Eight classics.
Zero shortcuts.

Ingredients

• 1 kg boerewors, in one coil
• 6 soft white rolls, buttered
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 4 ripe tomatoes, grated (or 1 tin chopped tomatoes)
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt, black pepper, and a little chilli if you like

Method

1. Start the smoor at the fire's flame stage: soften the onions in oil in a pan or flat potjie until golden, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes and sugar, season, and let it simmer lazily for 25–30 minutes until thick and jammy. Taste. Adjust. Taste again.
3. When the coals reach the 8-second mark, braai the wors whole — never cut, never pierced — for 12–15 minutes, turning once or twice with tongs.
4. Rest it a few minutes, cut into roll lengths, and serve in buttered rolls under a generous spoon of smoor.

Ingredients

• 12 slices white bread
• Soft butter
• Chutney
• 200 g mature cheddar, grated
• 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, very thinly sliced
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Butter the outside of every slice — the side that touches the grid. This is the whole secret.
2. Inside: chutney on one slice, then cheese, tomato, onion. Season the tomato layer. Close.
3. Pack them snugly into a hinged grid (toeklap-rooster) so they can be flipped as one.
4. Toast over low coals, turning every minute or two, for 8–12 minutes. When they're deep golden and the cheese surrenders, they're done. Cut diagonally. Obviously.

Ingredients

• 8 lamb loin or rib tjops, cut thick
• Olive oil
• Coarse salt and black pepper
• 1 tbsp dried origanum
• 1 lemon

Method

1. Take the tjops out of the fridge 30–45 minutes before braaiing. Cold meat and hot coals don't negotiate well.
2. Rub lightly with oil, then season with salt, pepper and origanum just before they go on.
3. Braai over hot-medium coals, 3–4 minutes a side for pink. Stand them fat-edge down on the grid for a minute or two until the fat is golden and crisp.
4. Rest for 5 minutes, squeeze lemon over, and serve. Anyone who asks for well-done gets the tjop nearest the edge.

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg chicken thighs, cut in chunks
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp mild curry powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 125 ml smooth apricot jam
• 60 ml vinegar
• Salt
• Dried apricots & onion wedges, for the skewers

Method

1. Soften the onion in oil. Add curry powder, turmeric and garlic and fry for a minute until fragrant.
2. Stir in the jam and vinegar, simmer for 2 minutes, season, and cool completely.
3. Marinate the chicken in it overnight in the fridge.
4. Thread onto skewers (soak wooden ones for 30 minutes first), alternating chicken, dried apricot and onion.
5. Braai over medium coals for 12–15 minutes, turning often and basting with the leftover marinade — stop basting a few minutes before the end so it cooks through.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg pork spare ribs
• 125 ml tomato sauce
• 60 ml soy sauce
• 60 ml honey or smooth apricot jam
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Black pepper

Method

1. First cook: wrap the ribs in foil with a splash of water and cook in a 160 °C oven (or kettle braai, indirect) for about 1½ hours, until tender but not falling apart.
2. Whisk everything else together into a basting sauce.
3. Finish over medium coals: 10–15 minutes, basting and turning every few minutes, building up sticky layers until glossy and charred at the edges.
4. Cut between the bones and serve with a stack of serviettes you will run out of anyway.

Ingredients

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

Method

1. Melt the jam, butter, lemon juice and garlic together at the side of the fire. Season the fish.
2. Lay the snoek skin-side down in a well-oiled fish grid. It braais skin-side down for nearly the whole time — the skin protects the delicate flesh.
3. Braai over medium coals for 20–25 minutes, basting generously every few minutes. Flip flesh-side down only for the last minute or two, for colour.
4. It's done when the thickest part flakes with a fork. Serve with roosterkoek and soetpatats.

Ingredients

• 500 g white bread flour
• 1 sachet (10 g) instant yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• ±300 ml lukewarm water
• 2 tbsp oil
• Butter, jam or cheese, to serve

Method

1. Mix the dry ingredients, add the water and oil, and knead for a good 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
2. Cover and prove somewhere warm until doubled — about an hour.
3. Knock down gently, divide into 8, shape into rough squares and rest another 15 minutes.
4. Braai on the cooler side of the grid over gentle coals, turning every few minutes, for 15–20 minutes. They're done when they sound hollow when tapped.
5. Break open, butter, and accept the compliments with humility you don't feel.

Ingredients

• 4 cups (1 litre) water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups maize meal
• A generous knob of butter
• For the sous: 2 tbsp oil, 2 onions (chopped), 6 ripe tomatoes (chopped), 1 tsp sugar, salt and pepper

Method

1. Bring the salted water to a rolling boil in a heavy pot at the side of the fire.
2. Rain in the maize meal while stirring with a wooden spoon until thick and smooth.
3. Turn the heat right down, cover, and let it steam for 30–40 minutes, stirring now and then. Stir in the butter at the end.
4. Meanwhile make the sous: soften the onions in oil, add tomatoes and sugar, season, and simmer to a rich, spoonable relish, 20–25 minutes.
5. Serve a heap of pap with a crater of sous, next to the wors. This is not negotiable either.