Traditional Boerewors

[_Darkstream_]

The original recipe posted stated:

) Mix in with herbs.
3) Mince pork beef and herb mixture. Not too fine.

But no herbs are mentioned. SHOULD there be some, and if so what? Or is it just spice in the sausage?

[aris]

Boerewors has no herbs. I suppose you could add some if you wanted, but it would be a deviation.

[Erikht]

I still think wind dried would be the most tasty way to do it, but if _I were to make a biltongbox, how far should it be between the bulb and the plate between the bulb and the drying chamber? And would this distance be the same if I used a 100 w lightbulb? I wouldn't want anything to catch fire!

[aris]

Check the instructions on building a biltong box on my website - www.biltongbox.com. The lightbulb is only there to de-humidify the air. I tend to use a 100w lightbulb for the first 24 hours until the meat is dry to the touch. then switch to a 60w bulb for the next 48-72 hours until the biltong is to my liking (I like it a bit wet inside).

[Bob]

Check the instructions on building a biltong box on my website - www.biltongbox.com. The lightbulb is only there to de-humidify the air. I tend to use a 100w lightbulb for the first 24 hours until the meat is dry to the touch. then switch to a 60w bulb for the next 48-72 hours until the biltong is to my liking (I like it a bit wet inside).

You can also use the box to make bread dough. Use it to cause the bread to rise in a controlled environment. This is important in making sourdough bread.

[aris]

It has alot of uses I think. One visitor to my website told me how I could use the box to make yoghurt. Franco thought it could be adapted for the incubation phase of salami making too where you need higher heat and humidity than the maturation phase.

[Bob]

It has alot of uses I think. One visitor to my website told me how I could use the box to make yoghurt. Franco thought it could be adapted for the incubation phase of salami making too where you need higher heat and humidity than the maturation phase.

Attach a smoke generator and you have a unit that can be used to cold smoke salmon and sausage. Just be sure to cure the fish or meat first.

You can make a simple smoke generator with another wood box and an electric hotplate with a heat adjustment. Put some fine woodchips (sawdust is best) in an aluminum cake pan covered with aluminum foil on the hotplate and regulate the heat to cause the smoke to come off at the rate you want.

Then connect the two boxes with a length of drier vent hose. The purpose of the long hose is to cool the smoke before it enters the food box.

[aris]

This answers my question from another thread. I'm just a bit weary of using aluminum with such high heats. Might there be a potential long-term health risk? Perhaps i'll try a steel cake pan (if I can find one).

[Bob]

This answers my question from another thread. I'm just a bit weary of using aluminum with such high heats. Might there be a potential long-term health risk? Perhaps i'll try a steel cake pan (if I can find one).

There is no health risk that I know of. My electric smoker has an aluminum tray for wood chips. I am sure if there were a problem with aluminum and high heat, a company like Old Smokey that has been in business for half a century would know about it.

Aluminum is a common element that is not toxic. Actually, aluminum oxidizes when hot and the resulting substance is a refractory material that is quite inert. The smoke is probably more toxic than aluminum or its compounds are.

Steel pans are sometimes coated with something to prevent rust and that glop is probably toxic. Make sure you get a bare metal pan. WalMart grocery stores carry an uncoated steel product.

People use cast iron dutch ovens in homemade gas smokers. You can get a lot of smoke with a 3 qt dutch oven, especially if you use sawdust. But you will need a hefty electric burner to get it hot enough.

[aris]

How thick is your aluminum tray for the sawdust? Is it really heavy aluminum, or thin?

The reason i question the health aspects are because of the warning given about cooking with aluminum pans - supposedly it leads to alzheimer's.

Have you tried using chips of wood instead of sawdust? Are there any differences?

[Bob]

How thick is your aluminum tray for the sawdust? Is it really heavy aluminum, or thin?

Thin. It is the standard square baking pan - I believe it is 8" on a side and maybe 2-3" deep. I have also used a loaf pan which is rectangular rather than square.

The reason i question the health aspects are because of the warning given about cooking with aluminum pans - supposedly it leads to alzheimer's.

I have never heard of any such thing. There's always some junk scientist trying to make a living publishing stuff like that.

Have you tried using chips of wood instead of sawdust? Are there any differences?

Over the past 40 years of cooking outdoors, I have tried literally everything from logs to sawdust. The main difference is your heat source - the smaller the heat source, the smaller the wood must be to smoke.

A small electric hotplate is not much heat so that's why I suggested very small wood chips or sawdust. If your source of heat is gas then you can use wood chunks.

When I use my cabinet smoker, I blend all three sizes in a large cast iron container to keep the smoke coming during all phases of heating. I usually can get two hours of profuse smoke that way.

If on the other hand I am smoking salmon or sausage, I want a low fire so I use an aluminum pan with alder chips. If you wet the wood it will smoke better but it is slower to get started. I usually do not wet wood.

Smoking food is an empirical affair which takes a while to try out all the possibilities. Just use common sense to match the size of the wood to the size of the heat source.

[aris]

Thanks for the info - i'll do some experimenting.

By the way - the alzheimers/aluminum link is a pretty common theory. Do a google search.

[Bob]

By the way - the alzheimers/aluminum link is a pretty common theory.

So is "global warming". But it's still junk science, like cell phone radiation and ELF waves. There are even people who are convinced that smoking tobacco products does not cause lung cancer.

It's all driven by research outlays. For example, the "global warming" frenzy is fueled by $2 billion in Congressional spending. Take away the money and the "problem" will go away.

Do a google search.

I think I'll pass. I have enough to do than chase phantoms.

[Bob]

Thanks for the info - i'll do some experimenting.

Hickory sawdust is more widely used in commercial BBQing than I first imagined. I buy it in a 45 lb sack for about $25 - it lasts a year. I also buy hickory chunks from the local woodyard - they are scraps left over from cutting logs so they are cheap. A large gunny sack full is about $4.

You need a large wood box for those chunks, like the cast iron box that came with the cabinet smoker. I put one large chunk in and backfill with some small chips and then with sawdust. The sawdust starts first, then the chips and finally the big chunk. As I said, I get a continuous stream of heavy smoke for 2 hours.

[Zulululu]

Hi ,
The fat in droewors is usually mutton tail fat as some fats tend to cling to your palette , but any fat with a low melting point will work as well . Yes we do use vinigar normaly brown grape vinegar.
The spice in boerewors , droewors and biltong is an accumilation of Dutch , German and Malay (slaves ) influences which originated in the Cape from the early settlers . The meat was normally what was available in the region, and the spices were adjusted to suit the meat , ie. Karoo mutton , game etc.
Originally the meat was cut into small cubes , but with grinders becoming avalible the meat was course ground, thus giving a similar loose texture.
Spekwors is a normal wors with finely cubed peices of pork backfat mixed into the meat.The back fat (spek ) does not melt during cooking as belly fat would do , so the bits of spek are visible after cooking. Hope this helps.javascript:emoticon(':lol:')
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