Monday, April 13, 2009

pic of the day - braai

Pronounced like the word 'bright', only without the T, this is the South African word for barbecue (it's Afrikaans for 'grill'). It is something South Africans (and Swedes who grew up there, apparently) do at the least provocation.

Look at my three men, having an almost religious experience, here!

John is a dab hand at braai-ing and the boys are apt apprentices. The 'South Africa shop' we visit regularly had ribs on Saturday, so we feasted today. I am as full as a tick!

4 comments:

V Yonkers said...

It's amazing how universal that picture is!

The upsycho said...

@Virgina Indeed. But the meat that gets cooked on those fire differs hugely from culture to culture. A South African would never dream of cooking a hot dog sausage on the braai, for example, and burgers are considered very much plan B fare. English visitors to South Africa, attending their first 'proper' braai, are inclined to ask, "Who else is coming?"

A typical braai sees each person getting a piece of steak, a piece of boerewors (BUH-ruh-vorce - a sausage made with 95% meat, ideally a mix of beef and pork, and spiced with, among other things, ground coriander seeds), probably a chicken drumstick and a lamb chop.

There may well be salads these days, but this is not a given. More likely is a baked potato or a stiff maize meal porridge topped with a hot onion and tomato sauce. Even if there are salads, they will probably contain lashing of mayonnaise!

Is it any wonder South African men tend to be hefty brutes?

Linda said...

I learned to enjoy braai on the beach in St Andrews with SA friends many years ago. It left me with a love of boerewors -yum! http://www.flickr.com/photos/aroberts/2622078230/"Here's one from one of our our tiny braai in the garden last year. We're regular visitors to the South African shop here too as we love Laager brand roobosh.

The upsycho said...

@Linda Love the picture - makes me feel right at home! Oddly, I thought you guys were veggies.

I don't do rooibos tea, though. I know it is about the healthiest hot beverage on the planet and I raised my kids to drink it, but I can't even take a single sip. Just the smell! Shudder.