How to Make Boerewors from Scratch: The South African Home Butcher's Guide
By the Claasens team, makers of South African sausage fillers and mincers since 1955.
There are few South African foods more loved than a properly made boerewors. Coiled fat on the braai, hissing as the fat starts to render, the spice mix carrying through every bite. The shop bought versions can be good, but homemade boerewors is in a different league. The fat is fresh. The spice is yours. The casings snap rather than chew.
This guide is the complete walk through, from choosing your meat to twisting the last link. It covers the traditional spice mix, the right fat ratio, casing options, and how to use a sausage filler without bursting your wors. There is a printable spice ratio at the bottom and a troubleshooting section for the times something goes wrong.
What makes a boerewors a boerewors?
Boerewors is not just any sausage in a long coil. South Africa has a legal definition. To be called boerewors, the sausage must contain at least 90 percent meat (beef, lamb, mutton, or goat in any combination). No more than 30 percent of that meat may be fat. The dominant spice must be coriander, with no soya, mechanically deboned meat, or offal allowed.
The reason this matters is that the definition tells you what good boerewors should taste like. Meat forward. Coriander led. A clean fat finish. If your homemade batch tastes muddled or muddy, the answer is usually somewhere in those rules. Too much fat, too little coriander, or the wrong meat blend.
Choosing your meat and fat ratio
The classic boerewors is 80 percent beef to 20 percent fat, with the fat coming from either lamb breast or pork speck (the back fat from a pig). Many home butchers use a beef and lamb blend, which gives a richer flavour and a paler colour when grilled. Both are correct. The choice is preference.
| Blend | Meat | Fat | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic beef | 80% beef chuck or brisket | 20% pork speck | Deep, rich, the textbook braai wors. |
| Beef and lamb | 60% beef, 20% lamb | 20% lamb breast fat | Brighter flavour, paler colour, juicier. |
| Karoo lamb | 80% mutton shoulder | 20% lamb breast fat | Pungent, savoury, deeply traditional. |
| Game wors | 60% kudu or springbok, 20% beef | 20% pork speck | Earthy, lean meat carried by added fat. |
The 80/20 rule, explained
People are often surprised by how much fat goes into boerewors. The truth is that fat is what makes the wors taste good. It carries the spice, keeps the sausage juicy on the braai, and is what makes the coil hold its shape rather than crumbling. Less than 20 percent fat and your wors will be dry. More than 30 percent and it will spit, shrink, and split on the braai. Twenty percent is the sweet spot.
If you are using lean game meat, you must add fat. Speck from a butcher is easiest. Render down lamb tail fat if you are going traditional. Either way, do not skip this step.
The traditional boerewors spice mix
Coriander is the queen of the boerewors spice rack. Everything else supports her. The ratios below are what we use in the workshop and what we have settled on after decades of testing.
| Ingredient | Per kg of meat and fat |
|---|---|
| Coriander seed (toasted, ground) | 14 g |
| Fine salt | 18 g |
| Black pepper (ground) | 5 g |
| Brown sugar | 5 g |
| Ground cloves | 0.5 g (a pinch) |
| Ground nutmeg | 0.5 g (a pinch) |
| Ground allspice | 1 g |
| Brown grape vinegar | 25 ml |
| Ice cold water | 100 ml |
Toasting the coriander
If you only do one thing differently from your last batch, do this. Whole coriander seeds smell like wet cardboard until you toast them. Toast in a dry pan over medium heat for two to three minutes, shaking constantly, until they smell warm and citrussy. Grind in a mortar or spice mill. Pre ground coriander from a packet has none of this and your wors will taste flat.
Three regional variations
- Karoo wors. Drop the allspice. Add 2 g of dried mountain herbs (rosemary, thyme). Pungent and savoury.
- Cape spice wors. Add 1 g ground cumin and 1 g ground turmeric. Inspired by Cape Malay tradition.
- Peri peri wors. Add 2 g crushed bird's eye chilli and 1 g smoked paprika. Modern, fiery, gets eaten quickly.
Mincing. Coarse or medium?
Boerewors texture is half about spice and half about the cut. A coarse mince gives the rustic, meaty pull that most South Africans grew up with. A medium mince gives a smoother, more uniform bite. Most home butchers go coarse for the meat and medium for the fat, which gives the best of both worlds.
Which mincer do I need?
Both of our mincers will handle a household batch of boerewors comfortably. The Meat Mincer No. 22 is the right tool for occasional makers and home cooks who do five to ten kilogrammes at a time. The Meat Mincer No. 32 is built for the serious hunter, hobbyist butcher, or anyone processing a whole game animal in one go. If you only mince a few times a year, the No. 22 is more than enough. If you process game every season, the No. 32 pays for itself in time saved.
Single grind or double grind?
For boerewors, a single coarse grind through a 6 to 8 mm plate is traditional. If you are using sinewy meat, a double grind through coarse then medium will give a cleaner result, but you do lose some of the rustic texture. Pick your preference.
Casings. Natural or collagen?
The casing is what gives boerewors its snap and its character. The wrong casing will leave you with a sausage that bursts on the braai or chews like rubber. The right casing disappears into the wors and gives the satisfying crack that boerewors should have.
| Casing | Size | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheep casing | 22 to 28 mm | Classic snap, tender bite, traditional | Delicate. Easy to tear when filling. |
| Hog casing | 32 to 38 mm | Robust, thicker bite, harder to burst | Chewier than sheep casing. |
| Collagen | Various | Uniform, beginner friendly, long shelf life | Slightly tougher snap. Less traditional. |
Where to buy casings in South Africa
Most independent butchers sell salted natural casings by the bundle. Online sausage supply stores sell both natural and collagen, with delivery countrywide. A bundle of sheep casing will fill 25 to 30 kg of meat and keeps in salt in the fridge for a year. Buy more than you think you need.
Soaking and rinsing
Salted natural casings need to be soaked. Drop the bundle in a bowl of cold water for at least an hour, longer if you have time. Then rinse each casing inside and out by running cool water through one end. This is fiddly but important. Salt left in the casing means salty wors.
How to use a sausage filler
The filling step is where most home batches go wrong. Air pockets, bursts, uneven thickness, and casings that tear at the worst moment. With the right machine and a calm hand, none of this needs to happen.
Which sausage filler is right for me?
For a household batch of five to ten kilogrammes, the Sausage Filler Leverage is the workshop classic. The long lever gives you mechanical advantage so you can fill consistently without rushing. For larger batches and serious home butchers, the Sausage Filler Gears uses a geared crank that takes the strain off your arm and lets you fill twenty kilogrammes without breaking stride. Both machines accept our funnel set, which gives you nozzles for sheep, hog, and thick wors casings in one box.
Step by step filling
- Prepare the casing. Slide a soaked, rinsed casing onto the filler funnel. Leave the end open and let it bunch up the funnel like a sleeve. Tie a single knot at the end once you are ready to start filling.
- Load the cylinder. Pack the spiced mince into the cylinder firmly to push out air pockets. Air is the enemy of boerewors. Where there is air, there is a future burst.
- Start slowly. Crank or lever the filler gently until you see the casing start to fill. Guide the casing with your other hand as it slides off the funnel. Do not pull. Let the casing tell you the pace.
- Watch the thickness. A boerewors should be plump but not stretched. If you can see the meat through the casing, you have gone too tight and it will burst.
- Twist or coil. For coils, just keep filling and lay the wors in a spiral on a tray. For links, pinch every 15 to 20 cm and twist alternately right and left. Twist three or four turns each time so the links hold.
- Hang to bloom. Hang the finished wors in the fridge uncovered for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. The flavour deepens and the casing dries to the right texture.
Drying boerewors into droëwors
Droëwors is boerewors that has been dried, much like biltong. The spice mix is the same with one or two adjustments. Use thinner sheep casings (22 mm) so the wors dries fast. Reduce the water by half. Add an extra 5 g of salt per kilogramme to help draw out moisture. Hang the coiled wors in your biltong box at the same temperature and humidity as biltong. Two to three days for thin droëwors, four to five for thicker. Done when the wors snaps cleanly when bent.
Cooking boerewors on the braai
The grill is where the wors earns its keep. A few rules that make a difference.
- Never prick the casing. Pricking lets the fat out. The fat is what makes the wors juicy. A pricked wors is a dry wors.
- Cook over medium coals. Too hot and the casing splits before the inside is cooked. Hold your hand 10 cm above the grid for 4 seconds. If you can hold it that long, the heat is right.
- Turn once. Five to six minutes per side for a thick coil, three minutes for thinner links. Resist the urge to fuss.
- Rest before cutting. Two minutes off the heat lets the juices settle. Cut sooner and the juice runs onto the board.
Troubleshooting
Why does my boerewors burst on the braai?
Three usual suspects. The casing is overfilled, the heat is too high, or there are air pockets inside. Fill less tightly. Cook over medium coals. Pack the mince into the filler cylinder firmly so no air gets in.
Why is my boerewors dry or crumbly?
Not enough fat. Boerewors needs at least 20 percent fat to stay juicy. If you went lean for health reasons, accept the trade off. A little ice cold water mixed into the spice helps, but it is not a substitute for fat.
Why is the casing chewy?
The casing was too thick, or it was not rinsed properly. Sheep casings give the most tender bite. Hog casings are chewier and need a higher cooking temperature. Always rinse natural casings thoroughly to remove salt.
Can I make boerewors without a sausage filler?
Yes, but the result will be inconsistent. A piping bag with a wide nozzle works for very small batches. Filling by hand using a funnel and the back of a spoon is the old farm method. For any quantity worth eating, a proper filler is faster, cleaner, and gives a more even wors.
How long can I keep raw boerewors in the fridge?
Three days uncooked, wrapped loosely so the casing can breathe. For longer, freeze in flat coils. Frozen boerewors keeps for three months without significant loss of quality.
Frequently asked questions
What is boerewors actually made of?
Boerewors must contain at least 90 percent meat (beef, lamb, mutton, or goat) by South African law, with no more than 30 percent fat. The dominant spice must be coriander. No soya, no offal, no mechanically deboned meat.
What is the right fat percentage for boerewors?
Twenty percent fat is the sweet spot. Less than that and the wors will be dry. More than thirty percent and it will spit and split on the braai.
Can I use only beef for boerewors?
Yes. Pure beef wors is a legitimate style, especially when made with brisket or chuck for fat content. Most traditional South African wors uses a beef base with added pork speck or lamb fat.
Sheep casing or hog casing for boerewors?
Sheep casing is traditional for boerewors and gives the classic snap and tender bite. Hog casing is for thicker wors and gives a heartier chew. Beginners often find sheep casing harder to fill but the result is worth the practice.
Why does my homemade boerewors taste bland?
Almost always because the coriander was not toasted, or because the wors did not have time to bloom in the fridge after filling. Toast the coriander. Rest the wors in the fridge for at least 4 hours before cooking.
What is the difference between boerewors and droëwors?
Droëwors is boerewors that has been dried for two to five days, like biltong. Thin sheep casings, less water in the mix, more salt, hung in a biltong box. The spice is the same.
About Claasens
The Claasens family has been making sausage fillers, mincers, and biltong equipment in South Africa since 1955. Three generations of the family have refined the machines you find on our site. Many of the fillers we built in the eighties are still in use today, on farms, at home, and in butcheries across the country. If you have a question that is not answered above, our workshop is a phone call away.