Yes, I know we’ve said the previous post on our ‘Braai’ Weekend was the last one. But hey, you know, there’s always an encore (and who ends their posts on ‘Nr 9’ anyway). So, there always had to be that really one last braai weekend.

And this one … it was really good!  

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).

OXTAIL ‘POTJIE’

There is this special braai dish (‘potjie’) Berto makes at least 2/3 times a year … his famous oxtail ‘potjie’ … it takes time, but it is THE best ‘potjie’ you’ve ever tasted!

The ingredients for Berto’s famous oxtail ‘potjie’

This ‘potjie’ must be started early … early in the morning for lunch or early in the afternoon for dinner! It takes at least 3 to 4 hours, but it’s so worth it to wait till that very last minute.

The oxtail’s been rolled in cake flour and seared in butter over the hot coals
The oxtail after its been seared in butter
Two secret ingredients: (Almost) a whole bottle of red wine and Sweet & Sour sauce

When all the oxtail’s been seared in the butter, it’s time to fry the onion and garlic until soft.

It’s time to fry the onion and garlic
Add the seared oxtail with the onion and garlic

Now it’s time to add the spices: Salt, pepper, whole cloves, English mustard powder, bay leaves, sugar and tomato paste.

Add all the other ingredients … and …
… don’t forget the red wine!

Towards the end, Berto also added carrots and grilled mushrooms. While the oxtail ‘potjie’ simmered on the fire, we’ve enjoyed a few glasses of Cinsault Rose. This wine is made by an old school mate of mine and it’s a great drinking wine.

Wine made by one of my class mates of high school

We’ve had some welcome rain the last couple of days – it is after all the start of our winter. But today was a great sunny winters’ day and we’ve enjoyed our time outside next to the fire.

Oxtail ‘potjie’ on the fire
After almost 4 hours, it’s time to enjoy the best oxtail ‘potjie’ ever!

We were happy to see a few clouds in the sky during the late afternoon – indicating that we might just expecting more rain tomorrow. But as for today, we were happy to enjoy one more sunny day next to our favourite braai fire!

A lovely afternoon … after we’ve enjoyed a delicious oxtail ‘potjie’