Braaiing Instructions

• Make sure you plan the smoke as it takes roughly 10 hours to smoke the Turkey at these low temperatures. Preheat your smoker to 110 degrees Celsius. The low temperature keeps the turkey juicy and allows it to become soft and tender.
• Remove the Turkey from its wrapping and wash properly with cold water, taking extra care to rinse the inside from all blood. Pat dry with paper towel and make sure all feathers have been properly removed.
• Use your favourite braai spice and mix with enough crushed garlic to rub over the whole bird. Left over garlic and spice can be mixed with the stuffing.
• Remove all the innards from the turkey, mix all the ingredients for the stuffing together and stuff the turkey.
• Insert temperature probes in the breast and inner thigh and then place disposable tray below the turkey. Fill the pan with the remaining Coca Cola / Pepsi/ Fritz Kola, place the turkey indirectly on the heat and close the smoker.

 Pro Tip: The choice of wood to smoke is really important. I chose to use Applewood and it really complimented the turkey well. Hickory will also work well but be careful of stronger woods like mesquite. Also remember that you do not want to see thick billows of smoke coming from the smoker – too much smoke generally makes the meat bitter. Rather aim for a continuous flow of light smoke. And remember… If you’re lookin’, you ain’t cookin’!

• Let the Turkey smoke for 2-3 hours and then check the moisture levels of the tray. At this point I place the Turkey on top of some veggies in the roasting tray and cover everything with tinfoil.

Pro-Tip: At this point the meat would have absorbed more than enough smoke and by covering with tinfoil you are locking in the moisture, instead of letting it escape in the heat.

• Keep monitoring your temperature probes. You are looking for an internal temperature on the breast of 68 C and 70 C on the inner thigh. Once these temperatures are reached, then add more coal and heat the grill to 200 C. Remove the foil and the tray and place the turkey directly on the grid.

Pro Tip: Heating the smoker so high for the last 45 – 60 minutes of your cook crisps the skin. If you do not do this, the skin could turn out a bit rubbery.

• While the turkey is finishing its smoke, you can make a quick gravy with the juices left in the tray. Scoop 2 cups of juices out of the tray and add it to a saucepan. Add 1 cup of red wine and 1 Tbsp of stock (I like to use Gefro). Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 5 minutes.

Pro Tip: For some added flavour, you can make the sauce and place the open saucepan in the smoker to absorb some more of the flavours.

• Once the turkey breast reaches an internal temperature of 74 C and the inner thigh 80 C, you can remove the turkey from the smoker. Let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Carve and enjoy!

Braaiing Instructions

1. We start by taking your steak out of the fridge and letting it come to room temperature and then getting all the ingredients ready for the Chakalaka Relish. Peel and dice your carrots finely (julienne-style), slice the onions into chunky rings and the tomatoes and peppers into small squares. Also peel and crush 2 cloves of Garlic and keep all ingredients in separate bowls, ready to add.
2. Make a fire with high heat. Make sure you create both a direct and indirect heat zone. This is necessary if we are going to cook such a huge steak properly. While waiting for the coals, make the spice.
3. Simply add the spices together and mix thoroughly. Empty into a shaker and keep handy to add the spice when you are braaiing.

Pro Tip: Do not spice your steak before braaiing. The high heat we are going to use to sear the steak with and create that beautiful crust will burn your spices and give them a bitter taste.

4. Once your fire is scorching hot, place the steak directly on the heat and let it build a nice crust. Turn and do the same on all the sides before moving it onto the indirect heat zone.

Pro Tip: The steak WILL stick to the grid initially (if it doesn’t, your fire isn’t hot enough!). If the steak is “stuck” when you want to turn it over, then it means it hasn’t caramelized enough yet. Leave it alone and only turn it once it releases by itself. This is how you build that beautiful, caramelization on the outside.

5. Once the steak is on the indirect heat, you can season it using the Chakalaka Spice. Leave the steak on the indirect zone, rotating, adding spice, and turning occasionally to ensure it gets even heat until it reaches an internal temp of 55C (depending on the size of the Tomahawk and the heat this can take up to 45 mins), then remove it from the heat and let it rest for 5 – 10 minutes before serving.

Pro Tip: The perfect internal temperature for a medium steak is 59 – 60C. We remove the steak from the heat at 55C because the internal temperature will continue to rise even after we take it off the heat before settling down at about 60C after 5 – 10 minutes. If you like your steak more Medium Well done, then you want to take it off the heat when the internal temp reaches 62C and for Medium Rare take it off at 52C.

6. Immediately once you place the Tomahawk on the indirect zone, start with your Chakalaka Relish (ideally on a different heat source because you need to stir it and when you have the lid open on the indirect zone, then your meat is not getting any heat).

Braaiing Instructions

Clean your prawns by cutting them open along the back and removing the vein. Then split your prawns into 2 bowls and marinade liberally – one with the BZ Creamy Peri-peri sauce and the other with the BZ Garlic & Rosemary oil. Cover and put in the fridge.

• Clean your fillet by removing the silver skin. I also like to make sure the fillet is clean and there are not any ragged pieces on the sides – remember, your guests eat with their eyes too!
• Rub some olive oil all over the fillet and then add both the BZ “Boerewors in a Bag”- and the BZ China Rub.
• Cover liberally and form a crust around the whole fillet.
• Place in a container, close and refrigerate.

Pro Tip: Make sure you marinade both the meat and the prawns for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight. Remember you are going to braai the fillet whole and you need the spices to draw into the meat to give that bland fillet some flavour!

• Take your meat and prawns out of the fridge at least an hour before you plan on braaiing them.
• Make a medium-hot fire and sear the fillet on the outside while the fire is nice and hot.

Pro Tip: Be careful not to burn the spices! You want the meat to caramelize and form a crispy, delicious barrier. However, burning the spices will ruin the meat and add a bitter taste. If necessary, forget the golden rule of not turning your meat too often. Rather turn it, than burn it…

• Once the meat has caramelized, move it to medium heat and measure the internal temperature. Yes, the pros can do it by gauging the “bounce rate”, but a whole fillet is a different kettle of fish. Put your ego in your pocket and rather use a temperature probe before you ruin a great piece of meat. You are looking for 58C for Rare, 60-65C for medium rare. Remove from fire and let it rest while you braai the prawns.
• Reheat your Green Peppercorn sauce on the fire about 10 minutes before you serve this feast.
• Prepare and get your prawns ready in advance as they only take about 4 minutes to make (depending on how hot your fire is). Place the all the prawns on a medium hot fire. Leave for roughly 2 minutes and then turn for another 2 minutes.

Pro Tip: The prawns are ready the moment the shell turns a bright pink, and the meat is not semi-translucent anymore. Do NOT overcook the prawns. If they are bright pink and difficult to remove from the shell, then you overcooked them.

• Place the meat and the prawns in separate serving dishes and serve with veggies of your choice

Enjoy!