When sparking your grill don’t forget how you used to light a camp fire. Primitive man has passed this innate skill for generations and fires were always to be built in the pyramidal shape. It is this that most people do not do and thus will have issues when starting the fire.

Make sure you set up the coal like the Egyptians. OK, maybe I am being too forward…set up your coal in a pyramid. OK now here you have to use your math skills, insert three firelighters evenly, yes EVENLY! into the pyramid and light em up.

Leave for 20 to 30 full minutes, the flames should have died down at that point…and if you have followed these instructions- the charcoal should have turned white.

If you get this far you are almost done… now spread the charcoal more evenly around the barbecue rack using a barbecue tool (ok…a barbeque tool for this purpose is anything you can get your hands on to get the job done!).

The bbq is now ready…but wait! While we can give you some tips…here is where the bbq master inside you has to come out!

Our tips are this:
1. Wait for the flames to die down..(Else, you will get food that does not smell very nice.)
This is because they are soaked in kerosene.
2. Don’t cover all of the base of the rack with charcoal..(this baby need some air too..)
3. Get your beer ready..(Last thing you need is to have to decide whether to get a beer or let the food burn!)

The procedures are simple and pretty straight forward, you would make a paste, marinate the meat and then grill it. Simple huh? i thought so.

To make the paste you would need

Blend it up:
½ cup red and green thai or fingerling whole chillies
8 cloves of garlic and small amount of ginger 1tbsp
¼ cup white vinegar ( i have used malt vinegar if you are trying the fresh Fish)

Ingredients :

1kg T-bone steak/Chops/Fish
1 tsp Salt or to taste
2 tbsp garlic, ginger and chilli paste
2 tbsp red fine chillies
2 tbsp steak and chops spice (you can find this in the grocery store)
2 tbsp cayenne pepper
¼ cup olive oil
3 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp lemon pepper
4 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp tomato ketchup (Heinz organic will do)

Method :

Marinate Meat and set aside for about 30 minutes to marinate. I normally put it in a Ziploc freezer bag and swirl it around to really get it nice and soaked up, this also speeds up the marination process.

Go light up your grill and get the fire going. Pour a glass of wine while doing that

Once the fire is up and running spread the meat on the grill, if cooking the fish you want to make sure you put some aluminum foil and then put the fish on it.

Cook the meat to your preference, i normally go with well done, but thats me.

Serve on plate with various sides, i normally have home made coleslaw or potato salad, and maybe a bread roll.

Enjoy your first recipe of the ‘Braai Culture’

Note: I have softened the blow and toned down the spices, however for an extra kick I use double the amount of chillis and powder.

I present to you hightlights of some international barbecue information that i have gathered up. If you have some more important information to add please comment below and I shall add them in.

The oldest barbecue site that was ever found in the world is in South Africa where animal bones from a BBQ feast dating back over 1 million years was found. Article here.

The second oldest BBQ site found is in Israel. It is over 79, 000 years old.

If you from Europe then you know BBQ’ing is upper class high income activity. This is because, you need space to BBQ such as a back yard, and obviously this is RARE in europe. If you want more information check out captain bbq’s European Stat Page for more info and how entire industries are changing to mold to BBQ’ing

Talk about dangerous green house gas emmisions, the US always seems to be on one side of the polarity. Statistics show that last year alone 66,200,000 individuals had barbecued two and a half billion times. Yes 2.5 BILLION!!  USA BBQ Stats.

Out of all the europeans that BBQ, England tops the list. Here is a list of how britons start their fires

See something strange there? Lager to start a fire..geez ive never heard of that ever before.

Our Friends down under, in Australia {said with an Aussie accent} have decided to rename their favorite meat to something more touristy, ‘Australus’. Yes this is Kangaroo meat and they decided to rename it to make it more appealing to diners. Getting back BBQ’ing, they call it scorching.  Nice huh?

Now we all know this one, we usually call our friends or family when we have a BBQ, and stats show that a family of four is far more likely to own a BBQ grill than a single person, maiking it a social affair. Although some sad indviduals may want to BBQ by themselves. To Each his Own.

EXCERPT FROM WIKIPEDIA: In Southern Africa, (South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe), A BBQ also known as A braai is a social occasion that has specific traditions and social norms. In black and white South African culture, women rarely braai (cook) meat at a social gathering, as this is normally the preserve of men. The men gather round the braai or braaistand (the fire or grill) outdoors and cook the food, while women prepare the pap, salads, desserts, and vegetables for the meal in the kitchen. The meal is subsequently eaten outside by the fire/braai, since the activity is normally engaged in during the long summer months. The braaing (cooking) of the meat is not the prerogative of all the men attending, as one person would normally be in charge. He will attend to the fire, check that the coals are ready, and braai (cook) the meat. Other men may assist but generally only partake in fireside conversation. The person in charge is known as the braaier (chef), and if his skills are recognised, could be called upon to attend to the braai (BBQ) at other occasions as well.

Top Reasons that people BBQ:

• Because it tastes so good (more than 80%)
• Requires little cleanup
• Easy, informal way to entertain family and friends
• Being outdoors
• Personal satisfaction

Some TRIVIA for y’all – Is barbecuing more dangerous then stapling paper?

The AARP July 2006 issue reported the frequency of injuries occurring in the USA as follows:

I dont see BBQ’ing on there…pretty safe huh??

Have any more interesting stats? Send it in!

Ciao and happy BBQ’ing

Braai’ed (BBQ’d) Eggplant Dip

. The author has amazing photography, excellent recipes and a quirky writing style. I frequently go back to her site many times a day just to check whether she has a new recipe and to reread the old ones

So this got me thinking. I was reading an article about taming indian cuisine for the American Culture in a magazine called Khabar, its a South-Asian themed magazine based out of Atlanta, Georgia. This was the catalyst to start this all. Two weeks prior to this I was in visiting some friends in Orlando Fl, and throughout the time I was there I had the opportunity to cook. I had the chance to make all sorts of really fresh seafood, meats and bbq foods. It was simply AMAZING, it was soo much fun, getting to make food that is truly authentic to my style and watching everyone enjoy and lick their fingers while eating it.

One of my expertise i can say is the art of different BBQ styles. Over the years while in college, i got to experiment with so many different bbq styles and along with my background that experience in mind I have accumulated a plethora of recipes that i will share with all of you. I am from the beautiful country of Zambia, located in Southern Africa, just above Zimbabwe (yes the one with all that turmoil). We are so used to the culture over there called ‘Braai.’ The word braai (pronounced “bry”, rhyming with the word “cry”) is Afrikaans for “barbecue” or “roast” and is a social custom in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Here a link to the article on wikipedia. Braai’s are a big social event, preparations are usually done a few days in advance, meats are marinated, duties delegated, liquor stores emptied . Yes it usually involves dubious amounts of beer, so that mass amounts of food can be consumed over a whole day affair.

So with that being said I am here to introduce to you the ‘Braai Culture‘, and along with that will come all the recipes and laid back lifestyle thats attached to it. There definitely is a link between modern man and our primitive ancestors whose main source of cooking was over the fire till the meats crispy burnt and scrumptious to eat.

As always I am as curious to see how this will unfold. Spring is in the air, wash out that BBQ stand and get ready for some MASALA BBQ.

Here’s to a new class of BBQ!

BTW: To those of you not familiar with the term ‘Masala’ it means spicy powder or to put into real terms; REALLY SPICY.