What Meat To Put First On Your Braai Stand

Once you catch the wonderful smoky scent of a braai sizzling away, you know it’s the season for fun-filled family gatherings, afternoons spent soaking up the sunshine and dining on delicious braai foods. It’s the perfect way to spend a summer’s day as you get to feast on the flame-grilled flavours of your favourite braai goodies.

As popular as braaing is though, making sure you do it right can be quite a task. So many aspects go into ensuring you have a great braai like the sides, entertainment, and of course making sure your meat is mouth-watering.

This is why ‘how to braai meat?’ and ‘in which order do you braai meat?’ are the most commonly asked questions when it comes to this cooking method.

To help clear up the confusion, What’s For Dinner has got you covered with some braai advice to help you ensure you have a perfect braai every time.

The Best Braai Advice

A question often asked is ‘how do you make the best braai meat?’. The answer depends on these two factors:

The meat - Different types of meat cook at different speeds. So knowing factors like what meat goes on the braai first and what temperatures to cook the meat at are essential for ensuring perfectly cooked meat.

The technique - The braaing technique you go for depends on the type of meat you’re braaing and your preferred fire source (whether you prefer to use wood or coal). The technique you choose to use for your braai is totally up to you. Wood fires are harder to manage but are better at retaining the moisture and flavour of your meat than charcoal.

For some truly lekker braai meat though, let’s get into a guide on the right order in which to put your meat on the braai stand.

Mastering How To Braai Your Meat

For a mouth-watering braai, the order in which you place the meat on the braai grill is essential. So you should braai the meat according to the type of meat and its cooking speed.

So here’s a list of the order in which you should braai your meat, going from first to last, and the best way to cook them for the perfect braai.

1. Chicken

Getting your braai chicken just right can be tricky even for seasoned braai masters because it takes a while to completely cook through. For perfectly cooked braaied chicken, make sure the temperature of your braai fire is moderate to ensure the outside of your chicken doesn’t burn and the middle gets cooked through.

*A top tip is to slowly turn your chicken throughout the cooking process so that it cooks evenly.

2. Pork

When braaing pork chops, it’s a good idea to score the fat along the edges for extra crispy crackling. Braaied pork chops taste great with a yummy basting sauce. So get creative with a tasty sauce for sensational pork chops.

3. Boerewors

Boerewors make a great addition to any braai. It’s full of savoury flavour and cooks quickly, so you should leave cooking this meat close to the end. Since boerewors cook so quickly, you should turn your sausage every two minutes to ensure it doesn’t become dry, for the ultimate braai-wors.

4. Steak

A braai without a steak on the menu is surely missing something, especially with how delicious a well-braaied steak can be. Fortunately, braaing your steaks to perfection is simple enough. Just make sure you turn your steaks every two minutes and braai them on high heat. Also, make sure you don’t poke your steak with a fork otherwise you might lose some juiciness.

With these tips, you can become a braai master today and create memorable meal times with fantastic flavours. So don’t be shy to take the lead at your next braai!