This will be our last post on our ‘Braai’ series … we’re sure you understand now how South Africans traditionally enjoy their food prepared on the fire 😁.
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).
THROWBACK ‘BRAAI’ DAYS:
Today’s pictures are not from our braai this past weekend … but instead, we are looking back at some great memories of past braai’s 🔥.
Paella on a South African braai:
On our first Camino in Spain we fell in love with paella! There is no question about the fact that the Spaniards know just how to prepare this dish to absolute perfection!
After our Camino, we came back to South Africa and almost immediately tried paella on the fire. We’ve done a seafood – and chicken paella and it became a favourite with us and our friends. We love to prepare our paella on the fire … and yes, it’s great … but somehow not as good as what we’ve tasted in Spain.
Veggie & halloumi cheese kebabs:
We all know that vegetables are good for you! In one of our previous braai posts we had colourful veggies on the fire. But we also like to combine vegetables with halloumi cheese – I’m always amazed at how this cheese does not melt on the hot coals. Next time you want a healthy side dish with your meat, try a whopper of a tomato/mushroom/halloumi kebab.
Steak flambe:
Steak is probably our favourite meat at a braai. We normally just grill our steak on the coals to medium and serve it with a garlic and butter sauce. But sometimes, we do it a bit more flamboyant … and then Berto makes steak flambe – delicious!
We’ve used our cast iron pan for this braai recipe. After we’ve added some olive oil to the pan, we’ve waited for it to become really hot before adding the steak. And then, after a few turns, Berto added a (generous) dash of brandy to the pan and slightly turned the pan in order for the brandy to catch fire. It doesn’t only taste good, but with the flames in the pan, it also looks quite impressive!
Pasta dish at our braai:
Say what … pasta on the fire … absolutely yes! Because this is such a quick dish on the fire, we use charcoal briquettes instead of wood. Our cast iron ‘potjie’ works great here and we normally just add cured meat (chorizo and pancetta) to the soften onion and garlic. After the pasta, we add chopped tomato and cream … and voila, a great pasta dish prepared on the fire!
ROAD TRIPS & BRAAI
Our most precious braai memories are the ones on our road trips. As I’ve mentioned before, the food can be so simple, yet the taste is amazing when you enjoy this out in nature.
Here are a few last pictures of our braai’s on one of our road trips:
Corned beef dish next to the sea:
This is another easy meal to prepare – whether at home on the stove or out in nature on the fire. Throwing a diced onion, diced potatoes, corned beef cut in cubes and a can of tomatoes in a pot and let it simmer for a while … and it taste even better on a crispy Portuguese roll.
Sweet potato in foil under the coals:
When we’re on a road trip and camping, we always try to eat veggies as well. And there are few things better than a sweet potato, drizzled with olive oil and wrapped in foil. This is then placed on top of hot coals. Just remember to turn it quite often in order for the sweet potatoes not to get burned. After it’s done, you only need a little butter and salt and pepper … oh, the taste of mouth-watering sweet potato.
A last braai on the bank of the Orange River:
Another favourite spot for us to have a braai, is next to the Orange River (on the border between South Africa and Namibia).
On a late summer afternoon, we’ve had one of our best braai meals ever! Steak, potato-bake and curry green bean salad … we’ve had it so many times after this at home, but it never tasted the same as it did that day next to the river!
And that dear readers, are then our last ‘Braai’ post. Thanks for all your lovely comments during these posts … we hope you will try some of our braai meals and enjoy it as much as we do!
Wet and Dusty Roads 
I really enjoyed all of your Braai Series! Thank you for sharing all your delicious pictures!
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Ah, thanks Diane 😊. It was a lot of fun and we’ve enjoyed it as well. We hope to try some of your recipes on the fire – you are such an inspiration to us.
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These dishes look great. We’ve visited so many countries where cooking outdoors over open fire is the norm and the smoky flavours are always terrific. In England it’s less of a norm and more of a treat, mostly because we only get about 5 or 6 days a year where the weather is suitable!! Your post has made me hungry now….
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Thank you guys! Yes, there is just something special about enjoying food that was cooked over a fire 🔥. I would struggle with that ‘5 or 6 days’ 😉. Hope you could find something to nibble on after reading our last ‘braai’ post … and thanks for reading and your comments.
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I’ve loved your Braai series, thank you for sharing it! I am laughing at @thehungrytravellers.blog post above……we’ve literally had no full days of sunshine since September 2020 here in England, so no chance of braaing here any time soon. I have lived vicariously through your posts instead 🙂
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Ah, thanks Hannah (we were also loving it 😉). Yes, @the hungrytravellers had me chuckling a bit too … I do feel for you guys! My brother and his family lives in the UK and loving it (but they do miss the sunny weather of South Africa) – I’m sometimes quite surprised that they are having a braai despite challenging weather conditions over there 😜. Thanks for all your comments during this series … we are waiting to see you one day here in South Africa for a proper South African braai!
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It’s been wonderful reading about all your braais, very inspiring thank you. 🙏🌈
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Thank you so much Morag 💌. At least, we’re sure you understand the passion we South Africans have for a braai fire! I hope there are a few braai meals you would try on your next braai day!
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Yes I think there are many I have already done but I have never tried a paella braai. I would like to try that when the weather gets warmer. I love a fire any time of the year and I am looking forward to the log fires of winter now. Sometimes we make mulled wine on our log stove, or boil a kettle of water during load shedding 😜 or even make warm custard. Here’s to winter fires 😉💖
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You’re absolutely right about those winter fires 🔥. We can’t wait for a team to install our little indoor stove’s pipes next week … we will certainly stick out our tongue to load shedding when we would like to have a hot chocolate in Eskom’s dark hours! To winter fires 😍.
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😂👍
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As a famous tennis player of years past used to say, “What, you cannot be serious”. This is the last of the braai series? I am heart-broken, I lived for the next instalment every time and this one has not disappointed. There are some cracking dishes here.
I agree with some of your other British followers here about the weather but I do remember one Boxing Day in a freezing North London assisting with a Cypriot barbecue whilst wearing virtually Arctic clothing (and which turned out lovely!) but braaiing (that word has more vowels than a Finnish word!) is not really an option here.
I have utterly loved this series, taken some great recipes from it and I hope that when your Spring comes around there will be a braai #2 set of posts coming out. Berto is obviously such a good cook but, I know he was in the Forces, ask him if he can braai on a hexamine burner!
Thanks again for a great read.
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Haha 😅 Fergy, I had such a good laugh at your comments now! There will certainly be more braai days during our winter (we have friends with indoor braai’s and unlike the UK, we do have more sunny than rainy days during winter) … so, you never know … this series could make a comeback again (like some tennis players 😉).
And Berto also smiled about that hexamine burner – they just called it an ‘esbit’ stove … so yes, for emergency braai’s, there are some other options!
Thanks for reading our braai series (and all your funny comments)!
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I’m going to miss these!
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Thanks for reading our braai series … at least, you won’t have anymore temptations of “unauthorised” food on Fridays 😁.
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