The Ultimate Braai Master Live, festival of braaiing, at Emperor’s Palace is just weeks away. One of the big highlights will be the panels teaching all aspects of braaiing and giving tips to improve your braais, which will feature some of South Africa’s top chefs and comedians. To celebrate the event, we spoke to featured Chef Stuart McClarty about his braai memories and managed to get him to give us one of his small braai tips.
What is your earliest memory of braaiing?Â
I recall standing with my father on the beach, fishing for Galjoen. We would be there all day and the reward was a delicious fish braai right there on the sand at the end.
How often do you braai now?
Oh, easily two or three times a week. My favourite thing to braai is lamb chops – they’re just the perfect blend of flavour and crispiness. Braai lamb’s smokey flavour and aroma stand strongly alongside a beautiful full-bodied red wine. Perfection.
So what tip do you have for readers when it comes to preparing those chops?
It’s all about managing your fire’s heat. In general, this is a thing that many casual braaiiers could practice, easily get right and instantly improve the food they are preparing. Most South Africans make a huge hot fire and then cannot understand why all the meat is burnt and raw. If you are cooking, chicken you are looking to create a fire that’s slightly cooler but burns at a consistent heat for longer, while steak would be hot and fast. Pork belly would be cooler. Desserts also need indirect heat as opposed to being on top of the coals. When cooking lamb chops you want it to be between medium heat and hot to get that crispy outside and beautifully tender and moist inside.
As the head chef and baker at the Underground Bakery, Stuart will be demonstrating his orange, almond and polenta cake in the firesmith and also making pecan nut brownies – yes, on the braai.
Grab your tickets for The Ultimate Braai Master Live event, which takes place from the 1st to the 3rd of September at the Red Roman Shed at Emperor’s Palace.
