DUNCAN
WELGEMOEDAfricola, Adelaide
My number-one barbecue rule is that the
person barbecuing makes the fire, always.
This is followed closely by a general rule
that we have in South Africa: when you’re
a guest, the only help you’re allowed to give
is to make sure the person cooking always
has a drink in his or her hand.
Braai, South African barbecue, is not
always about the food, but it’s always about
the booze (in my case chilled reds and cheap
beer). My father taught me to barbecue. We
used to braai four or five times a week when
I was growing up – I was always around fire.
In fact, we pretty much moved our lounge
room outside, television and all. These days
at home I have a set-up of three Webers, all
used for various types of cooking: smoking,
spit-roasting, grilling. I also have a cast-iron
pot, called a potjie, that sits over an open fire,
and a skottel, an outdoor South African wok.
I really love hot-smoking a chicken
in my Weber. I serve it well rested andBig Green Egg or binchotan,asado or braai – there’s
more than one way to stoke a fire. We ask chefs for
their hot tips and tricks for summer grilling.
KINGS
Barbecue
at room temperature with a coleslaw, or
with iceberg lettuce and anchovy dressing.
I always season my birds with sea salt,
white pepper and thinly sliced fresh bay
leaves. And I season before cooking,
during and after the bird is cooked – that
part is crucial. It’s quite easy to undercook
the legs of poultry, which is why you have
to make sure you rest your bird long
enough. The more juices you save, the
more likely you can make a kick-arse
chicken dressing with them, too.
This summer I’ll be doing plenty of
cauliflower, leek, beetroot and cabbage
as sides – basically anything that can take
direct flame without too much attention.
That’s the thing with braai – you want to be
attentive but not too attentive. I hate when
people keep turning things, prodding the
meats, screwing around with the fire. When
it’s good to go, it’s good to go. Just relax
and let the embers do the work.➤