks, mix with remaining spices and sugar and sprinkle over the mince.

10. 10

    Lightly mix in wine or vinegar.

11. 11

    Drain the casings and place over one end of the filling horn (I use the kitchen aid attachment and carefully push all of the casings on leaving a 3 inch length hanging down).

12. 12

    Tie a knot in this.

13. 13

    Grabbing hold of a second pair of hands at this point makes wors-making less traumatic.

14. 14

    You can then feed the mixture in while your assistant hold the casings, guiding the filling in.

15. 15

    Feed the mixture into the mincer a little at a time, while securing the casing with a gentle pressure of one hand on the horn to control the unrolling of the casing as its filled.

16. 16

    Mould the sausage with your hand to make it uniformly thick.

17. 17

    Don’t pack the casings too full, or the wors will burst while cooking, but try to avoid air bubbles.

18. 18

    After the casing has been filled, remove it – still attached to the horn – from the machine.

19. 19

    Push any remaining filling into the casing and tie a knot in the end.

20. 20

    BBQ quickly over hot coals.

21. 21

    The skin should be crisp and the middle just pink.

22. 22

    Serve immediately.