At a glance
Grind cold beef with about 15 percent fat, season it with toasted coriander, pepper, cloves, salt, curing salt and vinegar, and stuff it loosely into thin sheep casings. Hang it in loops and dry it at around 65°F with a fan and low humidity until it snaps, usually 3 to 7 days.
Droewors, literally dry sausage, is biltong's snackable cousin. It starts as boerewors, the coriander spiced South African sausage, but stuffed into thinner casings and air dried until it snaps. If you already make biltong, you have most of the skills and the drying setup you need. If you are new to it, read our guide on how biltong differs from jerky first.
The meat and fat
Traditional droewors uses beef with a little fat, around 10 to 20 percent. Too much fat and it will not dry properly and can go rancid. Too little and it becomes crumbly and hard. Chuck or brisket trimmed of sinew work well, with beef fat or lamb fat added to make up the ratio. Keep everything very cold through grinding and stuffing so the fat stays in distinct pieces.
Why use curing salt?
Older recipes rely on salt and vinegar alone, and many South African households still do. But sausage is ground meat packed into a casing, which creates the low oxygen conditions certain bacteria like. Adding a small, measured amount of curing salt No. 1 is the safer modern approach and also keeps the color a deep red. Measure it with a scale, and never use more than the recipe states.
Casings and stuffing
Thin sheep casings around 22 to 26 mm are traditional and dry fastest. Stuff the sausage loosely and evenly, and leave it in long lengths rather than twisting it into links. Tight stuffing traps moisture in the center.
Recipe
Droewors (South African Dried Sausage)
- Prep
- 1 hr
- Total
- 1 hr plus 3 to 7 days drying
- Makes
- About 1 lb (450 g) of dried sausage
- Mix and stuff below 39°F (4°C)
- Dry at 65°F to 68°F (18°C to 20°C)
- Humidity below 60 percent
Ingredients
Meat
- 850 g (1.9 lb) lean beef, such as chuck or brisket, well chilled
- 150 g (5 oz) beef fat or lamb fat, well chilled
Cure and spices
- 20 g (about 1 tbsp) fine salt
- 2.5 g (1/2 tsp) curing salt No. 1 (pink curing salt)
- 10 g (2 tbsp) whole coriander seeds
- 3 g (1 tsp) black peppercorns
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 50 ml (3 tbsp) red wine vinegar or malt vinegar
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
Casings
- About 3 m (10 ft) natural sheep casings, 22 to 26 mm, soaked
Equipment
- Meat grinder with a coarse plate, 5 to 8 mm
- Sausage stuffer
- Kitchen scale
- A drying box, or a cool room with a fan
Method
- Toast the coriander seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, cool, then crush coarsely with the peppercorns.
- Cut the beef and fat into cubes, keep them in the freezer until very cold but not frozen solid.
- Mix the cubes with the salt, curing salt and spices, then grind through the coarse plate.
- Add the vinegar and Worcestershire sauce and mix briefly until the mixture just comes together. Keep everything cold.
- Rinse the casings, then stuff them loosely and evenly without twisting into links. Prick any air pockets with a clean needle.
- Hang the sausage in long loops over a rail or dowel so no lengths touch each other.
- Dry at 65°F to 68°F (18°C to 20°C) with gentle airflow and humidity below 60 percent until the sausage snaps cleanly when bent. This usually takes 3 to 7 days.
- Cut into lengths and store in a paper bag for a few days, in the fridge for longer, or vacuum seal and freeze.
Notes
- Weigh a length at the start. Most makers aim for around 40 percent weight loss.
- Droewors is a raw, cured product. People who are pregnant, elderly or have weakened immune systems may want to avoid homemade dried sausage.
Drying droewors
Droewors dries in the same conditions as biltong: cool room temperature, gentle moving air and humidity below about 60 percent. A biltong box with a small fan is ideal, but a clothes rail in a cool, dry room with a fan nearby also works. Thin droewors in sheep casings can be ready in a few days. Thicker casings or damp weather can push it past a week. If yours is stalling, our guide on why biltong is not drying covers humidity, airflow and spacing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between droewors and biltong?
Biltong is whole muscle beef that is cured and dried. Droewors is a ground, spiced sausage that is dried in its casing.
How long does droewors last?
A few days in a paper bag at room temperature, a few weeks in the fridge, and several months vacuum sealed in the freezer.
Can I make droewors without a sausage stuffer?
It is difficult. Some grinders come with a stuffing tube, which works for small batches. Without casings you are making a different product.