Building the perfect fire
Before you can master the art of braaiing with charcoal, you must learn the art of building a fire you can cook on.
Remove the lid and open all air vents before building the fire. For proper airflow, remove accumulated ashes from the bottom of the grill if present. Charcoal requires oxygen to burn, so be sure nothing clogs the vents.
Place your kindling, either firelighters or crumpled newspaper, in the centre of the charcoal grate. Avoid using lighter fluid, because it is messy and can leave a chemical taste to your food unless it is thoroughly burned off.
Form your briquettes into a pyramid-shaped pile with the peak in the centre of the grill.
Light the kindling and add more charcoal briquettes if required.
Arrange coals when covered with a light grey ash, usually after 25 to 30 minutes, use long-handled tongs and organise the coals according to the cooking method you are going to use, direct, indirect or hot smoking braaiing.
Place the cooking grate on top and allow it to warm up before adding food. It is recommended that the grate be heated up and the fuel kept red hot, with the lid on, for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking for the first time.
Consider adding hardwood chips or wood chunks that have been soaked in water for at least 30 minutes and drained or moistened fresh herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, or bay leaves, for extra flavour. Place the wet wood or herbs directly on the coals just before you begin cooking.
Lift the lid to the side during cooking, rather than straight up. Lifting straight up may create suction and draw ashes up onto your food.
Direct braaiing
Spread the briquettes out evenly across the bottom of the grill.
You can also create a two-level fire so that you have two areas of different temperature, a hot area and not so hot area. This allows you to sear foods and then cook them through.
Indirect braaiing
Either spread the briquettes out in a ring by pushing them to the outside of the charcoal grate, or by using charcoal rails placed on the left and right hand side of the grate.
In either case, leave the middle empty. Place a large drip pan in the centre and add fluid to it (the fluid will prevent the braai from smoking and the meat from drying out). Water is the ideal primary fluid, but experiment with spices and marinade as these will add additional flavour to the food being cooked.
Don’t forget to place your food in the centre of the grill when cooking.
Hot smoking
Once the coals have turned from black to grey, put the cooking grate in place on top. Soak the wood chips in fluid, for example, water, beer or tea, for around 30 minutes. Add a handfull of the chips to the coals on both sides. Place the lid on, with the air vent fully open.
Cook your meat for approximately 25 minutes per 250g or one hour per kilogramme.
Remember, every time you lift the lid you will lose the accumulated heat and add approximately 15 minutes to your cooking time.
* Information obtained fromwww.weber.co.za.
