In the spirit of Heritage Day, residents know nothing else than to do what they love most – to have a good old braai.
The Roodepoort Record spoke to Jan Coetzee and Sophia van Deventer, a dynamic Witpoortjie father-daughter duo who shared their favourites for Braai Day.

Originally from Durban, Jan has been living in Witpoortjie since 1975 and said he came to Johannesburg to look for employment opportunities as he is a qualified structural steel worker, boilermaker, and welder and has since continued his life here.

The braai enthusiast said that he enjoys braaing – more specifically the company that comes with having a braai and does so regularly – sometimes twice a weekend, alternating between regular braais and spitbraais.

“There’s always something smoking around here,” he chuckled.

“When we braai, I am usually the one who does it – since I don’t drink – to avoid having raw meat or completely burnt charcoal,” Jan jokingly said.

He said that he enjoys meat, specifically lamb, and some of his favourite meats include T-bone steak, pork, and spare ribs and said that he also ‘likes his bacon crispy’.

Although he has never really competed in braai competitions, Jan said that he enjoys braaing at home with his family while sipping on some sparkling water.

“One of my friends from Cape Town taught me to braai a nice lamb chop; he takes the chops, then he marinades it, puts it together and sticks skewers through them and then he puts the leg parts first on the fire so that it can fry from the inside,” he mentioned.

He said that his ideal braai dish includes traditionally cooked pap and a sauce with his meat, but he also said that he does not like hot dishes, so braaied meat with a salad or anything with ‘paptert’. He also enjoys a braaibroodjie with cheese and tomato.

Sophia, his stepdaughter said that she is an avid braaier herself but enjoys preparing the accompanying food such as noodle salad or potato salad, and said that her secret dish is an egg salad dish consisting of six eggs, a can of sweet corn, a can of corn, and said that one could add bacon, mushroom and green peppers. It must then be baked in an oven and cheese can be added afterwards.

She shared her recipe for how she prepares her famous lamb chops for a braai, saying that she takes a little olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, Italian herbs, Worcestershire sauce and mixes them to coat the meat – which always turns out great.

“We did it the other day with the ribs and was it not a winner!” she exclaimed.

“I went to my friends one day, I made it, and they enjoyed it – they asked me how I make it, and then I was like ‘no, it’s my secret’,” she said jokingly.

The duo was asked what they had planned for Heritage Day, to which Sophia responded and said that they were going on a ‘road trip’, and wouldn’t be back home until Monday, while Jan said that he was going to have his own barbecue.