South African Braai Recipes: 8 Classics With Ingredients, Method & Timings

These are the eight recipes that show up at South African braais from Cape Town to Polokwane. Each one gives you an ingredient list, a step-by-step method, the coal heat and the timing — because heat and timing are where most braais go wrong, not the shopping list.

All recipes serve 6 unless stated otherwise, use metric measures, and assume a clean grid over hardwood or briquette coals. A quick heat guide: hold your palm 10 cm above the grid — 2–3 seconds is high, 4–5 seconds is medium, 6–8 seconds is low.

1. Boerewors coil

Serves 6 · Prep 5 min · Braai 20 min · Medium coals

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg boerewors, bought as one continuous coil
• 2 long metal skewers
• Neutral oil for the grid (optional)

Method

1. Let the wors sit out of the fridge for 20 minutes so it is not fridge-cold.
2. Lay it flat in a spiral on a board and push two skewers through at right angles to lock the coil together.
3. Set the grid about 12 cm above medium coals. Test the heat with your hand before the wors goes near it.
4. Braai the first side for 8–10 minutes without touching it. You are looking for deep browning, not black.
5. Turn once, using the skewers as handles, and braai the second side 8–10 minutes.
6. Do not prick the casing at any point — that fat is what keeps it juicy.
7. Rest 5 minutes, remove the skewers and cut into lengths at the table.

Tip: if the casing starts to split, your coals are too hot. Lift the grid a notch or move the coil to the cooler zone for two minutes.

2. Cape Malay lamb sosaties

Serves 6 (12 skewers) · Prep 25 min + overnight marinade · Braai 15 min · Medium coals

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg lamb leg or shoulder, cut into 3 cm cubes
• 2 onions, one finely chopped for the marinade and one cut into wedges for skewering
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp mild curry powder
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 125 ml apricot jam
• 80 ml brown vinegar
• 125 ml water
• 4 bay leaves (plus extra for the skewers)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 150 g dried apricots
• Salt and black pepper
• 12 skewers (soak wooden ones for 30 minutes)

Method

1. Heat the oil in a pot and fry the chopped onion until soft and golden, about 8 minutes.
2. Add garlic, curry powder, turmeric and coriander and fry for 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Stir in the apricot jam, vinegar, water and bay leaves. Simmer 5 minutes, then season and cool completely.
4. Pour the cooled marinade over the lamb cubes, cover and refrigerate overnight (minimum 4 hours).
5. Soak the dried apricots in warm water for 20 minutes so they do not burn.
6. Thread lamb, onion wedge, apricot and the occasional bay leaf onto each skewer, leaving small gaps.
7. Strain the leftover marinade into a pot and simmer for 10 minutes until syrupy — this is your basting sauce.
8. Braai over medium coals for 12–15 minutes, turning every 3 minutes and basting each time you turn.
9. Rest 3 minutes and serve with yellow rice or roosterkoek.

3. Braaibroodjies

Makes 8 · Prep 10 min · Braai 8 min · Cool zone

Ingredients

• 16 slices white bread
• 150 g soft butter
• 300 g mature cheddar, grated or sliced
• 3 tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 6 tbsp chutney
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Butter one side of every slice of bread. The butter goes on the outside — this is not negotiable.
2. Spread chutney on the unbuttered face of eight slices.
3. Layer cheese, tomato and onion onto those slices. Season the tomato with salt and pepper.
4. Top with the remaining slices, buttered side facing out.
5. Clamp the sandwiches into a hinged grid so they are held firm but not crushed.
6. Braai over the cool zone — never over live flames — for 3–4 minutes per side.
7. They are ready when the outside is golden brown and the cheese has fully melted. Cut in half and serve immediately.

Tip: braaibroodjies are the last thing on the fire, cooked on the coals your meat has left behind while everything rests.

4. Lamb chops with rosemary and garlic

Serves 6 · Prep 10 min · Braai 10 min · High coals

Ingredients

• 12 lamb rib or loin chops, roughly 2.5 cm thick
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Method

1. Take the chops out of the fridge 45 minutes before braaiing.
2. Score the fat edge two or three times so it renders instead of curling.
3. Rub with olive oil, garlic and rosemary. Salt generously just before they go on the grid.
4. Braai over high coals for 4–5 minutes on the first side without moving them.
5. Turn and braai 4–5 minutes more for pink in the middle; add a minute per side if you prefer them well done.
6. If the fat causes flare-ups, move the chops to the cool zone until the flames die down.
7. Rest under loose foil for 5 minutes and serve with lemon wedges.

5. Snoek with apricot and garlic butter

Serves 6 · Prep 15 min · Braai 13 min · Medium coals

Ingredients

• 1 whole snoek (about 1.5 kg), butterflied and cleaned
• 150 g butter
• 125 ml apricot jam
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• Salt and white pepper

Method

1. Melt the butter in a small pot on the edge of the fire. Stir in the apricot jam, garlic, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce until smooth.
2. Pat the snoek dry and season lightly on both sides.
3. Place it in a hinged grid, skin side down, and brush the flesh generously with the basting sauce.
4. Braai skin side down over medium coals for 8 minutes, basting twice. The skin protects the flesh from the heat.
5. Turn carefully and braai flesh side down for 4–5 minutes only.
6. Turn back to skin side, baste one last time and give it 1 minute to glaze.
7. Serve straight from the grid with roosterkoek and extra sauce on the side.

Tip: oil the hinged grid before the fish goes in, or brush the grid clean and hot — snoek skin sticks to carbon instantly.

6. Chicken flatties (spatchcock)

Serves 6 · Prep 20 min + 2 h marinade · Braai 35 min · Medium-low coals

Ingredients

• 2 whole chickens (1.2–1.4 kg each)
• 80 ml olive oil
• Juice and zest of 2 lemons
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried origanum
• 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper

Method

1. Spatchcock each bird: cut down both sides of the backbone with kitchen scissors, remove it, then press the breastbone flat with your palm.
2. Whisk the oil, lemon, garlic, paprika, origanum, salt and pepper into a marinade.
3. Coat the chickens, getting marinade under the skin where you can, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
4. Set up a medium-low two-zone fire. The birds cook on the cooler side for most of the time.
5. Braai bone side down for 20 minutes with the grid high, basting every 7 minutes.
6. Turn skin side down and braai 10–15 minutes until the skin is crisp and deep gold.
7. Check with a thermometer: 74 °C in the thickest part of the thigh, or juices running clear.
8. Rest 10 minutes, then cut into portions through the joints.

7. Pap and sheba (mielie pap with tomato relish)

Serves 6 · Prep 15 min · Cook 40 min · Stove or gentle coals

Ingredients — stiff pap

• 1 litre water
• 1 tsp salt
• 500 g white mielie meal
• 2 tbsp butter (optional)

Ingredients — sheba

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 6 ripe tomatoes, chopped (or 2 tins chopped tomatoes)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Bring the salted water to a rolling boil in a heavy pot.
2. Pour the mielie meal into the centre in a single mound. Do not stir. Cover and cook on low for 10 minutes.
3. Uncover and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to break up the lumps.
4. Cover again and steam on the lowest heat for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Stir in the butter at the end.
5. For the sheba, heat the oil and fry the onion for 6 minutes until soft, then add garlic and green pepper for 2 minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes, sugar, paprika and seasoning. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes until thick and glossy.
7. Serve the pap in wedges with sheba spooned over and braai meat alongside.

8. Chakalaka

Serves 8 as a side · Prep 15 min · Cook 25 min · Best made a day ahead

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp mild or medium curry powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 3 carrots, coarsely grated
• 1 red and 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 chilli, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 tin (400 g) chopped tomatoes
• 1 tin (410 g) baked beans in tomato sauce
• 1 tsp sugar, salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil and fry the onion over medium heat for 6–8 minutes until soft and translucent.
2. Add the garlic, curry powder and ginger and fry for 1 minute so the spices bloom.
3. Stir in the peppers and chilli and cook for 4 minutes.
4. Add the grated carrot and cook for another 3 minutes — it should soften but keep some bite.
5. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and sugar, then simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
6. Fold in the baked beans, warm through for 3–4 minutes and season to taste.
7. Cool and refrigerate overnight if you can. Serve cold or at room temperature next to the meat.

Bonus: Malva pudding to finish

Serves 8 · Prep 15 min · Bake 40 min · 180 °C oven or a lidded potjie in the coals

Ingredients — pudding

• 250 ml cake flour
• 5 ml bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch of salt
• 200 ml sugar
• 1 large egg
• 15 ml apricot jam
• 15 ml butter, melted
• 5 ml white vinegar
• 125 ml milk

Ingredients — sauce

• 200 ml cream
• 100 g butter
• 125 ml sugar
• 60 ml hot water
• 5 ml vanilla essence

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C and grease an ovenproof dish.
2. Beat the egg and sugar until pale and thick, then beat in the apricot jam.
3. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt together.
4. Mix the melted butter, vinegar and milk in a jug.
5. Add the dry and wet mixtures alternately to the egg mixture, beating until smooth.
6. Pour into the dish and bake for 35–40 minutes until risen and deep golden.
7. For the sauce, heat all the sauce ingredients together until the sugar dissolves — do not boil hard.
8. Pour the hot sauce over the pudding the moment it leaves the oven and let it soak in for 10 minutes. Serve with custard or cream.

Timing chart for the whole spread

Before you start

Every one of these recipes assumes a clean grid. Sticky, carbon-crusted steel will tear the skin off your snoek and glue your braaibroodjies down. Brush the grid warm before you cook and again when you are done — the Braai Baas electric grid brush does both jobs in under two minutes, comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee and is delivered in 10–20 business days.