Actuary’s winning formula for SA’s best boerewors

Investment actuary Dean De Sousa has swapped numbers for the braai grid to create South Africa's 2026 Championship Boerewors. Boerewors and actuarial science may seem about as closely related as a spreadsheet and a braai grid, but for Johannesburg investment actuary Dean De Sousa, getting either right depends on finding the right balance. After a few unsuccessful entries, the 33-year-old from Bryanston was crowned South Africa’s 2026 Championship Boerewors winner last month, beating nine other finalists in Shoprite Checker’s annual competition. “I tried to keep it simple,” De Sousa said. “In previous years I tried to include a few herbs and things, and that didn’t seem to work with the judges. This year I thought I’d go back to basics and rather focus on the balance of the flavours and the texture of the meat.” Because he’s an experienced competitor, it took him only two or three attempts this year to reach his winning recipe. He said understanding what had gone wrong proved useful when he returned this year after a hiatus since the pandemic. Less is more in a boerie De Sousa said that he built his recipe around the quality and cuts of meat, the correct fat content and restraint when it came to seasoning. “Certain cuts of meat are going to give you something that’s more juicy than others,” he said. “Then from a spice perspective, it’s really about not going too overbearing on one thing or the other. Things like nutmeg and cloves, if you get it wrong and use too much, you get a bitter or overpowering taste. The same with coriander. You want the flavours balanced so one specific flavour doesn’t overpower everything else.” Hard at work over the coals. Picture: Supplied And while meat is not exactly the way that De Sousa takes home the bacon, he grew up with protein all-round. His father Tony has worked in the meat industry for almost four decades and joined Shoprite in 1998. He later became one of South Africa’s first Master Butchers after obtaining the accreditation from Britain’s Institute of Meat in 2020 and today works in the retailer’s meat and spice operations. “I grew up around the butchery with my dad, so although it’s nothing to do with my day job, it has always been an interest of mine and a family interest,” De Sousa said. “We used to attend this competition when I was a kid. I’ve got the best teacher one could ask for in the country. There’s obviously a little bit of pressure because you want to make him proud, but it’s certainly an advantage.” South Africans will get to judge the result themselves from this month when De Sousa’s recipe becomes the official 2026 Championship Boerewors and goes on sale at Shoprite and Checkers stores nationwide. Don’t make the fire too hot But even the country’s champion recipe can be burnt to a crisp on the fire. De Sousa said the biggest mistake was putting boerewors over coals that were too hot, bursting the casing and losing the juices. “If you can hold your hand over the fire for about five to seven seconds before it becomes uncomfortable, that’s about right,” he said. “Give it about five minutes on the first side to get that nice golden crust, then flip it for another four. You don’t want to overcook it.” Also, once braaied, don’t kill the boerie by drowning it in sauces. “A little bit can enhance the flavour profile, but it should never dominate. You want to taste the boerewors first and foremost,” he said.