The Ultimate Braaibroodjie is Here – Have You Tried It?

The traditional South African braaibroodjie certainly deserves a few drum rolls, pom-pom shakes, whoops, and whistles as it enters the stage squarely in the spotlight. While the braaibroodjie will make no speeches of its own, many a long night around the fire has been enjoyed with one in hand. No braai is complete without the ultimate braai side and a braaibroodjie is just that!

Traditionally the braaibroodjie is served at the end of a braai – talk about saving the best for last – and features simple ingredients including sliced tomato and red onions, sharp white cheddar cheese and an all-time South African favourite; Mrs Balls Chutney! Luckily, as an expat, you will find that Mrs Balls Chutney has made it into a few additional countries (phew! You can get your fix), but any fruit chutney should work just as well if you can’t get your hands on Mrs Balls Chutney.

There are spans of ways to enjoy a braaibroodjie. There’s white bread, brown bread, ciabatta and even Mozambican paus to try out. There’s more onion, less onion, more cheese, less cheese and even different types of cheese that you can try. You can include herbs and spices or have it just plain bland. Yup, the braaibroodjie is somewhat of a clean slate, ready and waiting for every braai master to add their personal touch and wow their crowd.

The Braaibroodjie of all Braaibroodjies is Here

Are you ready for a braaibroodjies recipe that will blow your mind? This braaibroodjie is the cream of the crop, the cat’s whiskers, theactual “bizniz”. If you don’t have this braai bread sizzling on your grill, whether in South Africa or abroad, you’re quite simply not doing it right!

What you Need for this Braaibroodjies Recipe

There’s not a lot to gather when making braaibroodjies, but it must be said that the ingredients are the most important part. This braai bread is like no other. It’s got a gourmet twist and is the perfect partner in crime for any braaivleis! It’s classy enough to pair with a glass of high-end red wine, and down-to-earth enough to gobble up while sitting cross-legged on the floor, with pint of beer in hand. And because of this, introducing braai bread like this to your new friends and colleagues in your new home country will be a big hit; that’s guaranteed! Here’s what you need to gather.

• Sliced sourdough bread (4 slices)
• 100g of mozzarella cheese (grated)
• A handful of grated cheddar or gouda cheese (choose your favourite or choose both)
• Sliced Italian or Romanita tomatoes
• A handful of fresh wild rocket and basil
• Generous helping of thinly sliced red onions
• Diced/minced garlic
• Margarine
• Chutney (as much as you like)
• 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• Dried mixed herbs
• Salt and pepper 
• A hot braai grill.

How to make a braaibroodjie:

Throwing all of these ingredients together and grilling them is the best part of the braaibroodjie making ritual; second to actually eating them of course. The whole process is a ritual, from piecing the braaibroodjies together, to placing them neatly on the braai, to gorging yourself on them. Here’s what you will need to do:

• Lay your sourdough bread slices out and spread them with margarine on the inside, as you would a normal sand which. Don’t be too stingy on the margarine. 
• On one slice of bread (this will be your base layer), spread fruit chutney generously and then layer tomato slices immediately on top. The flavour of the tomato and chutney together is simply delectable when heated.
• Sprinkle tomato slices lightly with salt, dried mix herbs, and pepper.  This really brings out their flavour. 
• With a teaspoon, blob some of the mayonnaise onto the tomato (very thinly) and then generously layer with red onion slices. The mayonnaise isn’t a traditional part of the recipe, but you won’t regret adding it!
• Add a small amount of diced/minced garlic onto the onion slices along with wild rocket and basil leaves. The garlic and onion flavours will simply melt into each other while your braai bread heats up inside. 
• Now, grab handfuls of mozzarella and gouda/cheddar cheese and pile it on top. Mix them up – when they melt together, they provide an oozy, melty sauciness to the braaibroodjie.
• Grab the second slice of sourdough bread and place it on top to close the braaibroodjie. You will need to apply some pressure to the sarmie (push down) to squish all of the ingredients together. 
• Before placing these on a hot grill (please don’t place these over a direct fire), make sure that the grill is oiled or sprayed with spray and cook. This will stop the bread from sticking and burning on the grid. 
• Listen to the fire crackle and smell the aroma as your tomato, onion, and cheese heat together and form a marriage worthy of great celebration!
• You know that your braaibroodjie is done when the bread is toasted, and the cheese is melty. 
• There’s only one thing left to do…whip your braaibroodjies off the braai, use a very sharp knife to cut them in half and wow the socks off your braai crowd!

Be careful when biting into your freshly made braai bread – the inside contents can stay quite hot for a long period of time.

Last Word

Don’t put if off any longer. Gather the friends, colleagues and family around and make a braai bread night of it!

FinGlobal: Cross Border financial specialists 

At FinGlobal, we don’t just have the recipe to the ultimate braaibroodjie; we also have the recipe to success with all things tax and financial emigration related. With almost a decade of experience behind us, we believe that we are just the right team to handle your tax emigration and financial emigration processes. You focus on the braaibroodjies while we take care of the rest! If your tax and financial emigration has been playing on your mind, it’s time to get in touch with us. You can contact us quite easily via email or even give us a call to chat directly to one of our dedicated consultants.