Spending over a week with a handful of South Africans means that you must be ready to eat a lot of meat. A lot of meat, prepared on the grill. A lot of grilled meat, accompanied with salads and fruits and grilled corn on the cob.
I am so okay with this.
So here’s an awesome recipe for yet another South African grilled classic, sosaties (in Afrikaans meaning “skewered meat with spicy sauce”, thanks to Wikipedia).
South African Sosaties Printable Recipe Card
for the sauce (sous):
- 1 large onion, sliced into half-rounds
- 4 C water
- 2 T mild curry powder
- 1/2 T ground turmeric
- 4 T sugar
- 1 T cornstarch
- 1 C malt vinegar
- 2 C apricot jam
- 1/2 T lemon juice (optional)
- salt and white pepper to taste
for the skewers
- 3-4 lbs beef or lamb roast, cubed into 1″ cubes
- 1 small package dried apricots
- 1/2 package of bacon (1 strip for each skewer)
- about a dozen skewers, if wood, soak in water before using
The meat must be prepared ahead of time and marinated for at least 24 hours in the sosatie sauce, so make sure you have time and room in the fridge!
To prepare the sauce, first slice the onion and bring it to a boil in the four cups of water. Set aside. Combine the dry ingredients (curry, turmeric, sugar, cornstarch, and some salt and pepper), then add in the wet ingredients (jam, vinegar, and lemon juice). Pour this mixture into the pan with the onions, and bring to a boil for 3-4 minutes, until it starts to thicken. Set aside and allow it to cool.
Once the sauce is cooled, you can prepare the meat for the marinade. Layer apricots, bacon, and the cubed meat in a plastic or glass container. Cover with the cooled sosatie sauce. This container was really convenient because it can be flipped to allow for the easiest mixing ever–but otherwise, you may have to get your hands dirty.
Keep in the fridge for at least 24 hours before grilling.
To make the kabobs, skewer the beef, apricots, and the bacon (we’d suggest not having apricot on the ends, because they’ll tend to fall off during grilling).
Grill the sosaties over medium heat for about 20 minutes, until they are cooked through. Baste periodically with leftover sosatie sauce.
Enjoy! These are tender and juicy, and the perfect combination of sweet and spicy.
And if you have never had a grilled apricot, then you haven’t lived. Trust me when I say you might want to go out and find a South African to marry, if you haven’t already, because they make really great food:
The men are also quite handsome:
The sosaties were even better the second day, warmed up for leftovers with a giant salad–but I can promise you that the leftovers won’t last long.
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selina
August 15, 2011 at 5:43 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
ooh these look pretty good, i think i am going to try making these for my Norwegian, they are more used to plain slow cooked meat lol
lastpieceofcake
August 15, 2011 at 6:30 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Awesome recipe! Love the photos too! I recently started a food blog here in England. It’s nowhere near as good as A Full Measure of Happiness, but I’m enjoying it. Keep up the great writing (and cooking) and if you get a chance, feel free to take a peek at my blog.
http://thelastpieceofcake.com/
Holly
August 16, 2011 at 2:20 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The apricot jam in the recipe sounds so random, but I am quite partial to a bit of sweet in my meat!
Lauren Zietsman
August 16, 2011 at 11:43 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
South Africans (in my experience) LOVE the apricot jam+meat or apricot jam+cheese or apricot jam+anything savory combination. Trust me, it’s good!
blackhuff
August 16, 2011 at 6:04 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
You sure are right about the fact that we eat a LOT of meat
This recipe is doing justice on how we eat Sosaties.
Lauren Zietsman
August 16, 2011 at 11:43 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
glad for the stamp of approval!
purabi naha
August 16, 2011 at 7:23 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Wow…I am saving this recipe!! Loved the addition of apricot jam…great twist!
http://cosmopolitancurrymania.blogspot.com
mommytanya (@mommytanya)
August 16, 2011 at 11:54 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Oh my that looks AMAZING! I’ve never had South African food but that’s worth a go. My only question is where is the bacon on the skewer? Did you weave it between the meat and apricots?
Lauren Zietsman
August 16, 2011 at 12:01 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
yep, it’s woven right in–one strip of bacon per skewer, and you wrap/weave it around the other stuff
definitely give it a go–South Africans really have the meat/grilling business down!
chocswirl
August 16, 2011 at 2:51 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Yep, we do eat a lot of meat!
Great job on the recipe, looks amazing!
Kevin (Closet Cooking)
August 17, 2011 at 6:06 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I really like the sound of this grilled meat, apricot and bacon combo!
Alive and Kicking « Gone for a Walk
September 8, 2011 at 11:08 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
[...] cooked South African Sosaties from A Full Measure of Happiness for camping – this recipe is killer and delicious, and you should [...]