Boerewors Coil on the Grate
A coiled beef sausage cooked slow over medium coals, then stuffed into a roll with onion and tomato relish.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 8.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 85
- protein
- 30 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Grill grate
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Boerewors coil | 1.5 lb | coarse beef sausage, at least 90% meat; a coarse bratwurst works if you cannot find it |
|---|---|---|
| Ground coriander | 1 tsp | skip if the sausage is already spiced |
| Nutmeg and ground cloves | 1/4 tsp total | |
| Onion | 1 large | keeps for a week out of the cooler |
| Canned diced tomatoes | 14 oz | |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp | |
| Sugar | 1 tsp | |
| Cooking oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste | |
| Bread rolls | 4 |
Method
- Burn the fire down to coals and spread them flat. You want to hold a hand a hand's width above the grate for five or six seconds before it hurts. Flames will split the casing.
- Slice the onion. Heat the oil in a pot on one side of the grate and cook the onion until it goes soft and brown at the edges, about 8 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, coriander, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper. Let it cook down while the sausage goes on. Pull the pot to the edge once it thickens.
- Lay the coil flat on the grate over the coals. Turn it with tongs every 5 to 7 minutes. Never a fork: one hole and the fat runs into the fire.
- Total time is 20 to 25 minutes. Press it with the tongs. Firm with a little give means done. Hard means you went too long.
- Move it off the heat and let it sit 5 minutes before cutting. Cut into roll lengths, load the rolls, spoon the relish over.
Boerewors is a coarse-ground sausage in a long coil, and the whole recipe is heat management. Fat renders slowly at medium heat and stays inside the casing. Over open flame the casing bursts, the fat drips out, and you get something dry and gray. So bank the coals down and be patient with it.
The relish exists to cut the fat. Onion cooked long enough to sweeten, tomato reduced until it stops being watery, a splash of vinegar for edge. It is also the reason this stays a one-pot job: cook the relish first, park the pot at the cool side of the grate, and the sausage never needs a pan. This one needs a cooler, so it is a car camping meal, not a pack meal.
Packing
Sausage rides in the cooler in a sealed bag, on the bottom where it stays coldest. Onion, canned tomatoes, and spices go in the dry box. Rolls on top of everything or they arrive flat.
Variations
- Make the relish at home and carry it in a jar. That cuts camp time to just the sausage.
- No rolls: serve it over instant polenta or mashed potato flakes cooked in the same pot after the relish comes off.
https://braaiculture.com/south-african-braai-recipes