Droewors - South African dried sausage-sticks

Having spent 30 years of my life in South Africa but now living in Texas, I often have a hankering for the goodies I was used to there.

To this end, a few years ago I had made what we call a 'biltong box' (biltong being our equivalent of jerky but far better) - which dries meat via air convection, the air moving due to a small PC fan drawing air up through the box and out the top:

https://i.imgur.com/ffB1ZgG.jpg

Instead of biltong, I wanted to make droewors (pronounciation: "Droo-uh Vors" - Afrikaans for "Dried Sausage") so I got some 19mm sausage-casings offa Amazon, mixed up 2.5 lbs of hamburger meat (less fatty, the better) with various spices and stuff (recipe at the end) and stuffed the casings with the mix. I then hung them over the dowels of the biltong-box and left them to dry in the garage for 3-4 days:

https://i.imgur.com/PCr3Kp3.jpg

After drying for 2 days:

https://i.imgur.com/LykhNQH.jpg

Ready to snack on:
https://i.imgur.com/xgHZmqW.jpg

Just to note: 2.5 lbs of hamburger meat turned into 17 oz of snacks - a loss in weight of around 60% due to drying.

Recipe:

2.5 lbs lean hamburger
1 TBsp roasted/crushed coriander
2.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp crushed black pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp garlic powder
2 finely-crushed cloves (about 1/4 tsp)
1 TBsp vinegar
2 TBsp worcestershire sauce

Mix all together and marinade covered overnight in the fridge, then stuff into casings and dry for 3-4 days until firm(ish).

they make something very similar in several different flavors at Carrolls sausage store in Ashburn Georgia, exit 82 on I-75, absolutely fantastic stuff. if you ever go there the thick applewood bacon is second to none.

The lack of a curing salt is a no go for me... got deathly ill off jerky made without it(friend made it).

Yeah, that's a no go for me too Mary. Not because I've gotten sick but because I don't want to. I don't know why the amount of pink salt couldn't be factored into the recipe and just substitute it for part or all of the listed salt. It depends on the quantity required.

How many holes in the bil-tong box and how big? How does high humidity affect the drying? Sounds like an interesting project.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MaryB

The lack of a curing salt is a no go for me... got deathly ill off jerky made without it(friend made it).

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yup and cooked to a internal temp of at least 150 degrees

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MaryB

The lack of a curing salt is a no go for me... got deathly ill off jerky made without it(friend made it).

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I'm curious - what specifically is a curing salt? BJK below you mentions pink salt - I'm sure one could substitute that for the iodized salt I use with no issues.

As for jerky... in South Africa, our equivalent called biltong is salted and air-dried too - has been for centuries and is sold commercially in tons each year being made way too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gbrown

How many holes in the bil-tong box and how big? How does high humidity affect the drying? Sounds like an interesting project.

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2 vent holes - one down low in the front and one on the lid for the PC fan. Both were roughly cut to around 80mm, which is the size of the fan and the dust-proof vent, both computer parts. High humidity would likely make it harder to dry.

Pink salt is salt with a % of curing agent added (sodium nitrite?). It prevents spoilage while the sausage cures. One wouldn't want to replace all of the salt with pink salt. Just what's required for the weight of the meat. Then ad the rest of the salt to make up the difference.

On a different note... I discovered "biltong sticks" today at the grocery. I bought one package a week ago and found it delicious so bought more today. It's like a very mildly spiced (almost none at all) jerky sausage. Delicious. I wonder if it's a relative to the Droewors? It's also on my keto diet since it contains zero carbs (no sugar added - yippee!).

Ahhhh, I'll look into pink salt then, thanks :)

Biltong sticks - yes, that's our version of beef jerky, just sliced into thin sticks. You should be able to taste a little salt, pepper and coriander seed.

Edit: I found a guide on pink salt aka InstaCure or Prague powder - and it mentions "Other ways to control the bacteria are by using acids such as vinegar" (which is used when making biltong as well as droewors).

Lay a good recipe for Boerewors on me. I'd like to surprise an African American friend of mine!

As far as cure goes lactobacillious culture was used in many dried sausage (meat) to lower the ph and avoid spoilage.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AndyC

Ahhhh, I'll look into pink salt then, thanks :)

Biltong sticks - yes, that's our version of beef jerky, just sliced into thin sticks. You should be able to taste a little salt, pepper and coriander seed.

Edit: I found a guide on pink salt aka InstaCure or Prague powder - and it mentions "Other ways to control the bacteria are by using acids such as vinegar" (which is used when making biltong as well as droewors).

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Use of vinegar requires using enough to make sure a certain acidity is reached, or measuring the PH as you make it, commercial places will do this, I can do it because i have a good PH meter for beer brewing. I test my tomato sauce before canning so I can avoid adding the lemon juice that changes the flavor.

Traditional Italian dry sausage “salame crudo” is made with pork meat and fat, cut with a knife, not ground in a grinder. The preservative is a mix of saltpeter (potassium nitrate), pepper and other spices. Red wine or wine vinegar (if not using the saltpeter) is added to the mix, which is carefully stuffed into natural casings , taking great care not to leave air pockets inside the salame, which is then hung in a cellar to dry.

The location of the cellar and the climate of the place make half of the mystery of this art. What is called Genoa salami in the USA is locally known as Salame di Sant’Olcese, a suburb of Genoa up in the Hills ( where the wild boars roam). Its characteristic is a good quantity of garlic in the mix.

The town of Varzi in the Hills south of the Po river is the home of the best salame of that region. All the pig goes went into salame, the hams included, as raw ham was not made there.

Pre-refrigeration they used wine vinegar or saltpeter and spices to preserve the meat. The real thing, made by the traditional method and kept in a cool cellar, would keep until the next year’s salami is ready to eat.

If they age too much, the sausages dry up, depending on their weight and diameter. A good five pound Varzi lasts longer than small cacciatorini. The soppressa of the republic of St Marcus have bigger diameter and keep their softness for longer time. In days gone by the pigs were slaughtered in after the new year in January, because the weather was cold.

In the war of 1859 the army‘s meat followed the soldiers on the hoof, being butchered in the evening, boiled over night and eaten with broth and bread for breakfast.

If you have a salame too old and hard, just leave it overnight wrapped up in Barbera red wine and it will be ready to eat the next day. Pasteurizing salame is a wicked idea.

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Originally Posted by Thundarstick

Lay a good recipe for Boerewors on me. I'd like to surprise an African American friend of mine!

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Boerewors, huh? Sure, here's mine:

4.4 lb Beef (brisket, eye of round)
2.2 lb Pork

10 tsp Coriander
1/2 tsp ground Cloves
1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg
5 tsp fine Salt
1 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
0.5 cup Vinegar

Cube meat and mix pork and beef together - let stand a few hours to drain the blood, then add vinegar and cover in the spice-mix, working it in by hand.

Chill the meat a while so it's firm before grinding (helps prevent the fat from smearing in the grinder).

Coarse-grind the meat and stuff the casings (I'm emphasizing "coarse" because you don't want meat the consistency of a hot-dog), coiling it up as you go. I aim for around 2 lbs of sausage per "coil":

https://i.imgur.com/Ja4mgR3.jpg

It can be cooked right away or wrapped in foil and frozen. When you grill/barbecue it, try not to puncture the casing - it tastes distinctly better if it's moist and not dry.

I'll be giving that a try.

I whipped up a batch yesterday. They have a flavor profile that is very unusual to an American palate. Quite good, and different. I didn't use this exact recipe, but the key spices are in the one I used.

my old priest (retired) was from south africa and i used to give him summer sausage every year. One year he went home for vacation and brought me back some biltong. I liked it but id have to say i prefer my jerky to it. I sure wouldnt turn some more down though

Facebook bombards users with "suggestions" for everything from Chinese shoes to biltong. There was a 3 pack of biltong in 4oz. samples for $5 and I bit. It came and was exactly what they say it was, and it was VERY good!

Pink salt = 6 grams per 5lbs of meat. Use a good digital scale.