Having great braai recipes on the menu is always important, especially if you’re planning to take top ‘Braai Master’ honours. We’ve rounded up some of our favourite braai recipes from top chefs and cooking celebrities around the country, including Jan Braai, Justin Bonello, Jane Anne Hobbs Rainer, Ryk Neethling, Bryan Habana (sort of), the Cape Wine Braai Masters, Sarah Duff, Kati Auld and Cameron Ewart-Smith.
Grilling up a storm is just a few clicks away with these top recipes for National Braai Day.
1. Jan Braai’s chicken caesar salad
You can serve this classic salad as a main meal, but the great thing about it is you can eat a salad while still having a braai.
Get the full chicken caesar salad recipe here.
2. Kati Auld’s best damn potato salad
Everyone’s got their favourite twist on a potato salad recipe: some folks are passionate about the inclusion of hard-boiled eggs, while others say that the key is roasting the potatoes, not boiling them. This recipe’s secret weapon is nutty, buttery, roasted garlic, and it’s a life-changing addition.
Get the full garlic potato salad recipe here.
3. Jan Braai’s traditional umngqusho
In the spirit of nation building and unity, Jan Braai suggests you serve braaied meat with umngqusho, a traditional Xhosa dish made with samp and beans and one of Nelson Mandela’s favourites.
Get the full traditional umngqusho recipe here.
4. Justin Bonello’s ultimate braai salad
Who said you can’t braai a salad? Challenge accepted.
Get the full ultimate braai salad recipe here.
5. Jan Braai’s perfect braaibroodjies
The braaibroodjie (braaied toasted sandwich) is arguably the highlight of any braaing experience. In fact, Jan Braai reckons many South Africans braai meat simply as an excuse to also have braaibroodjies. Either way, here’s the recipe for delicious, cheesy, braaibroodjies, the Jan Braai way.
Get the full braaibroodjie recipe here.
6. Jan Braai’s ostrich burger on the braai
Ostrich meat is a great, healthy alternative to beef. According to Jan Braai, scientists are even touting it as the answer to eternal youth. Whether you believe that or not, you better believe that these sumptuous grilled burger patties will take your braai to the sky with a bird that can’t fly.
Get the full ostrich burger recipe here.
7. Jane Anne Hobbs Rainer’s chakalaka soup with boerewors balls
Technically this isn’t a braai recipe. But Jane Anne’s upside-down, inside-out version of a much-loved traditional dish featuring South Africa’s favourite: boerewors, is too good too leave out. And hey, if you can figure out a way to make the boerewors balls on the braai, then you deserve another beer. Go on …
Get the full chakalaka soup with boerewors balls recipe here.
8. Justin Bonello’s tomato bruschetta with brandy flambéed ostrich steak on a spade
Yeah, you read that right. Forget the grill and dig out that old spade because things are about to get interesting.
Get the full tomato bruschetta with brandy flambéed ostrich steak recipe here.
9. Jan Braai’s braaied rump steak with garlic butter
This recipe works especially well when you are doing a braai for numerous people with a variety of meats. Steak is a very unique animal and needs to be braaied on extremely hot coals, searing the outside, but keeping the inside medium rare and juicy.
Get the full braaied rump steak with garlic butter recipe here.
10. Jan Braai’s lamb curry sosaties
This is a typical South African dish, so be sure to include it on the menu when you have foreign guests you want to impress.
Get the full lamb curry sosatie recipe here.
11. Jan Braai’s garlic and peri-peri chicken drumsticks
Simplicity is key when it comes drumsticks. This peri-peri and garlic chicken drumstick recipe doesn’t mess around with all the frills and gets straight down to the heart of cooking a drumstick, perfectly.
Get the full garlic and peri-peri chicken drumsticks recipe here.
12. Daniela Bonoro’s beer in the bum chicken
This is one braai recipe that has to be shared. The technique used in this recipe is brilliant as it guarantees tender, juicy, succulent chicken every time. Plus, it’s rather fun to look at.
Get the full beer in the bum chicken recipe here.
13. Sarah Duff’s chicken kebabs with spicy peanut satay sauce
Getaway’s ex food editor, Sarah Duff, shares this novel recipe on how to put the spice back into chicken kebabs, with peanuts.
Get the full chicken kebabs with spicy peanut satay sauce recipe here.
14. Jan Braai’s chicken tikka masala on the braai
By definition, a tandoori oven is a cylindrical clay oven heated by a wood or charcoal fire. The food is exposed to flames as well as heat from the coals and is further flavoured by smoke from meat juices that drip onto the coals, very much like a braai. This chicken tikka masala is Jan Braai’s favourite – and it’s sure to be yours once you’ve tried this recipe, which features a spicy tomato sauce and four simple steps.
Get the full chicken tikka masala on the braai recipe here.
15. Justin Bonello’s strandloper crayfish
With just two ingredients this strandloper crayfish recipe is as old as the hills and tastes just brilliant.
Get the full strandloper crayfish recipe here.
16. Kati Auld’s easy snoek on the braai with chilli sauce
Some people will say that there’s only one way to braai a snoek: open, in a grid, with apricot jam. Kati Auld, however, has her own ideas, and they involve a dose of delicious.
Get the full snoek on the braai with chilli sauce recipe here.
17. Justin Bonello’s grilled kuta rubbed with cashew nut paste
This recipe is a delicious twist on a South African seafood favourite, and it’s all about that cashew nut paste.
Get the full grilled kuta rubbed with cashew nut paste recipe here.
18. Kati Auld’s sticky sweet and sour pork chops
This super-easy marinade guarantees tender, tasty pork chops, complete with the yummy sticky caramelised bits that everyone loves. Try it with this roasted garlic potato salad and you won’t look back.
Get the full sticky sweet and sour pork chops recipe here.
Pork chops: perfect for a summer braai. Photo by Lauren Edwards.
19. Sarah Duff’s vegetarian braai kebabs
For vegetarian braais, you may think there aren’t many options apart from stuffed mushrooms and butternuts in foil. Why not try these vegetarian sausage braai kebabs?
Get the full vegetarian braai kebabs recipe here.
20. Jan Braai’s puttanesca pasta in a potjie
Making potjie is fantastic. The process lasts for hours, the smells escaping from the classic three-legged pot are delicious and the sound of a simmering pot and crackling fire is like a live symphony. Which brings us to this recipe, an Italian classic and something you really should master, puttanesca pasta, in a potjie of course.
Get the full puttanesca pasta in a potjie recipe here.
21. Blueberry muffin potjie
A giant blueberry muffin in a potjie? Better believe it – this is the best way to impress your camp-mates in the morning.
Get the full recipe for blueberry muffin potjie here.
22. Breakfast braai muesli
If cold, fat-crusty chops for breakfast aren’t really your thing, this delicious toasty muesli, served warm, may be more your style.
Get the full recipe for breakfast braa muesli here.
23. Carrot cake in a potjie
Ever had the craving for a slice of cake to go with your tea in the bush? This recipe is here to solve your problems.
Get the full recipe for carrot cake potjie here.
24. Braaied banana and pineapple with ice cream and syrup
Jan Braai recommends you handle this recipe with care because whoever you serve it too will love you.
Get the full braaied banana and pineapple with ice cream and syrup recipe here.
25. Jan Braai’s flambéed peaches on the braai
Here’s a dish that looks impressive but is really easy to preparing. We call it a win-win.
Get the full flambéed peaches on the braai recipe here.
Braai condiments
Braai gadgets
From jars to woks to grids, our gear editor has put together a list of must-have braai gadgets for you to look cool next to your braai by the pool, or on the patio, or just hanging out in the middle of the garden with your mates.
Also check out Jan Braai’s ultimate braai kit, and his top 10 braai tips for the big day.
Looking for that perfect braai spot? Here’s our pick of the best braai spots in Cape Town and around South Africa.
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