Okes, it is time to impress. It’s National Braai Day on 24 September, and my good friend, Jan Braai, who started the National Braai Day initiative for all of you, has written a book called Fireworks to help you braai more like he would.
The National Braai Day initiative is a movement that aims to create a national day of celebration around the one activity all South Africans have in common, regardless of race, language, gender or wealth: cooking over a open fire.
Over the years, he has braaied with thousands of South Africans, ever since Braai Day became Braai Day. Now, Jan has taken the art of braaing to print and will serve us his book, Fireworks. It’s the “how to” of braaing, for South African’s who were not born with the “braai gene”.
You’ll be able to purchase it at selected outlets nationwide, as well as online, from the 13 August. And the best part? The book is tweetalig, meaning you can buy it in your choice of English or Afrikaans.
They dig braaing in Czechoslovakia, and that’s why Jan also secured the rights for the book to be translated into Czech, so they too can enjoy the beauty of braaing like a South African. As South Africans, it’s our heritage, and it needs to be shared.
My special burger is in the book too, The Rotherhamburger. It’s a pretty amazing creation, by me for all of you to enjoy! You might remember when Jan and I cooked it last year?
Here’s how you make it, my friends:
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken breasts
- 4 hamburger rolls
- salt and pepper (or your favourite braai salt)
- olive oil
- 8 slices salami
- 8 slices bacon
- 8 slices mozzarella cheese
- feta cheese (crumbled)
What to do
- Place each chicken breast fillet flat on a chopping board and lightly pound the thick side with a meat mallet, wine bottle, rolling pin, side of a meat cleaver or any other item of sufficient weight and size. You want the whole fillet more uniform in thickness and this step will make the meat easier to braai, better looking on your burger and softer to bite.
- Spice each chicken fillet with salt and pepper or your favourite braai salt and then lightly coat them with olive oil. Either brush each one with the oil or simply pour a bit of oil into the bowl with them and toss the fillets around until they are all coated.
- Braai the meat for about 6–10 minutes on hot coals until it is done. The nice thing about chicken breast fillets is that you can actually see the meat colour changing from raw to ready on the braai
- Fry the bacon while the chicken is braaing. You can do this in a pan on the fire or in a pan on a stove, or alternatively simply braai it on the grid with the chicken.
- Assemble the burger as follows: salami, feta, chicken breast, mozzarella, bacon. (The chicken and bacon will melt the mozzarella, thus logic dictates that you can also assemble it in this order: bacon, mozzarella, chicken, feta, salami).
Geez that looks good! I want one now!
So, make sure you make your to way local book stores on 13 August to buy the book, and create delicious meals, and even dessert on the braai!
And thus, my darlings, you will wow your friends and family with your knowledge of the braai.
