The Art of the Roadside Braai – Braaibroodjies

Road tripping is not about the destination, it’s about the trip! It is leisure traveling with lots of stops, exploring the side routes, browsing through small roadside establishments and seeing the scenic spots en-route. It’s also about “padkos”, the Afrikaans term for food prepared for the road. There is nothing like a boiled egg and a sandwich on a roadtrip.

Another South African tradition is the “Braai”, preparing food on a fire, almost like a BBQ, but not quite. The roadside braai became a popular pastime among South African Adventure Bikers and the 4×4 and Overlanding crowd. Having a braai in some remote location, next to a river, the ocean, in the Karoo or on a scenic mountain pass, travel cuisine doesn’t get any better than this.

With this project we aim to explore the world of the roadside braai, from preparation to equipment and gadgets, to recipes and food ideas. We’ll also differentiate between what works for biking and what works in a 4×4.

We start with an old South African favourite – the “Braaibroodjie!”

• Travel friendly braaibroodjies.
• Braai equipment suited to Motorcycling – link.
• 4×4 and the braai box (coming soon).
• No open flames! Braai solutions for “no fire” locations (coming soon).
• Other roadside braai recipes and ideas (coming soon).

Braaibroodjies originated as a simple addition to the South African braai. There is “only one original recipe for braaibroodjies: they have chutney (Mrs H.S. Ball’s please), onion, tomato, cheese, salt and pepper as filling and they are buttered on the outsides. Over time, they evolved into a must-have delicacy, reflecting the creativity and culinary flair of the braai culture.

But having a braaibroodjie on a roadside braai is rare. This is because a braaibroodjie has to be prepared fresh, otherwise the tomato will make the bread soggy. Also, the butter on the outside can make a mess. The other problem – on the motorcycling side – is that sandwiches don’t travel well, especially in a violently shaking Topbox! One gravel road and the sandwich is transformed into a wet little bread ball with some of the ingredients protruding on the sides. So the whole idea of having a braaibroodtjie had to be approached from a whole new angle. This was what we came up with!

Firstly, the bread. We needed something more compact and sturdy that would hold up traveling in a Topbox. Our choice fell on bought roosterkoek. Next we had a look at ingredients. Tomato might not be ideal, but there’s a plethora of other options available. Coming up with new ingredients and recipes was half the fun!

We came up with 5 different combinations:

Cream cheese, Biltong and Cheddar.

Bacon, Brie and Caramelized onions.

Ham, Cheese and Greenpepper.

Salami, Mozzarella and Mushrooms.

3 Cheeses and Garlic.

And of course during the preparation phase, we had to try one or two of these!

We wrapped our creations in foil and popped them into the refrigerator. The next morning we loaded the topbox and set off for the ultimate Braaibroodjie roadside braai! Destination: Fransmanshoek Conservancy.