There’s nothing quite like a South African braai: a crackling fire, meat sizzling on the grid, ice-cold drinks and good company. But even the most relaxed get-together can go sideways when you run out of wood, underestimate how much meat to buy or forget the all-important sides (and ice!).
Whether you’re hosting a few friends or feeding a crowd, this ultimate braai checklist covers everything you need to plan a successful braai, from choosing your fuel and calculating meat portions to sorting out the sides and keeping the drinks cold. All that’s left to do? Get the fire going!
The ultimate braai checklist
A braai is made up of four main aspects: the fire, meat, sides, and drinks. If you have all four aspects mastered, with a few of your own additions here and there, your afternoon or evening will run splendidly.
1. The fire: Wood or charcoal?
The traditionalist braaimaster will always choose wood over charcoal or briquettes. While wood takes longer to burn down to coals, the coals maintain heat more evenly and for a longer time than charcoal. But if you’re planning an easy mid-week braai, then charcoal is a quicker alternative.
When choosing wood for a braai, the best option is hardwood. More specifically, kameeldoring, or sekelbos, because they burn hot and slow, also giving meat the best flavour. Rooikrans wood is a cheaper option that burns faster. Hardwood usually takes 45 to 60 minutes to burn down into a proper bed of coals.
If opting for charcoal (which also works better in a Weber than wood), briquettes are the best choice, compared to lump coal, because the coals burn evenly for a longer time. Charcoal is usually ready in 20 or 30 minutes and is best used to braai meats or potjies that need consistent, even heat.
Wondering when the best time is to start braaing the meat? You don’t need any fancy equipment like a thermometer, just your hand. Place your hand about 10 cm above the coals and count the seconds you can keep it there before it gets too hot. If you have to remove your hand after:
- two or three seconds, the coals are super hot and perfect for searing meats like steak
- four to five seconds, the coals are medium-hot and perfect for wors, chops and sosaties
- six seconds or more, the coals are medium-low and perfect for finishing off chicken, braaibroodjies and keeping things warm
If the heat is too hot or too cold, adjust the position of the grid before adding or taking away coals. If distance isn’t doing the trick, spread or flatten the coals out to lower the temperature. Gather or pile the coals to increase the temperature. If you’re braaing large amounts of meat, or heavily marinated meats, it’s always a good idea to have a smaller, second fire going on the side. Once you’ve spent the main fire’s coals, you will be happy to have access to more when the time comes.
2. The meat
Meat (and in some cases, meat alternatives) is the main event of a braai – after all, that’s what the fire is for! And getting the portions per head is the most important: you don’t want some people missing out on the pork rashers or special lamb riblets you marinated overnight. Here is a useful guide listing a few of the common braai meats and amounts needed for parties of 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10+ people.
Boerewors
- 2: 500 g
- 4: 800 g
- 6: 1 kg
- 8: 1,5 kg
- 10+: 2 to 4 kg
Steak (fillet, rump or sirloin)
- 2: 400 to 500 g
- 4: 900 g to 1 kg
- 6: 1,5 kg
- 8: 2 kg
- 10+: 3kg to 5 kg
Lamb chops
- 2: 4 chops or 300 g
- 4: 8 chops or 500 g
- 6: 12 chops or 800 g
- 8: 16 chops or 900 g
- 10+: 20 chops or 1 kg
Chicken (pieces, espetadas or sosaties)
- 2: 500 g
- 4: 600 to 800 g
- 6: 1 kg
- 8: 1,2 to 1,5 kg
- 10+: 2 to 3 kg
- Chicken flatties: 1 flattie can feed 4 when accompanied by sides
3. Sides
A braai isn’t complete without a few sides accompanying the meat. Classic braai sides include:
- Mielie meal/pap
- Sheba sous/smoor/tomato and onion gravy
- Chakalaka
- Braaied mielies
- Potato salad
- Bean salad
- Green or house salad, or any other salad
- Coleslaw
- Roast veggies
- Pickled beetroot
- Braai broodtjies
- Garlic bread
- Roosterbrood
4. Drinks
Drinks are a must at a braai. It’s the thing that keeps the braaimaster/s cool while they tackle the flames, and everyone else happy while snacking on some chips and dips while waiting for the meat to be ready. Whether you like a crisp glass of white wine, a lemony Savannah, brandy and coke, or the standard choice of beer, the most important thing to remember here is ICE. You’ll need about 1 kilo of ice for every couple of people to ensure their drinks are cooled sufficiently. Add an extra kilo of ice to your list for filling the cooler box/drinks bowl.
