Spiced-up efforts pay off
East Cape man finalist in national boerewors competition after years of trying
SIX secret spices and Eastern Cape-reared Nguni and Bonsmara cattle are the secret to Jacobus Kritzinger Boerewors, which is in the running to be named the best in South Africa.
Kritzinger, 65, of Joubertina, has had his boerewors recipe placed in the top three of the 2016 Champion Boerewors competition.
The competition is run annually by Shoprite Checkers and gives the public an opportunity to buy and vote for their favourite boerewors.
Kritzinger beat nearly 40 hopefuls at the provincial auditions held at Port Elizabeth’s Herbert Hurd Primary School last month and then blew judges away in the top18 round in Cape Town.
He has been entering his wors since the competition’s inception in 2001 and said he believed that on his 16th try he had finally found the winning recipe.
“After watching my parents make their own boerewors, I tried my hand at it in 1983 and it didn’t exactly work out,” he said.
“But because I am passionate about boerewors, I dedicated my time to asking professional butchers and people from Johannesburg and Cape Town about making the perfect wors.”
To make his “one of a kind” boerewors, Kritzinger uses Eastern Cape meat supplied by a Humansdorp abattoir and six spices that he most definitely will not be naming as they are the secret to his success.
“The most important aspect is the meat you use,” he said.
“You can’t use an old cow and think you will make good-quality boerewors.
“The spices also have to be fresh and there must be a balance.
“You need to make sure no spice overwhelms the other, pay attention to your technique and rinse your casing thoroughly.”
Kritzinger, who works as project manager at the Huis Formosa home for the aged in Joubertina, said the highlight of the competition had been hearing the comments from the judges.
“To hear people who are considered experts say my boerewors was excellent was surprising and exciting at the same time.”
He said winning the competition would be a big step for the province as there had not been an Eastern Cape winner before.
“In the future, I would like to see a woman represent the province in the top three,” he said.
Kritzinger was joined by Vukile Vincent Cele, of Durban, and Winter Reaobaka Letlhogile, of Kimberley, in the final three.
Packs of the finalists’ boerewors will be in stores from next Thursday and the public have until September 9 to vote for the winner.
The winning boerewors will be announced on September 15.