Think you’ve got the perfect South African braai down pat?

Family gatherings and friends often have the barbecue embers as protagonists. Today we are going to give you the 9 essential tricks to become the master of barbecues so that your grills and roasts are the best of the summer.

The first thing you have to keep in mind is that with organization and planning, your barbecue will go better. Make sure you’ve got all the right ingredients to make ‘the perfect braai’ you can be proud of! It is not enough to buy meat and coal and assume that everything will turn out well.

1. How many will come to the BBQ

Find out what number of people will attend, even if it is approximately and calculates an average of about 350-400 g of meat per person!

For example, for 10 people, between 3 kilos and a half and 4 kilos of meat will be necessary, that is, approximately 2 kg of sausages, black pudding, bacon, etc. and 2 kilos of lean beef, steak or hamburger.

2. The perfect embers

There are many tips that we can give you about the embers. We can summarize them in patience, distance and time.

That is to say, coals already mature, whitish or grayish, the grill not very close to the embers and time to slowly make the meats until they are in their point. If we do not do so, the meat will burn too much on the outside and yet it will not be cooked in the center.

3. The choice of heat source

It is not the same as a barbecue made of firewood, twigs and pineapples or a charcoal. Keep in mind that its calorific value is different and that its duration is also different. Coal is the safest thing, since the coals last a lot and maintain a constant power.

The barbecues of branches or shoots are the richest, but they require a continuous feeding to continue making embers to the side of the barbecue to avoid the flames that could singe the food cooking it ahead of time.

4. Safety first

It is convenient that whoever runs the grill has at hand the necessary elements for their own safety. Long tweezers to be able to turn the pieces without pricking them, gloves to move the grills and some long iron for the embers. You should also have at your disposal a vaporizer or spray to put out a flame or to cool down, as well as a cap to avoid sunstroke.

5. Preparation of the meat

Preparing the meat for later roasting is a simple task that will make a difference when we put it on the grill. You can not make a barbecue taking care of all the details and then take the meat out of the fridge and put it on the coals. To obtain a perfect result with the meat you have to respect the following tips:
– Do not forget to have the meat at room temperature at least one hour before roasting it.
– If you want to flavor the meat, you can put some aromatic herbs such as rosemary or thyme on the sides of the barbecue so that these herbs give a touch to the meat.

6. How to grill meat

Roasting meat to the barbecue requires your times. Place the pieces on the grill and let them sit quietly. In areas with less heat, further away from the embers you can go putting the next pieces that you are going to roast. Do not touch the meat or turn it around continuously. Let them go quietly and turn them around only when they are at their point.

7. Salt and spices

Do not salt the meat before putting it on the barbecue. It is preferable to season the meat once cooked, adjusting each salt to your liking. In addition, the meat will preserve its juices and will be more tasty and the moment will be more pleasant.

Do not forget to bring other condiments and spices, such as black pepper to grind at the moment, garlic powder and herbs. So we can enjoy the meats with different flavors in each piece or even in each bite.

8. Marinated and marinaded

One way to succeed in barbecues is to prepare marinades and marinated in which leave the meat a few hours the night before the barbecue. Thus, when roasting in the embers, the flavors of smoked, roasted and marinated will be mixed, with the meat taking on a special flavor.

9. Turning off embers and cleaning

When the barbecue is over, we have to keep in mind that although the embers look dead, they are probably still very hot. If the barbecue has a lid, we can leave it on to smother the fire. If you do not have it, we must remove the charcoal and wood that has not been burned and wait for the embers to go out. It is best not to extinguish the fire with water, but the important thing is to leave the fire well off, so if we have to leave we will have to resort to that option.

The cleaning of the grill is another important issue. Taking advantage of the fact that it still has temperature, we can pass a metal scouring pad to leave each sheet as new. It’s much easier to do it now than finding the dirt the next time we’re going to gather around the embers.

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