When the colorful Boerie Roll sign at the Stowe Farmers Market caught my eye earlier this summer, I wondered how to pronounce it: BORE-ee? BYUH-ree? My curiosity was further piqued by the smell of grilled meat, coriander and a few other spices I couldn’t quite place.
“It’s pronounced BOOR-ee,” the man behind the griddle said, rolling the R in a way I never could.
The food cart’s owner, Jeremy Greeff, 54, is on a roll. In his first full season on the Vermont farmers market circuit, the South African native and South Hero resident serves up flavors from home, including his signature boerewors ($13).
In Afrikaans, boer means “farmer” and wors means “sausage.” Boerewors, or farmer’s sausage, is a South African staple traditionally cooked over a braai, or barbecue. With roots in European sausage-making traditions, it evolved into something distinctly South African: coarsely ground, highly seasoned meat stuffed into a casing and typically formed into a long coil. Greeff’s version combines beef and pork in a thin sheep casing that provides a pleasant snap.
The food venture is a departure from Greeff’s previous work in sales. He was living in Cape Town with his American wife, Elise Brunelle, when they decided to move to the U.S. to be closer to her family. Greeff said he was drawn to the Green Mountain State. “It’s our kind of place,” he recalled telling his wife. In 2020, Brunelle landed at the Vermont Symphony Orchestra as executive director, and the family happily relocated. Far from home, Greeff began experimenting with the familiar flavors of his native country.
Greeff’s boerewors are currently offered only at the Stowe market due to the work involved in handmaking the sausages. His recipe uses about 60 percent beef and 35 percent pork with more fat for flavor, though Greeff continues to tinker with it. Notes of coriander take the lead, subtly backed by nutmeg, clove, rosemary, malt vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. The sausage comes topped with freshly sautéed tomato-and-onion relish, which adds a welcome tang.
“It tasted totally unexpected,” said Chase Edwards, a student from Pennsylvania’s Lehigh University who was visiting the Stowe market. “I loved the sweet juices that followed that satisfying snap.”
Greeff keeps the roll deliberately simple in order to let the flavors shine. Soft and lightly buttered, it’s there to hold the sausage, not distract from it.
“In South Africa, we don’t use fancy rolls, just a stock-standard long, white roll,” he said.
Before debuting his namesake roll last year, Greeff drew marketgoers with his smash burgers. The OG Smash ($13) features sautéed onions that are smashed Oklahoma-style into the burger as it cooks. The toasted bun is piled high with pickles, cheese, tomato and a special mayo-based sauce.
Lekker is Afrikaans slang for “good,” “great” or “awesome” — a word that can refer to anything from food to people. It aptly describes the Boerie Roll’s Very Lekker Potato Salad ($5). Greeff brines bite-size spuds in water, salt, sugar and vinegar before tossing them in a blend of mayo, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, dill and a dash of smoked paprika.
At the Stowe Farmers Market earlier this summer, Greeff handled the cooking as his wife added the finishing touches. They debated how much mayo constituted the “right” amount — genial banter that said everything about their commitment to detail.
Another link hit the griddle, and once again the scent of coriander filled the air. “It smells like home,” Greeff said. “It really does.” ➆
“One Dish” is a series that samples a single menu item — new, classic or fleeting — at a Vermont restaurant or other food venue. Know of a great plate we should feature? Drop us a line: [email protected].
The original print version of this article was headlined “On a Roll | With the Boerie Roll, a South African staple hits the Stowe Farmers Market”