Boerewors on the Braai

Method

1. Buy it properly made

   Real boerewors is coarsely minced beef, often with some pork or lamb, spiced with toasted coriander, black pepper, nutmeg and clove, and it must be at least 90 percent meat. Coriander is the defining flavour. A thin, fine-textured sausage is not boerewors.

2. Keep the coil whole

   Cook it as one continuous spiral. Cutting it into lengths lets the fat and juices run out of the ends. Two long skewers pushed through the coil at right angles make it possible to turn the whole thing in one movement.

3. Never prick the skin

   This is the one rule everyone breaks. The casing holds the fat and juices in while the coarse meat cooks. Pricking it drains exactly what you are trying to keep and gives you a dry sausage and a flare-up.

4. Indirect first

   Twelve to fifteen minutes on the cooler side, turning once halfway. Cooking it gently through first means the middle is done before the outside splits.

5. Colour over the coals

   Move it over the bank for the last three to four minutes to blister and brown the skin. Pull at 70°C (160°F) and rest for two minutes before cutting.

Notes worth knowing

• If the sausage splits, the fire is too hot. Move it to the cool side and accept a slower cook.
• A braai is a social event rather than a cooking method, and boerewors is what goes on first while everyone is still arriving.
• Serve in a roll with chakalaka. This is a boerie roll and it is the point of the exercise.

Common questions

What makes boerewors different from other sausages?

The coarse grind, the high meat content and the spice mix built on toasted coriander seed. It is a protected style in South Africa with a legal minimum meat content.

Why should I not prick sausages?

The casing is what retains fat and moisture during cooking. Pricking releases it into the fire, which dries the sausage and causes flare-ups. The advice to prick came from an era of much fattier, poorly filled sausages.