Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the then patron of National Braai Day, once said: “We have 11 different official languages but only one word for the wonderful institution of braai, in Xhosa, English, Afrikaans, whatever.”

Coupling Heritage Day with a national day on which we embrace our shared love of braaiing was the brainchild of Jan Scannell – better known as ‘Jan Braai’. He believes that the day allows diverse South Africans to celebrate a common tradition – that of gathering around the fire to unwind and spend time with family and friends.

With braaiing basically being his day job, we asked Scannell to share some of his expertise with our readers.

What to cook this Braai Day? 

National Braai Day is on a Saturday and it promises to be a memorable one! Start in the morning with a breakfast braai. Bacon cooks nice and crisp on a grid over the coals, eggs perform well in a pan or potjie on the fire and you can also bake roosterkoek. Show off by making a tomato-based relish in your potjie and poaching eggs in that, Shashuka style. For lunch you can go with fish or chicken, maybe even a nice curry in the potjie. In the evening, move on to the heavyweights: Lamb and beef. Remember the marshmallows on skewers for the kids.

Do you recommend briquettes, wood or charcoal and why? 

For National Braai Day, I recommend wood as it makes the best fire and the point of National Braai Day is for all South Africans to unite around a fire, share our heritage and wave our flag!  

What is the best braai wood? 

That is a very loaded question and a debate that will never truly be settled. We conducted various tests on cost, weight, burning time, the heat of coals, taste of smoked meat and so on, and found that wingerd stompies (vine wood, usually grape) are the best. When the tests were repeated a while later, Rooikrans (invasive coastal wattle) won. Ultimately, the answer is: The best braai wood is the one that is dry, cheap and abundantly available where you are. I do not believe it’s worth trucking wood in from around the country. Use whatever is most common in your area.  

Which braai side is it always a hit? 

The big three are firstly braaibroodjies, a fire-toasted sandwich with cheese, onion, tomato, salt, pepper and chutney – buttered on the outside.  Secondly, potato salad, which is a must. And lastly, a curry noodle salad, which should preferably be made the day before so that the flavours can develop.

What is a braai no-no?

I don’t believe in braai no-nos or lists of braai rules. We live in the greatest and most beautiful country in the world. To braai is the one thing that all South Africans do and have in common. To braai is uniquely South African; It is our special way of celebrating and making food. Let us all have a wonderful day celebrating our country on September 24!  

In the words of Tutu: “We’re going to have this wonderful thing on the 24th … when we all gather round one fire… It’s a fantastic thing, a very simple idea. Irrespective of your politics, of your culture, of your race, of your whatever, hierdie ding doen ons saam [this thing we do together] … just South Africans doing one thing together, and recognising that we are a fantastic nation.”

We wish all our readers a sizzling Braai Day!