Welcome to our 2nd edition of our ‘braai’ weekends. If you missed the first post, you can read about it here.
Just a reminder: “What is a braai”?
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 over weekends).
We had a few opportunities this weekend to have our favourite braai sessions. It was Easter weekend and a great time for us and some friends to go on a camping trip – yes again.
First we are going to show you our lovely campsite and then the delicious food we prepared on the fire during the weekend.
Once again, our choice fell on a wild camping experience on the West Coast of South Africa. Tietiesbaai, located in the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve is only 37km (23 miles) from our house and the ideal place for a long weekend.
We had to remember to pack a very important item for our camping trip – matches to start the fire. We always have these two matchboxes that go with us on every camping trip.
Our view was once again spectacular – right on the edge of the ocean! We sat by the fire for long hours during the weekend and just enjoyed the beauty of nature.
Now, let’s get to the food! It was the last weekend we could catch crayfish (lobster) – the season for catching of crayfish is now closed until mid-December (a very long time if you like crayfish, but don’t want to pay the expensive price for it in restaurants).
The men ventured into the cold Atlantic Ocean and caught some crayfish to enjoy by the fire.
For snacks in between we had tasty boerewors. It is a type of sausage that originated in South Africa and is an important part of any South African braai. The name is derived from the Afrikaans/Dutch words ‘boer’ (farmer) and ‘wors’ (sausage).
Hamburgers were also on the menu. Some of our friends prefer their patties on hamburger rolls, while we like to place the patties on large mushrooms.
To enjoy tasty mushrooms, we rubbed olive oil on the outside of the mushrooms, added a little garlic and lemon butter to the inside with cheddar cheese on top. After this has melted on the fire, we add the patties on top of the mushrooms with a side salad consisting of green leaves, cucumber, tomatoes, avocado and feta cheese.
On our last night we decided to prepare a lamb ‘potjie’ on the fire. This is a delicious South African dish that is cooked on the fire in a cast iron pot (descended from the Dutch oven that was brought from the Netherlands to South Africa in the 17th century).
Here are some photos to show the different stages of a ‘potjie’:
Here’s a very important tip for a good ‘potjie’: Don’t be tempted to stir the ingredients too much while it’s cooking.
As we prepared our ‘potjie’, we enjoyed the last sunset of our camping weekend.
We hope you enjoyed our traditional South African food experience while camping.
You are such talented barbecue cooks! It all looks so delicious. I’d never thought of replacing a bap (bread roll) with a flat mushroom for burgers but it seems a great idea which I’m going to try as soon as it’s warm enough to light our own grill! Bitter cold here today and needed gloves, hat and scarf to venture out for a brisk walk!
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Thanks Marion 😊. The mushroom has so much flavour (with the melted garlic butter & cheese) and really compliment the patty – I hope you will soon move to warmer days to try this!
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Food looks so delicious!
What is the green tent on background? 🙃
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Thanks Angela – the food was indeed amazing!
The green tent is our portable chemical toilet … there were no ablution facilities where we’ve camped – and if that is the case, we always bring our own toilet.
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Then I guessed right!😄
I thought it is toilet, but decided to double check😄 Life is more comfortable this days.
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Indeed … when you can make a wild camping experience more comfortable with a portable toilet (and portable shower), why not 😁.
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Absolutely!!!!! Without discussion….. I🤣🤣
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That looks soooooo good.
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And it tasted even better Carl 😉.
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Corna, another beautiful spot to set up camp! Sounds like so much fun! (Although I’d be eating only the shrooms, no cheese, please!) Looks like you had a wonderful holiday weekend! 🌞
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Thanks Lisa, it was indeed a great camping site (always is when it’s close to the ocean). That’s ok, we’ll skip the cheese for you 😉.
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Beautiful ocean views! And a great idea to serve burger patties on top of large mushrooms – I’m going to pinch that idea!
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Thank you Sarah. Yes, if you love mushrooms, you’re going to enjoy this new way of serving hamburgers 😋.
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It looks incredible!!! (the views and your bbq!)
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Thanks a lot … I can assure you, it was indeed a fab weekend!
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What a gorgeous spot for a barbeque! I’ll pass on the meat, but come for the view:) Maggie
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Maggie, we’ll plan a barbeque with more vegetables especially for you 😉. Yes, that view was really stunning!
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What a beautiful campsite and delicious feast! Do those gigantic crayfish taste anything like lobster?
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We were really fortunate to camp at such a stunning place! Diane, to be honest, we’ve never had lobster before … but I’ve read that crayfish taste similar to a combination of lobster, crab and shrimp (with more sweetness). Maybe one day, we’ll have the opportunity to taste lobster as well … then we’ll know 😉.
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Wow! I should try the idea of using a mushroom for a burger bun. Great outing.
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You must try it … you will be surprised at how tasty it is this way!
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Your photos are wonderful! And all those pictures of food, reminds me of a recipe book. But you bring the reader right into the typical South African setting. Thank you for another awesome post. 🌷🌷
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Ahh, thanks for the compliment … yes, our own braai recipe book (while camping 😁). Appreciated that you took the time to read and comment 💌.
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🤗🤗
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Cooking on fire in a setting like that, it really doesn’t get much better. You good people really have some lifestyle and those crayfish are easily as big as most lobsters I have seen, they are monsters! Another great post.
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Camping next to the ocean and eating from the sea … you know, that’s our scene ☺️.
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Such beautiful images, wow ❤ and the food look so delicious. I cannot help but earn for the crayfish. Great post!
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Thank you – much appreciated 😊. We love the sea – the beauty never gets old or boring! And to eat crayfish (which our guys caught themselves) next to the sea, is the cherry on the cake … it taste better than in a restaurant (oh yes, and it’s definitely cheaper 👍🏻).
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