The South African Way

Firstly, in South Africa we do not Grill or Barbecue - We "Braai". Don't worry, it's only a local figure of speech and anyone may participate.

Pronunciation: /ˈbrʌɪ/

Definition of Braai: To grill (meat) over an open fire.

This instructable will show you how to braai one of the best steaks at home. No need for a fancy sous-vide machines or special tricks. This can be made with any side dishes, in this example we're also braaing some wilds wors (game meat sausage) and braai-broodjies (a cheese, tomato, onion and chutney bread sandwich that is grilled on the fire)

1x Grill/ open fire/ gas-braai

1x Cut of beef, whichever cut you prefer. Not to thin, like a minute steak, but also not too thick. Keep it in the 1cm - 3cm range for the best results.

1 - 1.5 teaspoons mustard per cut of meat. You can use any wholegrain/ Dijon mustard.

1 teaspoon of Rosemary/ salt mix

0.5 teaspoon black pepper

1x stopwatch

Make sure you use meat that is defrosted. A special tip is to defrost is the day before and do the preparation when the meat is at room temperature.

The easiest way is to lay your cut of beef flat on a normal plate. Spread the rosemary and salt mix over the top and around the meat. Make sure to cover both sides of the meat with the herbs. Use your fingers to work the herbs into the meat.

Next, cover the entire cut with your choice of mustard. Place it in the fridge for about an hour to allow those sweet herb and mustard flavours to mix.

While you wait, you can start preparing the Braai. In this case, we're using a gas-grill. The best way to prepare is by doing the following:

Turn on the braai to max heat for about 5 minutes.

Use a cleaning brush to clean the grid of any left over fats from previous successful braai's.

You may additionally use a lemon to clean the grid, which may add some flavour to your food.

Start cooking your side dishes first (the steak will not take very long). Here, I'm allowing for 5 to 10 minutes of cooking before even thinking about starting the steak.

After the 10 minute wait, now you can start with the main order of business.

Make sure your grill is set to high heat. Lay your steak down and start timing. 2.5 minutes on one side and 2.5 minutes on the next - thats all! This should give you a lovely medium steak. Obviously tastes differ and you should adjust the cooking time to your taste. Thicker cuts may require longer cooking times.

Take the meat off and let it rest for about 10 minutes before dishing up and enjoying.