Braai and biltong explained: South Africa's food culture and where to try it
What a braai is (and what it is not)
The word “braai” is Afrikaans for “grill” or “roast” and comes from the Dutch “braden” (to roast). In everyday South African use, it refers to the entire social event centred on cooking over live fire — not just the cooking method.
To call a braai a “barbecue” is to generate mild offence in most South African company. The distinction, from the South African perspective, is real and cultural rather than semantic. Key differences:
Fire is not optional: A braai uses wood or charcoal that has been allowed to burn down to coals. Cooking begins when the fire is ready, not when a dial is turned. Gas grills exist in South Africa and are used by time-pressed weeknight cooks, but they are not braais. Presenting your gas grill as a braai will invite immediate, good-natured mockery.
The braaimaster controls the process: There is always one person — typically the host, though sometimes a declared expert — who manages the fire and decides when the meat is ready. Interfering with the braaimaster’s work is a social transgression. Offering unsolicited advice about the coals is grounds for diplomatic injury.
Time is part of the ritual: A South African braai takes hours. The fire is built. The fire burns. Drinks are drunk. Conversation happens. The coals are pronounced ready. More drinks are drunk. The meat goes on. More conversation. The process from lighting the fire to eating can be three hours without anything having gone wrong.
Rain does not stop it: South Africans braai in rain, wind, and cold. This is a point of cultural pride.
The equipment
Three types of braai apparatus dominate:
The Weber kettle: a rounded covered kettle grill, originally American but deeply embedded in South African braai culture. Excellent for indirect cooking (closing the lid for slow roasting) and for the classic tjop-and-boerewors combination.
The drum braai: a large, open-topped half-drum on legs. The township braai form — Mzoli’s in Khayelitsha uses this format at scale. Produces intense direct heat; best for fast-cooking cuts.
The traditional braaistand: a rectangular steel grid on legs, adjustable height, no lid. The most common suburban form. Open to the elements; requires skill with coal management to avoid burning the outside while undercooking the inside.
The food
Boerewors
“Farmer’s sausage” — a coiled, spiced sausage made of at least 90% beef and pork (the law specifies minimum meat content) with coriander, black pepper, nutmeg, and cloves as the dominant spice mix. The quality difference between good and mediocre boerewors is significant.
South African law governs what can be sold as boerewors: a minimum of 90% meat (beef, pork, and a small amount of game or lamb), maximum 30% fat, and no artificial binders or preservatives. Despite these rules, commercial boerewors from supermarkets varies widely in quality. From a good independent butcher — particularly in Afrikaner farming towns like Swellendam, Graaff-Reinet, or Clarens — the boerewors is exceptional.
Where to find excellent boerewors: Mzansi Boerewors (Cape Town), Sonskyn Boerewors (Western Cape farms), Woolworths butchers (the premium supermarket’s own label is reliably good).
Tjops (chops)
Lamb chops are the prestige braai item. A good braaimaster knows to sear lamb chops hot and fast, leave some pink inside, and rest them briefly. Over-cooked lamb chops at a braai are a personal failure and will be remembered.
Pork chops are also popular but lower status in the South African hierarchy. Beef steaks — particularly T-bone and rib-eye — are braai-legitimate but considered more of a restaurant food than a proper braai cut.
Pap-en-sous
Pap is a maize porridge (mealie pap), the staple carbohydrate of South African cooking across virtually every cultural group. At a braai, the canonical accompaniment is pap served with “sous” (sauce) — a tomato, onion, and chilli gravy that may include pieces of fried boerewors. The combination of stiff pap with braai meat and sous is a fundamental South African comfort food.
There are three textures of pap: krummelpap (dry, crumbly), stywe pap (stiff, dense), and slap pap (soft, porridge consistency). For braai, krummelpap or stywe pap is standard.
Chakalaka
A spiced bean and vegetable relish — typically containing kidney beans, onion, carrots, peppers, and a significant amount of chilli. Chakalaka originates in the townships of Johannesburg, where it was made from canned vegetables available at spaza (informal corner) shops. It is now sold commercially across the country and appears at every serious braai as a condiment alongside pap and meat.
Braaibroodjie
A grilled cheese-and-tomato sandwich made in a long-handled folding grid and cooked over the coals at the end of a braai, when the coals are dying down. Butter, white bread, cheddar, tomato, onion, and sometimes apricot jam inside. The sweet-savoury combination sounds odd until you eat one, and then it becomes non-negotiable.
Where to experience braai authentically as a visitor
Mzoli’s, Khayelitsha
Mzoli’s is arguably the most famous braai destination in South Africa. It is a butchery and braai operation in Khayelitsha township, Cape Town, that draws a cross-city crowd on Sundays — you choose your raw meat from the butchery counter, pay for it, hand it over to the grill team, and wait for it to be cooked on massive drum braais in the open yard while you drink cold beers and socialise at communal tables.
This is an authentic township experience in the sense that it is genuinely frequented by Khayelitsha residents and has been for over two decades. It is also well-known to Cape Town’s restaurant community and food tourists. The combination creates an unusually diverse crowd on a Sunday afternoon.
Practical note: Mzoli’s does not operate as a standard restaurant. Take cash. The meat arrives when it is ready. The space is informal and loud. A Sunday visit is essential — it is the day the full crowd assembles.
Getting to Mzoli’s responsibly matters. Do not drive to Khayelitsha solo without local knowledge. The most reliable option for visitors is a guided food-and-culture tour that includes Mzoli’s as a destination — several Cape Town township tour operators include it as a Sunday lunch stop, usually combined with a neighbourhood context walk.
Madame Zingara, Cape Town
A more theatrical, city-centre braai experience. Madame Zingara’s rotating restaurants (they operate several concepts) have included braai-focused menus. More comfortable for visitors who want the flavours without the township visit.
Mzansi Restaurant, Cape Town
A township-to-table concept in the CBD that serves traditional South African food including braai elements in a sit-down restaurant format.
Biltong: the dried meat
Biltong is dried, spiced, air-cured meat — usually beef, but also ostrich, kudu, springbok, or pork. The process involves cutting thick strips of meat, curing them in salt, coriander, black pepper, and sometimes vinegar or sugar, and hanging them to dry in a warm, ventilated space for three to five days.
The result is not beef jerky. The texture is different — biltong is thicker, less leathery, and has a more complex spice profile. The American beef jerky process involves heat-drying with added smoke; biltong is air-dried without heat. The outer surface dries to a dark, spiced crust; the interior remains tender if the biltong is freshly made.
Droëwors
Droëwors is dried sausage — boerewors that has been air-dried using the same process. The texture is firmer and crumblier than biltong. It is eaten as a snack, typically with beer, and is sold in petrol station forecourts and supermarkets across the country.
Where to buy good biltong
- Butchers: the best biltong comes from independent butchers who make their own. Supermarket biltong varies but the Woolworths premium range is reliable.
- Biltong bars: specialist biltong retailers exist in most South African malls and airports. Look for freshness (soft texture when pressed, not bone-dry) and check that the meat is lean rather than heavily fat-streaked.
- Game biltong: kudu, springbok, and ostrich biltong are lower in fat and have a different, slightly wilder flavour than beef biltong. Game biltong from the Karoo or Northern Cape farming regions is regarded as the premium tier.
- Airport purchase: biltong in vacuum packaging (certified for international export) is available at OR Tambo and Cape Town International airports and can be taken through customs legally. Check your destination country’s import rules before buying.
Reliable brands: Joburg Biltong King (Johannesburg), Woolworths Select Biltong, Packo, Crown National (spice supplier but also branded product).
The cultural weight of the braai
Heritage Day — 24 September, a public holiday — was renamed “Braai Day” by food writer Jan Scannell (known as Jan Braai) as a cultural campaign to claim the braai as a unifying national symbol across South Africa’s 11 official language groups. The argument was that every South African — regardless of culture, language, or ethnicity — braais. This is broadly true.
The braai does function as one of South Africa’s genuinely cross-cultural social institutions. Zulu families braai. Xhosa families braai. Afrikaner families braai. Coloured families in the Cape braai. English-speaking families braai. Township and suburban residents braai. The equipment and spices vary; the ritual of fire, social time, and outdoor eating does not.
Being invited to a South African’s home for a braai is one of the better social invitations you can receive as a visitor. If it happens, accept.
Regional braai variations
The braai is not uniform across South Africa’s regions and cultures. Understanding the regional variations adds dimension to the experience:
Afrikaner braai (Western Cape and Free State): the full spread — boerewors, tjops, skilpadjies (lamb’s liver wrapped in caul fat and grilled), pap with tomato sauce, braaibroodjie. This is the form most associated with Afrikaner rural heritage and the version most often depicted in tourist material.
Zulu braai (KwaZulu-Natal): similar structure but with umngqusho (samp and beans) or isijabane (a fermented grain porridge) alongside the grilled meat. Beef rather than lamb is more common as the primary protein.
Cape Malay braai (Bo-Kaap and Cape Flats): sosaties (spiced marinated skewers) replace plain chops as the centrepiece. The braai is a social event built around shared plates rather than the individual-meat format of the Afrikaner tradition.
Township shisa nyama: “shisa nyama” means “burn meat” in Zulu and refers to the informal braai culture of township communities — a butcher or vendor sells meat by weight; it is immediately grilled on drum braais and eaten communally with pap and chakalaka. Mzoli’s in Khayelitsha is the most famous example. The format is found across the country in township commercial areas on Saturdays and Sundays.
Wood vs charcoal
The choice of fuel is a genuine technical and cultural distinction. Cape winelands braai culture predominantly uses fruit wood (apple, vine prunings, pear) that imparts a light, fruity smoke. The KwaZulu-Natal tradition favours hardwood indigenous trees (kiaat, tamboti). Johannesburg suburban culture uses either lump charcoal (fast, hot, convenient) or mopane wood from the Limpopo province (intensely hot, long-burning).
The South African braai purist’s position: wood. Always wood. Gas is for weeknights. Charcoal is acceptable but lacks the romance of a fire built from scratch.
In practical terms, bags of lump charcoal are available at every petrol station in the country and are perfectly adequate for a holiday braai. Ready-made wood bundles at estate farms and markets give a step up in flavour and experience.
Biltong-making at home
For visitors who want to understand biltong beyond buying a vacuum pack at the airport:
The process is straightforward but requires controlled conditions:
- Slice beef (topside or silverside) with the grain in strips 1.5-2 cm thick and 15-20 cm long.
- Rub with a cure mix of rock salt, brown vinegar (or apple cider vinegar), coarsely ground coriander, cracked black pepper, and optionally ground cloves and allspice.
- Leave to cure for 12-24 hours in a cold room or refrigerator.
- Hang the strips in a ventilated, non-humid space at 18-24°C for 3-5 days. A purpose-built biltong drying box with a small fan provides the conditions.
The finished biltong should be slightly firm on the outside, soft inside, with a dark crust. If it smells sour or has visible mould, the conditions were too humid. If it is bone-hard throughout, it was dried too long or too hot.
Braai social rules decoded
For visitors who receive a braai invitation and are uncertain about the protocol:
- Never touch the braaimaster’s fire without asking. This is the cardinal rule.
- Bring something: a bottle of wine (or beer, or cool drink), a salad, or a dessert is the standard contribution. Coming empty-handed is impolite.
- RSVP: braai hosts need to know numbers for meat purchasing. Vague attendance is inconsiderate.
- Arrive loosely on time: the starting time given is a guide. Braais never start at exactly the stated time because the fire is never ready exactly at the stated time.
- The women’s table / the braai: a diminishing but still present cultural dynamic. Traditional Afrikaner braai culture assigns fire management to men and salad preparation to women. Modern urban South Africa has largely abandoned this structure. Do not assume; observe and mirror your hosts.
- Children run everywhere: South African braais are family affairs. Well-behaved children are welcome; there is no age restriction on the ritual.
FAQ
Where can I watch a proper braai as a visitor?
Mzoli’s in Khayelitsha (Sunday afternoons) is the most accessible public braai experience. The Neighbourgoods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill (Saturday mornings) has braai vendors. Most township tour operators include a braai or shisa nyama stop.
Is biltong available outside South Africa?
South African expatriate communities in the UK, Australia, and the USA have driven significant biltong availability — there are South African deli networks in London, Sydney, and New York that produce local versions. The authentic article using South African spice blends and quality beef is available online from specialists. However, like most cured meats, what you taste in South Africa from a good butcher is better than the export version.
What is the difference between biltong and South African dried sausage?
Droëwors is dried boerewors sausage — a different product from biltong. The boerewors is air-dried using the same curing principle but retains the sausage form and the distinctive coriander-and-black-pepper spice profile of the fresh sausage. Biltong is solid muscle meat; droëwors is a dried sausage. Both are eaten as snacks; both are sold at petrol stations and bottle stores across the country.
