Have you entered your Boerewors?

Entries for this year’s Shoprite Checkers Boerewors Championship close on Friday 15 June 2012. So if you want to stand a chance to win that brand new TOYOTA Hilux 2.7 Double Cab Raised Body Raider, or any of the many other prizes on offer, then you have to hurry up and enter your special recipe for traditional boerewors now!

Most of us can’t imagine a family braai without a piece of boerewors sizzling over the coals, and its not surprising as boerewors is a traditional part of our country’s food heritage. From the hundreds of recipes that have already been streaming in from all across the country, it seems everyone wants to be part of this truly South African culinary tradition. And don’t think it’s just the butchers and food-experts that enter the competition. Housewives, mechanics, businessmen, teachers - people from all walks of life have dreams of wearing that Boerewors Crown!

Entertainer and food connoisseur, Nataniël, and kwaito artist, Mandoza, caution would-be champs though: “If you want to enter, you have to make sure that your recipe isn’t just any beef sausage – it has to be a traditional boerewors. And of course it has to be juicy and flavoursome with just the right amount of fat!”

To be traditional, boerewors must contain at least 90 percent meat - always containing beef, as well as lamb or pork or a mixture of lamb and pork and the fat content of the meat mixture may not exceed 30 percent. Furthermore, the distinctive combinations of spices like coriander, cloves, nutmeg and black pepper as well as fluids like vinegar, water and Worcestershire sauce are what differentiates boerewors from other variants.

The South African Chefs Association (SACA), a recognized authority on food in South Africa, will take charge of the judging processes, and they will be making sure that all entries adhere to strict guidelines for making the real thing.

Entrants whose recipes are successful will take on their first challenge in regional rounds that take place countrywide on Saturdays 11, 18 and 25 August. Regional winners go on to compete in ten provincial rounds to be held on Saturday, 15 September. Only the top ten boerie-makers will travel to Sun City for the final battle on 6 October.

Shoprite and Checkers are proud of South Africa’s boerewors tradition and celebrate it every year by sponsoring the Championship Boerewors Competition. The supermarket chains’ meat markets are famous for the outstanding quality of their meat and the group is continually on the lookout for new recipes and ideas so consumers can enjoy only the best quality and variety. The annual Championship Boerewors competition plays a key role in helping the Group to achieve this aim.

Entry forms are available at any Shoprite, Checkers or Checkers Hyper Meat Market or enter online at www.championshipboerewors.co.za .