Perth has one of the largest South African expat populations in Australia — well over 50,000 by most counts. Which means Perth has learned, over the past two decades, to braai.
Not "BBQ" — braai. There's a distinction and it matters. A BBQ is a piece of equipment. A braai is a cultural event: hardwood coals (never gas), long slow drinks, three hours of chat, meat that comes off the fire in stages, and a sacred rule that the flame is out before the meat goes on. Coals only. Every time.
At THE BUTCHER BOX, our Braai Box is one of the most popular boxes we sell. This guide covers everything to run a proper braai in your Perth back yard: boerewors, sosaties, chicken flatties, chops, sides, and the drinks list that makes it work.
Setting up the fire
If you've only ever cooked on gas, this will feel foreign for the first three attempts. Persevere.
- Hardwood only — jarrah, marri, or a good briquette. Never charcoal from the servo.
- Build a pyramid of firelighters and a couple of small pieces of kindling. Light it. Walk away for 40 minutes.
- When the flames die and the coals glow grey-white with orange centres, they're ready. If you can hold your hand 10 cm above them for 3 seconds — perfect medium heat. 1 second — screaming hot for boerewors. 5 seconds — low and slow for chicken.
- Rake the coals to one side for a two-zone setup. Sear over the hot side, finish over the cool side.
Don't stress about matching the fire to a specific meat before it's lit — a proper braai lasts long enough for the fire to move through every temperature range naturally.
Boerewors
The centrepiece. Boerewors ("farmer's sausage") is a South African beef-and-lamb blended coarse-ground sausage flavoured with coriander seed, black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, brown vinegar and a hint of allspice. It's spiralled into a long coil (never cut into individual sausages before cooking — that's blasphemy).
Our boerewors is available on the Build Your Own Box under the "Sausages" and "Gluten Free Sausages" categories. We make it in-house in Malaga using free-range Australian beef, grass-fed lamb, and a family recipe from a South African butcher who now lives in Kalgoorlie.
Cooking method:
- Braai coil intact — do NOT cut. The spiral holds together.
- Place over medium-hot coals, 20 cm above them.
- Turn every 3–4 minutes. Total cook: 15–18 minutes.
- Never pierce it. Piercing lets out fat and dries it out. Turn with tongs, not a fork.
- Internal temp should hit 72 °C — safe and juicy.
- Rest 3 minutes, then slice with kitchen scissors into 6-cm segments.
Serve with a braaibroodjie — a South African toasted cheese sandwich with tomato, onion, chutney and a slice of mature cheddar, pressed on the braai in a folding grid.
Sosaties
The South African equivalent of the kebab, but with a killer marinade.
The marinade (for 12 skewers):
- 2 tbsp Malay curry powder (medium-heat)
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 3 tbsp apricot jam
- 3 tbsp brown vinegar
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- Salt and cracked black pepper
Marinate cubed lamb leg or lamb shoulder (500 g) for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight. Thread onto skewers with dried apricots and small red onion wedges between each cube — the apricots caramelise in the coals and are the signature of a proper sosatie.
Cooking:
- Medium coals, 3 minutes each side, 4 sides = 12 minutes total.
- Baste with any leftover marinade in the last 2 minutes.
- Rest 3 minutes off the fire before serving.
Our Braai Box includes the lamb chops and lamb pieces perfect for sosaties. Grab a jar of Mrs. Ball's Chutney from the Perth Woolworths South African aisle for the ultimate accompaniment.
Braai Chicken Flatties (Spatchcock)
A whole chicken, spatchcocked (backbone removed and pressed flat), marinated in a Portuguese-South African style peri-peri and slow-braaied over indirect heat.
Marinade:
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne (adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Spatchcock the whole chicken (or ask your butcher to do it — free service at our Malaga shop), submerge in the marinade for at least 4 hours.
Cooking:
- Place bone-side down over indirect (cool-side) coals.
- Cover with the lid closed for 30 minutes.
- Flip skin-side down, sear over hot coals for 8 minutes for crispy skin.
- Internal temp: 75 °C at the thickest thigh joint.
- Rest 10 minutes.
Slice into 8 pieces, serve with pap (see below), a rocket salad, and the leftover marinade warmed as a sauce.
Braai Sides — the Big Three
Pap (Maize Porridge)
The starch that goes with everything.
- 1 cup maize meal (from any South African grocer in Perth)
- 3 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
Bring water to boil, whisk in maize meal, reduce to lowest heat, cover, cook 45 minutes stirring every 10 minutes. Serve as a soft polenta or firm up in a loaf tin, slice and grill on the braai for firmer krummelpap.
Top with a fresh tomato-and-onion relish (sheba):
- 3 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 chilli, minced
- Salt, pepper, olive oil
- Cook in a pan on the braai for 15 minutes until jammy.
Braaibroodjie
The braai's grilled cheese. A folding wire grid, buttered white bread, thick slices of mature cheddar, thin tomato, sliced onion, Mrs. Ball's Chutney, salt and pepper.
Press flat in the grid. Braai over medium coals 3 minutes per side. Cheese oozes, bread chars. Cut on the diagonal. Perfect.
Green Salad with Braai Vinaigrette
Cuts the fat.
- 2 handfuls rocket
- Half a cos, torn
- Cucumber, sliced
- Tomato wedges
- 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp Dijon, salt, pepper.
The Braai Timeline
A proper braai lasts 4 hours. Here's how it goes:
- T-90 min: Light the fire. Open a beer. Rake stones out of coals.
- T-60 min: Guests arrive. Bowl of biltong on the table.
- T-40 min: Coals ready. Chicken flatties on the cool side, lid closed.
- T-20 min: Boerewors on. Braaibroodjies start pressing.
- T-15 min: Sosaties on.
- T-5 min: Flip chicken to hot side. Take sosaties off, tent with foil.
- T-0: Boerewors sliced onto board. Everything to table.
- T+10: Pudding — malva pudding with custard, or koeksisters if someone made them.
What to drink
- Castle Milk Stout (SA import, at most Perth bottle shops).
- Windhoek Lager — the crisp Namibian option.
- A big Swartland Syrah if you can find one — WA's own Grosset and Cullen also work beautifully.
- Or just Emu Export. Nobody's judging.
The Butcher Box Braai Bundle
If you want to skip the shopping around, our Braai Box is the exact meat kit you need for a full braai for 6–8 people:
- 500 g boerewors coil
- 800 g lamb chops (perfect for sosaties)
- Whole spatchcocked chicken
- 500 g biltong for pre-braai snacking
- 6 x boerewors sausages
- 6 x lamb koftas
- 400 g rump steak
Free delivery across Perth metro every Friday. Subscribe & save 5% — perfect for the family that braais every second weekend.
Nou ry ons. Now we're going.
