The braai – a rite of a nation (featuring @fred703 as author)

The braai is an art form in South Africa.

The climate is generally dry, so sunny weather is conducive to outside activities. The Aussies call it a “barbie” and America calls it a barbecue.

It is a form of worship by its priestly adherents, specifically, the Male Afrikaaner. Several years ago, a young guy by the name of Jan Scannel, started the official tradition of all South Africans to make a braai on Heritage Day every year on the 24th of September. He is known as Jan Braai.

Of course in South Africa there are those who disapprove, as Heritage Day is not meant to support “White Fascists”, or “White Capitalists” who market the braai day for commercial ends. Briefly to give you a bit of background regarding Shaka; he was a Zulu chief from the old days, is greatly venerated by many Black South Africans and they wanted that day to be used to remember Shaka. Why? I personally do not understand because Shaka murdered tens of thousands of people both in his own tribe and others. He had an unhealthy fixation on his mother and when she died, he killed many thousands of his own tribe. Please lighten up critics! I certainly do not believe “Braai Day” is meant to obscure or minimise the contributions of the “Heroes of the Struggle”.

Anyway back to the braai.

Sadly I, as an English – speaking person, do not have either the tradition nor the skills, a Philistine of the braai I confess that I am. However everyone likes a braai, regardless of skill level.

When I do the braai, it would bring a feeling of disdain, even contempt from my friends who belong to this exclusive club. I never have enough wood; often my wife would like to have a braai but when we have the braai, our meat usually consists of a cheapish boerewors (local sausage) or pork strips. The fire loses its heat just over halfway through the cooking process and then a desperate foraging for dry twigs and sticks takes place to keep the fire going. When the meat is cooked we may have a potato salad and a tossed green salad with a bread roll or two. My poor wife who really tries hard to make the braai special, will sometimes makes cheese and tomato sandwiches that get toasted after cooking the meat.

In comparison the true braai masters are the Boere (Afrikaans word meaning farmers). I, as an observer, must say I have yet to meet one Afrikaaner who does not know how to braai and to braai extremely well at that! Many folk will not only braai on weekends but can have one or two more during the week.

My good friend Rolus will rather bring a good quality meat at his own expense to my braai (which I greatly appreciate) than leave it to me to choose. He buys good quality boerewors where vinegar is not added which spoils the flavour (until I was advised of this, I had no idea). The quantity of wood must be much more than necessary, the type of wood is also critical, not merely a hard kind of thorn-wood, but even the type of wood is critical for odour which flavours the meats. When one travels around in their daily pursuits, bundles of wood can be seen for sale on the side of the road by various enterprising fellows. Of course there are various braai charcoals for sale in all supermarkets and similar stores.

So much can be said about the variety of meats that are used, but certain meats are NEVER used, for example viennas, burger patties or mince meat are almost considered blasphemy. I have never seen any of these ingredients used in over 50 years on this planet at the bottom of Africa. Meats that are highly prized (and hence very expensive) are steaks, good quality boerewors and particularly lamb chops or “TJOPPIES” as they are affectionately called and sosaties (kebabs). Secret combinations of herbs, spices and marinades are lovingly made for the preparation of the meats. A braai cannot be a success unless the quantity of leftover meats can feed all the participants for at least two or three days after the event.

Now my family tends to want the braai completed in time to eat for supper. This is a ridiculous concept for the weekend braai amongst those who follow “the true form of worship”. All the families would get together while there is still daylight but no attempt is made to start the fire yet. Often on a Saturday afternoon or evening there could be a beloved game of rugby taking place where provincial teams compete. Occasionally the national team will play, ie the Bokke or the Springbuck rugby team, then a braai MUST take place.

All the men will congregate to overflowing in a lounge to bellow at the TV, swear at the referee who is “bleddy biased” against their beloved Bokke and cheer mightily when the favoured team score.

When the game is over, the fire is started. By now a significant quantity of chilled beers will have disappeared. The men congregate around the fire and discuss important aspects of the rugby game just watched, this is the most favoured topic. I reckon the topic of motor vehicles is ranked next, or even cricket, but in general all sports are well known.

The ladies would be preparing salads and drinking a few liqueurs in a separate area. Of course some of these salads are specialities of the ladies, such as sweetened curried carrots, or condensed milk and sliced bananas, or bacon, broccoli, cheese and mayonnaise, potato and mayonnaise, three bean salads. There could be warm side dishes such as “pap tert”, baked potatoes,, mielies (corn on the cob) or garlic rolls. Everyone will be eating a few light snacks to keep going.

I have been honoured to make the “pap en sous” and I am proud to see that it is consumed with great relish. The “pap” is a maize meal which is cooked over a slow heat with water and a pinch of salt until the consistency is like a stiff mashed potato. It must be cooked long enough that the grainy texture of the “pap” becomes less course. The “sous” is key; a gravy of onions and tomatoes with some herbs and a little sugar to make sweet.

Usually just after 10pm, the meat is placed on the braai, the heat of the fire determines the sequence of meats and also the duration to cook the meat according to the preferences of each person. By the time everyone starts to eat, I have consumed quite a lot of the snacks to keep the ravenous beast within at bay.

During this past week, I was discussing the braai with a sports coach, Lukas, had a braai where he cooked for himself an 850 gram rump steak. A lady who was at the same braai was astounded to see the steak flattened within twenty minutes, no problem!! “I only ate the steak as there was no place on the plate for anything else”, I was told (see picture below for the steak of Lukas). This kind of a braai without any frills such as salads or side dishes is known as a “MAN BRAAI”