Own backyard

# ‘BRAAI’ Weekend Nr 1

Since all of our travelling is currently on hold (though, we are fortunate to travel inside of our own country), we thought to share with you what keeps us positive (and happy) during these uncertain times – preparing food on the fire!

We will still share some of our earlier travels and adventures with you on our blog, but in the meantime, we will have a weekly ‘braai weekend’ post.

What is a ‘braai’?

A proper ‘braai’ of a juicy steak (Credit: Stock photo’s)

The word ‘braai’ is an Afrikaans word, meaning barbecue. This means you grill or roast (mostly) meat over the open coals – something South Africans love to do (especially during weekends).

So, be warn … you will see a lot of pictures of food (and the occasional drink) over weekends on our blog ☺️.

Getting the fire started

We’ve started today’s braai with a lamb rib (placed next to the fire). In Afrikaans this is called a ‘staanrib’ or translated it will be a ‘standing lamb rib’.

The standing lamb rib next to the fire

This is a low maintenance meal, though it does take a minimum of two hours (depending on the size of the rib) before it’s ready. We only grind salt, pepper and coriander seeds together and then rub these into the meat before placing it in the hinged grid and closing, while placing it close to the open flames of the fire.

The standing lamb rib next to the fire

While the ‘staanrib’ is getting cooked next to the fire, there is more than enough time to have a glass (or two) of wine. A red wine works perfectly with this meat … today, I have however preferred something with a fun element and opened a bottle of sparkling wine (it is weekend after all).

A bottle of Blush sparkling wine was perfect on a late summer afternoon
The finished ‘staanrib’ – to be enjoyed with the preferred bottle of Pinotage

Though we don’t mind having just meat on our plate, it’s good to have something green and healthy with your ‘braai’.

I’ve prepared a fresh salad consisting of different green leaves (butter lettuce, basil and rocket) together with ripe tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over this salad and this can almost be a light meal on its own!

A fresh salad to go with the ‘braai’

Next on the grill, it was time for an appetizer … we were quite hungry by now! ‘Oepsies’ is a huge favourite in our house … and I don’t think there is really an English word for these (maybe ‘Oopsie’, but it’s by no means a mistake 😁).

‘Oepsies’ – as per the packet’s description: “skewered bacon in a sweet & sour marinade”
We eat the ‘Oepsies’ directly from the fire

We love to make a fire … and the more fire you make, the more meat you can put on the ‘braai’. So, today, we’ve decided to ‘braai’ extra meat to have tomorrow (and maybe the day after tomorrow 😉).

It was now time for the chicken drumsticks and a few lamb chops (which we’ve both drizzled with a little bit of ‘braai’ spice).

Chicken drumsticks and lamb chops on the fire

After a couple of hours (and a few glasses of wine), it was time to enjoy a late lunch.

A typical plate to enjoy at a South African ‘braai’

Berto prepared an amazing low carb cheese cake yesterday afternoon. The perfect way of concluding our weekend ‘braai’.

Delicious (home baked) low carb cheese cake

We hope you’ve enjoyed the first edition of our ‘braai weekend’ … cheers, until next weekend!

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43 thoughts on “# ‘BRAAI’ Weekend Nr 1”

  2. Wow, does food look good! And I love the oopsie! I will have to try to put something like that on my grill, bacon on a stick! May I add your first “braii” post to my Friday’s Foods Around the World Challenge this week? The folks would be interested in hearing about this! And, I am delving deeper into wines, following Dr B’s advice that I should, so I will look up the Bon Courage Blush to see if I can find it here! What is your currency there? I am interested in seeing different prices for foods in different countries! Cady

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    1. We love ‘oepsies’ (or oopsies 😉) … another great option how to enjoy bacon!
      Yes Cady, you are more than welcome to add this to your food challenge – we love reading about other countries’ food (and sometimes try to make it ourselves!)
      That Blush sparkling wine is an easy drinking wine – ideal for a summer’s day!
      Our currency is the South African Rand (1 USD = 15 South African Rand) … it will be extremely cheap for you to have a holiday here in South Africa 😁.

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      1. Thank you! We had a cruise planned for South Africa this year along with a week of glamping! But you know how this year turned out! Bummer! But it will be re-scheduled! Oopsies instead of oepsies ! I need newer eyes too! Cady

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      2. Wow, your trip sounds amazing! At least it can be re-scheduled … now it’s just the waiting game of when …
        Doesn’t matter whether it’s oepsies (Afrikaans spelling) or oopsies (English spelling), it still taste the same 😁.

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  3. Delicious,! Lamb is one of my favourite meats and we will cook a leg on Easter Sunday. Is it traditional to do that in SA as well? Your cheesecake looks delicious too! Roll on warmer weather here for us to be able to sit on the patio and do the same!

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    1. We also love lamb (though it is a bit expensive here in South Africa). A classic South African cuisine over Easter is pickled fish (a far cry from the delicious leg of lamb!) We normally have a leg of lamb on Christmas Day … but sometimes we put this on the fire as well – delicious!
      Oh Marion, that cheese cake was absolutely yummy! I think now will be a good time to have another piece …
      Really hope your summer weather is on its way – keep my fingers crossed.
      Thank you for reading and your comment – much appreciated 🌸.

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    1. Ahh, I’m so glad you had the opportunity to experience a braai given by South Africans … yes, we do like to celebrate (basically anything) with a good old braai 😁.
      Thanks for reading Sarah.

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  7. Oh, that all looks delicious. I’ll have to try to make my own “oepsies”. I found a place to buy the most delicious Black Forest Ham bacon. I just bought me a smoker for smoking meat, but I’ve also been looking at something that could be used as a “braai”. I’ll send pictures when I get it going. Carl

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    1. Ohh Carl, that sounds like a great gift to by for yourself! We would love to see this smoker (and the food you prepare on it). There are many ways to prepare a more “upmarket” oepsie … another favourite is to put a glazed cherry that is wrapped in a piece of bacon and then skewered a couple on a stick to braai on the fire (that’s almost like Christmas ☺️).
      We will soon show you more of all these delicious appetisers.

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  8. Pingback: Friday’s Foods of the World: Cruise Desserts – ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
  9. Pingback: # ‘BRAAI’ WEEKEND Nr 2 – Wet and Dusty Roads

      2. Hi there Corna, I am sure you have noticed that I have not been able to reblog your post. I have reblogged other posts before but for some reason it is not working. I will try to find out what is happening. Have a super weekend. lots of love Morag.

        Liked by 1 person

      5. I don’t know what happened… If I was on whatsapp I would voice message you to explain… But it would take too long to and be too involved to write, anyway I managed at last 😁😜 I hope people will come visit your blog.

        Liked by 1 person

  13. That is some braai you have there, Corna.

    I love that staanrib concept, I have never seen meat cooked like that before and the oepsies look very interesting as well, they are another discovery for me here.

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      1. On the contrary, I would say you should start extremely hungry. That way you will be ravenous by the time it is done and you would need to be judging by the size of that slab of meat.

        What was that butchered from, a mammoth?

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  14. Reblogged this on Morag Noffke and commented:

    I have taken the opportunity to share a fellow South African blog post, wetanddustyroads.com, where she gives an explaination of what it means to braai and wonderful descriptions of the many dishes. She has written a series and in each she covers the different types of food one can cook as well as the lovely camping places she visited. I do hope you will enjoy her posts.

    Take care and have a wonderful weekend.

    Liked by 1 person

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