Our favourite braai traditions
We all have our little quirks, and never more so than when taking part in the national pastime of braaiing. In celebration of the season of searing food, brewskies in hand, TASTE team members share their braai traditions
“While I love marinating meat before cooking it over the coals, I always baste the meat with marinade again about 2 minutes before removing it from the grill. It adds extra flavour and juiciness. Also, simple cheese-and-chive braaibroodjies never go amiss!” – Ashraf Booley, online content producer
“My partner, who is prone to gender stereotyping, likes to "Man-Oven" certain cuts that need longer cooking on the Weber. One of our braai traditions is to argue about this. We also both prefer cooking on wood, even though the Weber is not designed for this. My traditional braai sides are a panzanella-style tomato salad with basil, cucumber, red onion, garlic and a bag or two of Woolies croutons, with lots of olive oil and lemon juice. AND a crazy white-trash sweetcorn "soufflé" that involves canned creamed sweetcorn, grated Cheddar cheese, beaten eggs and lots of smoked chilli flakes. It's baked until it is set and the top is golden and caramelised.” – Kate Wilson, editor
“We always braai a fat juicy steak (rare), slice it into strips and serve it as messy finger food with mustard and sea salt.” – Amy Ebedes, online editor
“I love traditional creamy potato salad with lots of chopped parsley, gherkin, egg and finely diced onion and, of course, plenty of mayo! I also like to braai some boerie first and then chop it up to eat off a board with chakalaka for dipping.” – Abigail Donnelly, food editor
“We always braai a rump steak first, then slice it thinly and serve it on a board with Tabasco sauce, lemon juice and sea salt for dipping.” – Lynda Ingham-Brown, copy editor
“To me, no braai is the same without potato salad. Unlike Abi, I’m not a fan of the grated eggs. I do a riff on the usual with baby potatoes with their skins still on, finely chopped onion, a dressing of 1 part mayonnaise, 1 part cream and 1 teaspoon of wholegrain mustard, finished off with a dash of garlic and chive salt from Ina Paarman.” – Annette Klinger, features writer
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