Marinades are essential not only for flavouring grilled foods, but also for keeping the food moist during cooking.
The quickest and easiest way to make a marinade is to mix a few tablespoons of your favourite NOMU Rub with a few glugs of olive oil. Voila! It’s that easy! It’s now ready to rub into chicken, beef, lamb, pork, duck, seafood or vegetables.
These are some of our favourite rubs for braai marinades:
- Peri-Peri (try this Peri-Peri Spatchcock Chicken)
- Cajun
- Spanish (see this Spanish grilled crayfish with smoked paprika aioli)
- Beef
- Poultry
- Moroccan
- Seafood
- Coffee (this makes the most amazing T-bone steak!)
- and of course BBQ rub! (BBQ chicken wings are a classic)
A few BBQ tips:
(1) Herb basting brush: For basting food on the grill, a bunch of herbs tied together with a piece of string makes a fragrant alternative to a basting brush. More robust herbs like thyme and rosemary are perfect for the job.
(2) Natural skewers: For braai skewers, experiment with rosemary stalks, bay leaf twigs or lemongrass. Remember to soak your wooden skewers in water for an hour before use to stop them from burning.
(3) Caramelize without cremating! Place your meat onto the grill and give it enough time to form a delicious caramelized seared crust before turning it over. This will prevent it from sticking and forms a barrier so that all the juices don’t run out. Cleaning your grill with a wire brush after each braai will also prevent sticking.
(4) Rest: Remember to rest your meat for at least 10 minutes before slicing – this stops all the delicious juices from running out which will make it dry. During this time, your meat will continue to cook slightly so take care not to overcook it!
(5) Fish: Wrap fish in banana leaves for a change in flavour and extra succulence.
(6) Heat control is the key to a good braai! When building the fire, the amount of charcoal you use depends on how much food you need to cook. It’s better to start out with more charcoal than you need as it is easier to reduce heat than to increase it! To reduce the heat of the BBQ simply spread out the charcoal. If the fire burns too low, add more charcoal to the outer edges of the fire. To check the heat of your coals, see how long you can hold your hand above the coals without burning yourself! 1-2 seconds is very hot and 10 seconds is very low.
Now it’s time to braai! Check out our epic collection of braai recipes, or discover more ways to use your NOMU Herb & Spice Rubs!