Christmas Biltong Stuffing

This Christmas Biltong Stuffing is something reminiscent of South African braai days, of afternoons spent watching rugby and of road trips when you need “padkos”. During the Festive Season it is very easy to get swept up in the traditions of other countries – where they celebrate with large turkey dinners, knitted Rudolf jerseys (not that this is ever appropriate in December South African heat), and all things jolly on snowy evenings – that little room is left for the South African flair. This is, of course, due to the fact that our technology spams us with the beauty and soul-satisfying foodie eats from America, Switzerland and the UK (amongst others). So why not set a unique South African spin on a dish that has become a staple at this time of year?

Cook: 30 minutes

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

  • 1kg Pork Sausages
  • 250g Biltong, as you prefer
  • 180g Onion
  • 50g Walnuts, Chopped
  • 3 Free Range Eggs
  • 4 Tots of Brandy
  • 100g White Breadcrumbs
  • 1 Packet Stuffing Spice, available at most grocers
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste

VARIATIONS

  • Try a vegetarian-friendly version! There are many delicious stuffing recipes using couscous and dried fruits in place of sausage.
  • Make your own stuffing spice mix using powdered: 1 tsp. garlic, 2 tsp. thyme, 2 tsp. sage, 1 tsp. cloves, 1 tsp. paprika as well as salt and pepper, to taste.

METHOD

Dice and sauté the onion until aromatic and yellowed. Set aside.

Browning onions in a pan

Using a sharp knife cut a slit along the pork sausage casings and squeeze the mince out into a bowl. Discard the sausage casings.

Dice the biltong into smaller pieces.

Now you can mix all of the ingredients into the pork mince, until well-combined, and season with salt and pepper. Be careful with over seasoning as both the sausages and the stuffing spices contain salt.

Mixing stuffing ingredients by hand

This mixture is now ready to be stuffed into the cavity of the bird for cooking later.

Alternatively, place the stuffing mixture into greased tinfoil, shape into a rectangular mound, wrap it up tight and bake at 180°C for approximately 30 minutes. Serve with a sticky sweet chutney, or plain.

Stuffing loaf

And enjoy!