Boerewors rolls with tomato smoor

Name: Boerewors rolls with tomato smoor
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: South African
Ingredients: 1 kg (2.2 lb) boerewors, in one coil; 6 long bread rolls; Butter for the rolls; 2 tablespoons oil; 2 large onions, sliced; 2 cloves garlic, chopped; 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped, or one 400 g (14 oz) can chopped tomatoes; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; Black pepper; 1 small chili, chopped (optional)

A coil of boerewors cooked slowly over medium coals, served in rolls with a soft tomato and onion relish.

Coals: Medium coals
Prep: 15 min
On the fire: 30 min
Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 kg (2.2 lb) boerewors, in one coil
6 long bread rolls
Butter for the rolls

Tomato smoor

2 tablespoons oil
2 large onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 ripe tomatoes, chopped, or one 400 g (14 oz) can chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
1 small chili, chopped (optional)

Method

Start the smoor first. Heat the oil in a pan or a small flat-bottomed pot at the edge of the fire. Cook the onions for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and golden.
Add the garlic and chili and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until thick. Move the pan to a cooler spot to keep warm.
Leave the boerewors in its coil. Do not prick it: the fat inside keeps it juicy, and a pricked sausage dries out and flares the coals.
Lay the coil in a hinged grid, or push two skewers through it in a cross so it turns in one piece.
Cook over medium coals for 8 to 10 minutes a side. Turn it only once or twice. If fat drips and flames come up, move the grid higher or to a cooler part of the fire.
Rest the boerewors for 5 minutes, then cut it into six lengths.
Butter the rolls and toast the cut sides on the grid for a minute. Fill each with boerewors and a big spoon of smoor.

Done when: the casing is brown and tight, the juices run clear, and a thermometer in the thickest part reads 71°C (160°F).

Tips

Outside South Africa, look for boerewors at South African butchers and online shops. A coarse, coriander-spiced beef sausage is the closest substitute.
Medium coals matter here. Over a hot fire the casing splits before the middle is cooked.
The smoor keeps for 4 days in the fridge and is just as good on pap.

Boerewors means farmer’s sausage. It is coarse beef, sometimes with pork or lamb, spiced with toasted coriander, black pepper, nutmeg and cloves, and it is always sold as one long coil. A boerie roll is what most South Africans eat at a school fete, a rugby match or a hardware store on a Saturday morning.