Braai ideas: 12 recipes beyond chops and boerewors

If you’re stuck in a chops-and-wors rut, the easiest braai ideas are the ones South Africans already love but rarely make at home: proper braaibroodjies, snoek with apricot glaze, sosaties, peri-peri prawns, stuffed butternut and a dessert on the dying coals. Here are twelve recipes, grouped by course, with metric quantities and simple steps.

Plan the fire for the menu

Different foods need different heat, so a varied menu needs a fire that lasts. Build a big fire, keep feeding a small one at the back, and cook in this order: vegetables in foil first (they’re forgiving), then meat and fish, then braaibroodjies over the gentler coals, then dessert on the embers. Our guide on how to make a braai fire explains the hand test for heat.

Starters and sides from the grid

1. Classic braaibroodjies

Ingredients (12 broodjies)

• 1 loaf white or brown sliced bread (24 slices)
• 100 g soft butter
• 300 g cheddar, grated
• 3 tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, thinly sliced into rings
• 125 ml fruit chutney
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Butter the bread on one side. Turn half the slices buttered-side down and spread chutney on top.
2. Layer cheese, tomato, onion and more cheese. Season. Close with the remaining slices, buttered side out.
3. Pack into a hinged grid and braai over low-to-medium coals for 10–15 minutes, turning often, until golden and the cheese has melted. Low heat is the secret: hot coals burn the bread before the cheese melts.

2. Mushroom stacks

Brush 8 large brown mushrooms with garlic butter, top each with a slice of mozzarella and a spoon of pesto, and braai cup-side up over medium coals for about 10 minutes until the cheese bubbles. Serve on toasted rolls.

3. Halloumi and vegetable skewers

Cube 250 g halloumi, 1 red pepper, 1 red onion and 2 baby marrows. Thread onto skewers, brush with olive oil, lemon juice and dried oregano, and braai for 8–10 minutes, turning, until charred in spots.

Seafood

4. Snoek with apricot glaze

A West Coast classic.

Ingredients

• 1 whole snoek (about 1.5–2 kg), butterflied (vlekked)
• 125 ml smooth apricot jam
• 60 g butter
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Melt the butter with the jam, garlic and lemon juice.
2. Place the snoek skin-side down in a hinged grid. Braai skin-side down over medium coals for most of the cooking time, about 10–15 minutes, basting generously.
3. Turn for just 2–3 minutes at the end to colour the flesh side. It’s done when the flesh flakes easily.

5. Peri-peri prawns

Ingredients

• 1 kg large prawns, deveined, shells on
• 100 g butter, melted
• 2–4 tbsp peri-peri sauce (to taste)
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• Juice of 1 lemon

Method Mix the butter, peri-peri, garlic and lemon. Toss half with the prawns, then braai them in a hinged grid over hot coals for 2–3 minutes a side until pink. Pour over the remaining butter to serve.

Meat beyond chops

6. Lamb sosaties

Ingredients (about 12 skewers)

• 1.2 kg deboned lamb leg, cubed
• 12 dried apricots, soaked
• 2 onions, cut into chunks
• Marinade: 1 onion (grated), 2 tbsp curry powder, 125 ml apricot jam, 125 ml vinegar, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 2 bay leaves, salt

Method

1. Simmer the marinade ingredients for 5 minutes, then cool completely.
2. Pour over the lamb and refrigerate overnight.
3. Thread the lamb, apricots and onion onto skewers. Braai over medium coals for 10–15 minutes, turning and basting with the marinade only during the first half of cooking.

7. Spatchcock chicken

Cut out the backbone of a 1.5 kg chicken with kitchen shears and press it flat. Rub with oil, salt, paprika and lemon zest. Braai bone-side down over medium-low coals for most of the 45–60 minutes, turning occasionally. It’s ready when a thermometer reads 74°C in the thickest part of the thigh.

8. Picanha (rump cap)

Score the fat cap of a 1.2–1.5 kg rump cap, salt heavily, and sear the fat side over hot coals for 5 minutes. Move to medium heat and braai for 25–35 minutes more, turning often, until 55–57°C inside for medium-rare. Rest for 10 minutes and slice thinly against the grain. A kamado or kettle with a lid makes larger cuts like this much easier to control.

Vegetarian mains

9. Stuffed butternut

Halve 3 medium butternuts and scoop out the seeds. Fill each half with a mix of 250 g feta, 200 g creamed spinach (or wilted spinach with a little cream), a handful of chopped peppadews and some grated cheddar. Wrap each half tightly in foil and nestle into medium coals for 45–60 minutes until a skewer slides through the flesh easily.

Desserts on the coals

10. Braaied banana splits

Slit 6 unpeeled bananas lengthways (don’t cut through the bottom skin). Push in chocolate pieces and a few mini marshmallows, wrap in foil and place on the embers for 8–10 minutes. Serve with ice cream.

11. S’mores and marshmallows

Toast marshmallows on long skewers over the last embers and sandwich them between Marie biscuits with a square of chocolate.

12. Grilled pineapple

Cut a pineapple into rings or wedges, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon, and braai over medium coals for 3–4 minutes a side until caramelised.

Putting together a menu

A good braai menu balances one or two meats with one seafood or vegetarian dish, three or four sides and a dessert. To get the quantities right, see how much braai meat per person, and for the sides, our nine braai salads. For a crowd of 30 or more, a spit braai turns the meat into the main event.

FAQ

What’s a cheap braai idea for a big group?

Boerewors rolls with chakalaka, braaibroodjies and pap feed a crowd for far less than chops or steak. Chicken thighs are also good value and forgiving on the fire.

What can vegetarians eat at a braai?

Halloumi skewers, mushroom stacks, stuffed butternut, braaied mielies and braaibroodjies are all filling vegetarian options. Cook them on a clean section of the grid or on foil if guests prefer them kept apart from meat.

How do I stop fish from sticking to the braai grid?

Use a hinged fish grid, oil the grid and the fish skin well, and cook mostly skin-side down without moving it. Only turn the fish once, briefly, at the end.

Can I cook desserts on a gas braai?

Yes. Grilled pineapple works directly on the grid, and foil-wrapped bananas cook well with the lid closed over medium heat.

More braai guides