Casings, fat, vacuum pack bags

[Dimitri]

Hi everyone,

While I gut and skin my own animals, cut and make my own biltong, and process small carcasses into various cuts, I don't make my own wors/drywors. But that is about to change. A friend is making his meat processing equipment available to me and I want to give it a try. I'd really appreciate your advice on the following:

1. Where do you source your wors casings from? And what do wors casings cost (both thin casings for drywors and thick casings for b/wors)?
2. Where do you source your brisket fat from? And what does that cost?
3. What ratio of fat to meat do you use for your drywors?
4. What ratio of fat to meat do you use for your b/wors?
5. Where do you source bags for vacuum packing from and what do those cost?

Looking to source the casings, fat and bags in the greater JHB area please.

I'd really appreciate hearing from the guys who process their own meat.

Thanks very much guys.

[NicoSmit]

We are getting our casings for the butchery from Crown I think it works out at R251 for 5 bundles (under correction)
Vision meat from Klerksdorp at R60 p/kg
We buying our Vacuum bags from West Rand Pack 50 micron unfortunately dont have the price available

[Johan Nel]

Crown National, Deli Spices & Freddy Hirsch can supply you with spice mixes, casings as well as vacuum bags You'll find local outlets on google.
Dry wors normally requires thinner casings. The natural casings are from sheep. There is a synthetic casing that is easier to stuff, but I personally do not like the taste and look of it when the wors is dried. Sheep casings can be finicky to stuff.
The Fat to meat ratios can be derived from the recipes of the specific spice pack you are using. Specifically for dried wors I go for about 10% of the meat by weight.
Boerewors is around 20 to 30% of fat by weight. Again the spice pack can guide you, but personal taste will eventually guide you.
Do you have a family or home brewed recipe, or are you going to use spice packs from the suppliers?

[Dimitri]

Baie dankie, Nico en Johan.

Johan, I don't have a family recipe. I'll be using a premixed spice pack from Crown/Freddy Hirsch and follow the recipe on there. Years ago when I was in primary school my dad brought home a hand mincer and we made some of our own wors a few times using our own spice combo: salt, pepper, coriander, cloves, brown sugar, vinegar, and worcestershire sauce. And a little bit of grated orange rind. It was delicious.

One year when I had my meat processed I asked the butcher to use his own recipe but to include the rind of one orange in the batch. He frowned but said OK. The wors smelled lovely while cooking but it had an overpowering strong citrus taste which spoiled it. When I checked with the butcher he said he had put in the rind of 1 bag of oranges just as I had asked!! From then on I always give written instructions.

How do pork casings compare to sheep casings?

[Johan Nel]

Baie dankie, Nico en Johan.

Johan, I don't have a family recipe. I'll be using a premixed spice pack from Crown/Freddy Hirsch and follow the recipe on there. Years ago when I was in primary school my dad brought home a hand mincer and we made some of our own wors a few times using our own spice combo: salt, pepper, coriander, cloves, brown sugar, vinegar, and worcestershire sauce. And a little bit of grated orange rind. It was delicious.

One year when I had my meat processed I asked the butcher to use his own recipe but to include the rind of one orange in the batch. He frowned but said OK. The wors smelled lovely while cooking but it had an overpowering strong citrus taste which spoiled it. When I checked with the butcher he said he had put in the rind of 1 bag of oranges just as I had asked!! From then on I always give written instructions.

How do pork casings compare to sheep casings?

Pork casing works just fine. They are much bigger in diameter, so if you want to use them for dried wors, you need to stuff it very loosely, so that you can press the sausage flat before hanging it out to dry. The thicker sausage takes longer to dry and it can happen that the centre is not dry while the outer rind is dry. It can go bad that way.
The pork casings is excellent for boerewors. The casings are graded in gauge sizes ito diameter and is sold per weight that is also a given total length.

[Dimitri]

"Hi. Het julle dalk bees brisket vet in vooraad?"

"Nee meneer ons verkoop nie die brisket vet so alleen nie. Ons het ontbeende brisket en ook skaap stert vet maar dis bietjie duur"

"Hoeveel is dit per kg asb?"

"R145 per kilo"

"Ouch"

[Dimitri]

Deli Spices vs Crown vs Freddy Hirsch?

And which spicemix flavour for boerewors and drywors? I tend to like the more traditional wors flavour.

Any recommendations?

[J le Roux]

I like Crown Safari drywors and boerewors spices.

Casings 26-28mm for drywors and 30-32 for boerewors. Some Hog casings produce very thick wors that we find too much kids and ladies.

Once you are set up it is a lot of fun to make your own wors.
I willtry your orange peel rind, I am not afraidof experimenting a little
Kind regards
Johan

PS you are welcome to PM me if you want to chat.

[ruaanb]

Dimitri for something different try the Vleisland range of mixes from Stefaans Blaauw from Namibia.

Msg free
You still need to add salt so can control it.

https://vleisandmeatspice.co.za/

[Capt. Yoda]

Dimitri for something different try the Vleisland range of mixes from Stefaans Blaauw from Namibia.

Msg free
You still need to add salt so can control it.

https://vleisandmeatspice.co.za/

Yster spice die, van die beste boerewors wat ek nog geeet het was met hulle gebou

[Dimitri]

Thanks Johan, ruaanb & Captain.

Johan, PLEASE be careful. It's the zest of ONE orange NOT one bag. Maybe 1 tablespoon of zest in a batch of 20-25kg of meat. I would not go more. You definitely don't want citrus wors like I got.

On top of now having to decide which of the 4 suppliers to choose from and countless great-sounding varieties of wors spice, I am also thinking:

1. Should i maybe make just a little baby batch of wors (5kg) where I add a bit of garlic and a splash of red wine
2. And maybe another baby batch of wors using warthog and add a bit of chutney
3. Or adding some liquid smoke to another baby batch using warthog meat

There goes my preference for traditional out the window.

[Gian_dP]

On top of now having to decide which of the 4 suppliers to choose from and countless great-sounding varieties of wors spice, I am also thinking:

1. Should i maybe make just a little baby batch of wors (5kg) where I add a bit of garlic and a splash of red wine
2. And maybe another baby batch of wors using warthog and add a bit of chutney
3. Or adding some liquid smoke to another baby batch using warthog meat

There goes my preference for traditional out the window.

Although I havent made my own sausage, your idea would be what drives me to do it-experimenting with small batches of non-traditional/interesting flavours that I cannot get from a butchery. You could even do smaller "tasters" not stuffed, but shaped into patties before you commit to a 5kg batch.

[Capt. Yoda]

Thanks Johan, ruaanb & Captain.

Johan, PLEASE be careful. It's the zest of ONE orange NOT one bag. Maybe 1 tablespoon of zest in a batch of 20-25kg of meat. I would not go more. You definitely don't want citrus wors like I got.

On top of now having to decide which of the 4 suppliers to choose from and countless great-sounding varieties of wors spice, I am also thinking:

1. Should i maybe make just a little baby batch of wors (5kg) where I add a bit of garlic and a splash of red wine
2. And maybe another baby batch of wors using warthog and add a bit of chutney
3. Or adding some liquid smoke to another baby batch using warthog meat

There goes my preference for traditional out the window.

The small batches is a good idea then you can see what you and the family likes but I would skip the garlic, I gave away an entire Koedoes wors when a butcher decided he liked the taste of garlic in wet and dry wors.

[ruaanb]

Garlic can be as overpowering as the lemon zest

[Methos]

Over here I don't get ready made boerewors spice. Had to have a go at it myself. I roast and grind my spices myself and it generally comes out very nice - except when I throw in salt with the eye instead of a weighing it out.

The other day the missus complained that she is getting a bit gatvol for just plain boerewors. So I decided to spice things up a bit. Decided to make 4 types of sauage:

Pesto sausage - added a pot of pesto and chopped basil to sausage mince - not my best effort.

Curry sausage - Added everthing that goes into a nice curry in the mince - a winner for sure.

Made a bunch of normal droewors as well.

Then I started thinking - my kids love bolognaise - so make a bolognaise sausage. So I added all the ingredients for bolognaise except a bit less tomatoes in my mince. Winner winner chicken dinner! I'll try and write up a recipe if you are interested.

Cheers

[Dimitri]

Over here I don't get ready made boerewors spice. Had to have a go at it myself. I roast and grind my spices myself and it generally comes out very nice - except when I throw in salt with the eye instead of a weighing it out.

The other day the missus complained that she is getting a bit gatvol for just plain boerewors. So I decided to spice things up a bit. Decided to make 4 types of sauage:

Pesto sausage - added a pot of pesto and chopped basil to sausage mince - not my best effort.

Curry sausage - Added everthing that goes into a nice curry in the mince - a winner for sure.

Made a bunch of normal droewors as well.

Then I started thinking - my kids love bolognaise - so make a bolognaise sausage. So I added all the ingredients for bolognaise except a bit less tomatoes in my mince. Winner winner chicken dinner! I'll try and write up a recipe if you are interested.

Cheers

Very adventurous of you, Methos. Yes, please give us your currywors and bolognaisewors recipes in case we get an opportunity to try them. The problem, at the moment, is Step One. Step One is being allowed to go out hunting to get our meat.

But if we get it, we could try your recipes plus what about:

- Honey mustard wors?
- Three cheese wors (feta, mozzarela and gouda)?
- Chilli chocolate wors?

OK. Going off the charts now.

[jdpretorius]

We like the honey & mustard. The other one which was tasty with game meat is chutneys & ginger. Blue cheese and fig is a bit rich if you have to much of it....but not bad for nibble size bite while the rest goes on the braai.

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[Capt. Yoda]

Over here I don't get ready made boerewors spice. Had to have a go at it myself. I roast and grind my spices myself and it generally comes out very nice - except when I throw in salt with the eye instead of a weighing it out.

The other day the missus complained that she is getting a bit gatvol for just plain boerewors. So I decided to spice things up a bit. Decided to make 4 types of sauage:

Pesto sausage - added a pot of pesto and chopped basil to sausage mince - not my best effort.

Curry sausage - Added everthing that goes into a nice curry in the mince - a winner for sure.

Made a bunch of normal droewors as well.

Then I started thinking - my kids love bolognaise - so make a bolognaise sausage. So I added all the ingredients for bolognaise except a bit less tomatoes in my mince. Winner winner chicken dinner! I'll try and write up a recipe if you are interested.


Cheers

Liewe genade

[JJV]

Lemon pepper
Feta and peppadew
jalapeño sweet chillie sauce and cheese
I also tried “pizzawors” add Italian herbs, mozerella and feta
Chillie and cheese
Perske wors

I normally play with Russian sausage and make some combinations but it can also work with boerewors.


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[Dimitri]

So, in the end I did the following:

- Boerewors - 21kg impala meat, 4kg warthog meat, 5kg beef brisket fat
- Drywors - 25kg impala and kudu meat mixed, 5kg beef brisket fat

A friend recommended Crown Safari Drywors seasoning for both the boerewors and drywors. Also added worcestershire sauce, vinegar and a little brown sugar. Both the boerewors and drywors taste absolutely delicious!

I did experiment with the last little bit of boerewors mix (about 1 kg) where I added some chutney and a bit of liquid smoke. It was a winner. Pity I didn't make more.

My friend has all the proper meat processing equipment so the processing was smooth and relatively quick. Unfortunately, processing my own meat has got me thinking of getting a little mincer/filler to make small batches of wors/mince from time to time. I don't have the space nor the budget to get anything fancy or big. I realise that proper equipment is the way to go as it will also land up saving me time at the end of the day. But, as I said, space and budget are limiting factors right now. Is there anyone in the same boat as me that has used something like this https://www.binuns.co.za/meat-mincer-sa ... PriceCheck and what has been your experience?

[Dimitri]

Although the meat that I processed was delicious, my wife and I decided that the next time I process meat we will try out the Vleisland spices because the were highly recommended here and because they have no msg.

[ZKK]

Hi Uncle Dimitri, I see you have processed your own meat, but herewith some thing that has worked for me over the past couple of years.

So anyone who wants to try their hand at this, here is some tips.

Buy a plastic heat sealer. It looks like a big stapler and only seal the bags but do not vacuum them.
They are way cheaper than a vacuum machine, and just sealing stuff works quite fine.
(You still use normal vacuum bags)

The bucheries are clever and you pay an arm and a leg for fat.
For my boerewors and burger patties I use 30% brisket fat.
Do not make the mistake I did one year and make 60kg of wors with cheap kidney fat, it has a waxy texture and cling to your palate.
It taste horrible, so the key word is BRISKET FAT
Your wors will be nice and juicy and taste amazing.

If you want to do make your own wors for the first time buy either Freddy Hirch Kameelhout (clove taste)
Or Crown Ouma spice (corriander taste).
For a first time try these you will not be dissapointed.
You can even buy kameelhout stickers at Freddy, which you can stick on the packages.
It looks quite professional if you do this
(looks the same as the stickers on the wors you buy from Spar)

For a first time, skip the droewors.
Stuffing those skaap dermpies is a pain in the butt.
It takes ages, they break a lot, and you battle to get it over the nozzle.
For your first batch of wors, use 36 gauge vark derms from crown or freddy hirch and just stick to boerewors.
As jy geld se baas is, buy synthetic skins, they are an absolute joy to stuff (but they are pricey)
Also trying to stuff skaapdermpies on your Springbok bandsaag mincer as going to be tricky cause you cannot control the speed like with a hand stuffer.

[ZKK]

Oh one more thing.
For hamburger patties also use 30% brisket fat and the Suidwes Burger spice works very nice.
I mix my spice with the blokkies vleis and them mince it once.
I then package it onto 600g packets and freeze.

If I feel like hammies, I defrost it, and sommer make patties by hand.
If there are 4 people I make 4 mansize patties.
You can also make 6 smaller patties.

The reason I do it this way is, it is a lot of work to make patties with a pattie press.
It is easy enough to make patties by hand before braaing them.
And you could also add a piece if cheese in the middle of each patty this way.

Processing two blou willies in your garage is a lot of work and you want to get stuff in the freezer as quick as possible.
And this is a very quick way of getting yout burgers done and dusted

[Johan Nel]

So, in the end I did the following:

- Boerewors - 21kg impala meat, 4kg warthog meat, 5kg beef brisket fat
- Drywors - 25kg impala and kudu meat mixed, 5kg beef brisket fat

A friend recommended Crown Safari Drywors seasoning for both the boerewors and drywors. Also added worcestershire sauce, vinegar and a little brown sugar. Both the boerewors and drywors taste absolutely delicious!

I did experiment with the last little bit of boerewors mix (about 1 kg) where I added some chutney and a bit of liquid smoke. It was a winner. Pity I didn't make more.

My friend has all the proper meat processing equipment so the processing was smooth and relatively quick. Unfortunately, processing my own meat has got me thinking of getting a little mincer/filler to make small batches of wors/mince from time to time. I don't have the space nor the budget to get anything fancy or big. I realise that proper equipment is the way to go as it will also land up saving me time at the end of the day. But, as I said, space and budget are limiting factors right now. Is there anyone in the same boat as me that has used something like this https://www.binuns.co.za/meat-mincer-sa ... PriceCheck and what has been your experience?

Hi Dimitri,
I originally went the route that you are enquiring about and bought a similar mincer/mill to the link that you have posted. It worked allright, but as it is a domestic rated motor and you want the motor to last, you can mince for about ten minutes at a time and then wait for ten minutes again, before you can proceed again. This is in order to manage the operating temperatures. Also, the plate with the largest holes in it only has 6mm diameter holes, which makes for a very fine wors. I personally like the meat a bit coarser. The finer holes also clog up faster. You can not get plates with larger holes for those machines.
Then, the worm has a steel shaft with the worm portion cast in aluminium. At the front of the worm where the blade fits, the sqaure portion over which the blade fits is also aluminium. Due to the play that the blade has between the worm and the plate, when the mill has to work a little harder and the blade gets pushed forward against the plate, the blade can slip, which causes the sharp corners of the square over which it fits, to start to wear off and become round, rendering the machine useless (ask me how I know... )
At the end of the day I think it is not worth your while to buy the machine, as you cannot get spare parts for it, and it is money down the drain. You can work about 5kg of meat at a time and it takes you a while to do it. If you want to buy, rather go for an industrial unit. They are not that much bigger and will store fairly easily anyway. Depending on the size you buy, you will be able to process more meat faster. You will also not struggle as much with stoppages due to a stronger motor that is able to deal with tougher cuts that may be in your meat pack.
Hope that helps.

[Dimitri]

ZKK, thanks for the advice and tips for processing and packaging.

Johan, thanks for your advice. It makes sense and I think I will hold off until I'm ready to get an industrial unit.