Own backyard

# ‘BRAAI’ Weekend Nr 10 – Grand Finale

Yes-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’

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28 thoughts on “# ‘BRAAI’ Weekend Nr 10 – Grand Finale”

  1. Sounds delicious! You are so lucky to be still having good enough weather for another Braai. We are still waiting for the weather to warmup enough to comfortably eat out in the evening, today the temperature didn’t get higher than 13 deg in the afternoon, oh well hopefully it will warm up here soon.

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    1. Oh yes, we were indeed happy with our sunny weather (and with the end result of the oxtail)!
      I spoke to my brother in the UK yesterday and he asked me how the weather here in SA was and I said “It’s cold and 20 degrees” and when I’ve asked him how the weather was in the UK, he said “It’s warm and 13 degrees” 😄.

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  2. Ooh oxtail, it’s so tasty and I’m certain your braai version even more so and definitely worth the wait. The weather has been beautiful today and although we didn’t use the barbecue, we ate our Sunday roast out on the patio. Marion.

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    1. Absolutely Marion … and the best part of the oxtail, is eating the left overs the next day 😊. I’m really glad the sun is starting to show itself there by you and that while you’re having a nice Sunday roast. Wishing you a sunny week. Corna

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  4. I knew you’d be back and you definitely saved the best to last, I love oxtail. Yes, it does take a while to cook but it is always well worth it. Has Berto ever done a braai with ox cheek instead of tail, I reckon that might work? Another brilliant post. I cannot wait for (your) Spring now for more instalments. Come to that I cannot wait for our Summer either!

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    1. Ox cheek … no, we never thought about this. But I won’t be surprised if there are people who tried this … I mean, a delicacy here in South Africa is sheep’s head and (so they say) the cheeks are apparently the best part. But I’m a wimp when these are on the table, so I won’t know anything about it 😉.
      We’ll wait patiently for our spring and rather hope your summer is just around the corner – I think your winter’s been far too long!

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    1. You should try it Anita! It’s really tasty, especially when it’s been on the fire for several hours – the meat literally fall from the bone!
      Thanks for reading and commenting, have a great week.

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    1. After eating this oxtail dish for two days, I have to eat lots more veggies for the next week … delicious, but way too much meat 😉. Our South African wine is really good – but then, I’m probably biased 👀👀.

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  8. No, I think not. Your wines are excellent. My friend worked for SAA and we somehow always seemed to have a bottle or two on hand! I remember Fleur du Cap but there were others.

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