What Is Droewors? The South African Dried Sausage Explained
Droewors is a South African dried, spiced sausage, the snacking cousin of biltong. Here is what it is and how it is made.
African Stores Editorial Team
The short answer
Droewors is a South African dried, cured sausage eaten as a savoury snack, closely related to biltong. It is made from a boerewors-style raw mince, usually beef or game, seasoned with coriander and warm spices, then air-dried until firm and ready to snap into bite-sized pieces. The name simply means dry sausage in Afrikaans, and it delivers the same deep, spiced, meaty flavour as biltong in a thinner, sausage-shaped form. In the UK you can buy droewors, and the spices to make your own, from African food shops, which you can find near you on African Stores.
What to remember
- Droewors is a South African dried, spiced sausage eaten as a snack.
- The name means dry sausage in Afrikaans, and it is the sausage cousin of biltong.
- It is made from boerewors-style beef or game mince seasoned with coriander and spices.
- The raw sausage is air-dried until firm rather than cooked.
- It is a high-protein snack with no major allergens, though it contains beef or game.
Snapping a stick of droewors and catching that first hit of coriander and dried, spiced beef is instantly South African. It is the taste of a braai wound down to its last embers, of a road trip with a bag of dried meat on the passenger seat, of a padkos parcel packed for the journey. For South Africans in Britain it is one of those small, portable comforts that carries a whole way of life in a single chewy bite.
There is real heritage in droewors, in the old craft of drying and curing meat that let families keep it through the seasons, and in the boerewors tradition it grows out of. To keep a stash of droewors in a British cupboard is to keep a piece of home within reach, and to hand a friend their first stick and watch them go back for more is to share it. That savoury, spiced, moreish taste is the quiet gift of droewors.
What Droewors Actually Is
Droewors is a South African dried sausage eaten as a snack, and its name says exactly what it is: droë means dry and wors means sausage in Afrikaans. It begins life as a boerewors-style sausage, the coiled farmer's sausage that is a fixture of the South African braai, made from a coarse beef mince, or often a mix that includes game such as springbok or kudu, seasoned generously with coriander and a blend of warm spices. Instead of being grilled fresh, the raw sausage is left to air-dry until it firms up into a lean, chewy stick.
The result is a cured, dried meat snack with a concentrated, savoury flavour, dominated by that signature toasted coriander note. It is best understood as the sausage cousin of biltong: where biltong is made from whole strips or slices of dried, spiced meat, droewors takes the same drying and curing idea and applies it to a thin sausage. Because it is thinner, it tends to dry quickly and eats more like a snappable stick than a slice, which is part of its appeal. It sits proudly among the well loved dried meats of South African food.
How Droewors Is Made and Eaten
Making droewors starts with the same building blocks as boerewors. A coarse mince, beef or game or a mix of the two, is seasoned with coriander as the leading spice, along with things like black pepper, nutmeg, clove and a touch of vinegar to help cure it, then piped into a natural sausage casing in thin lengths. Rather than cooking, the fresh sausage is hung to air-dry in a cool, airy spot, and as the moisture leaves it the meat firms up and the flavour deepens and concentrates. Some people like their droewors dried right through and firm, others prefer to catch it while the middle is still a little soft and moist.
Droewors is eaten simply, as a snack, straight from the packet. You snap or bite off pieces the way you might with a dried sausage anywhere, and it needs nothing else, though it is a natural partner to a cold drink and a favourite at a braai, on the road as padkos, or watching the rugby. It keeps well and travels well, which is exactly why it became such a beloved thing to have on hand. It is naturally high in protein and, made in the traditional way, carries no major allergens, though of course it is a meat product made from beef or game.
Because so much depends on the drying, the cut of the meat and the fat matter. A little fat keeps droewors from going too hard and dry, while too much can turn rancid over time, so makers balance the two carefully. The coriander is usually toasted and coarsely ground before it goes in, which is what gives good droewors its warm, almost nutty aroma. Some cooks lean into the game flavour with venison, others keep it all beef; either way, the drying time is judged by feel and experience rather than a clock, which is why a trusted maker or a tried and tested home recipe is worth holding on to.
Droewors and Biltong: the Difference
Droewors and biltong are close relations and are often sold side by side, but they are not the same thing. Biltong is made from solid pieces of meat, whole strips or steaks that are spiced, cured and hung to dry, then usually sliced across the grain to serve. Droewors, by contrast, is made from minced meat pressed into a sausage casing before it is dried, so it takes the form of a thin stick rather than a slice. The two share the same family of coriander-led spicing and the same tradition of air-drying rather than cooking, which is why they taste like cousins.
In practice the difference is mostly in texture and shape. Droewors, being thinner, dries faster and gives you that satisfying snap and even chew all the way through, while biltong can be cut anywhere from soft and moist to hard and dry. Droewors also uses minced meat, so it can carry a slightly coarser, more open texture, and the spicing runs right through every bite rather than sitting on the surface of a slice. Many people who love one love the other, and a good South African snack table will happily offer both, often alongside a bowl of nuts or a wedge of cheese.
Where to Buy Droewors in the UK
Droewors is a specialist South African treat, and the best place to find it in Britain is a shop that serves the South African community, either as ready-made sticks or as the boerewors-style spice mix so you can dry your own. These shops are also where you will find its close relatives, biltong and boerewors, often on the same shelf or counter. If you are drying your own, you will want coarse beef or game mince, coriander and the other curing spices, and a cool, airy place to hang it. To track down droewors and the ingredients to make it, you can find African food stores near you and see what South African goods they carry.
Frequently asked questions
What is droewors?
Droewors is a South African dried, cured sausage eaten as a savoury snack. It is made from a boerewors-style raw mince, usually beef or game, seasoned with coriander and warm spices, then air-dried until firm rather than cooked. The name means dry sausage in Afrikaans, and it is the sausage cousin of biltong.
What does droewors taste like?
Droewors has a deep, concentrated, savoury meat flavour led by toasted coriander, with warm background spices such as pepper, nutmeg and clove. It is chewy and snappable, like a lean dried sausage stick. If you know biltong, droewors tastes like its close relative in sausage form.
What is the difference between droewors and biltong?
Both are South African air-dried, spiced meats that share the same coriander-led seasoning. The difference is the cut: biltong is made from whole strips or slices of meat, while droewors is made from minced meat piped into a casing and dried into a thin sausage. Droewors is thinner, so it dries faster and eats as a snappable stick.
Is droewors safe for people with allergies?
Droewors made in the traditional way carries no major allergens such as gluten, egg, dairy or nuts. It is essentially spiced, dried meat, so it is a high-protein snack, but it is of course a meat product made from beef or game. As with any packaged food, check the label, as recipes and added ingredients can vary between makers.
Where can I buy droewors in the UK?
Droewors is sold by South African and African food shops in Britain, either ready-made or as a spice mix for drying your own, often alongside biltong and boerewors. African Stores lists African and Caribbean food shops across the UK, so you can find one near you that stocks droewors and the ingredients to make it.