🇿🇦 South African Braai

The braai is more than a barbecue — it is a South African social institution. Friends and family gather around a fire while boerewors, lamb chops, and chicken wings cook slowly over coals. Garlic bread warms on the grid alongside.

Ingredients

• 500 g Boerewors (coiled sausage)
• 500 g Lamb Chops
• 500 g Chicken Wings
• 2 tbsp Braai Spice
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 4 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 loaf Ciabatta
• 100 g Butter, softened
• 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped
• 1 cup Chakalaka (for serving)
• 1 cup Pap and Sheba (for serving)

Method

1. Light the coals and wait until covered in grey ash — about 30 minutes.
2. Rub lamb chops and chicken wings with oil, garlic, lemon juice, and braai spice.
3. Place boerewors on the grid first — it takes the longest. Cook 15–20 min, turning often.
4. Add lamb chops and chicken wings. Cook 10–15 min until charred outside and juicy inside.
5. Mix butter and parsley. Slice bread, spread with garlic butter, wrap in foil, and warm on the grid 5 min per side.
6. Rest all meat 5 minutes. Serve with chakalaka, pap, and cold drinks.

History

The braai has its roots in the 17th-century Dutch settler tradition of cooking meat over open coals, combined with the indigenous Khoisan practice of roasting over fire. By the 19th century, Voortrekkers on the Great Trek were cooking whole animals over open flames as they moved inland, and the ritual of gathering around the fire became a defining feature of Afrikaner culture. Over the 20th century it spread across all South African communities — today Heritage Day, 24 September, is informally called National Braai Day. The menu varies by region, but boerewors, lamb chops, and a simple spice rub are constants from Cape Town to Johannesburg.

The science

Cooking over wood coals rather than a gas flame produces two distinct effects: radiant heat from the glowing embers, and aromatic smoke from the wood itself. The coals radiate at a consistent temperature that sears the meat surface while leaving the interior juicy, and the smoke deposits flavour compounds on the crust. Waiting for the flames to die down matters because flames burn hotter and faster than coals, which chars the outside before the inside cooks through — the reason a proper braai takes patience rather than speed.

Substitutions

Boerewors is hard to substitute outside southern Africa, but a good-quality coarse-ground sausage with coriander and clove notes comes closest. Lamb chops can be swapped for pork chops or beef short ribs without changing the method. If you do not have a braai grid, a cast-iron grill pan on a hot stove plus a few drops of liquid smoke approximates the experience indoors. Vegetarians can braai halloumi, corn on the cob, and thick slices of butternut with the same spice rub.

Chef's tip

Never prick the boerewors — you lose the juices. Cook over medium coals, not flames, for even results.

Drink pairing

Ice-cold lager and good company. A Cape-style Chenin Blanc also works well with the lamb if you prefer wine over beer.