Secrets of the bundu-braaiers

In Zululand we are fortunate to have the best of both worlds – the ‘lekker’ beach and beautiful simplicity of the ‘bush’, home to our national treasures – the Big Five.

This week we stumbled across a great read with mouthwatering rustic recipes by the ultimate braai masters, Justin Bonello, Bertus Basson and Marthinus Ferreira in Roads Less Travelled, written by Helena Lombard.

Bonello, along with his mates, take the reader on a journey to many beautiful untouched places in South Africa, giving delicious recipes to match.

Their first stop in the book was at our doorstep – the Hluluwe-iMmfolozi Park. Bonello also gives his insightful tips when going on a game drive.

HERB – CRUSTED RUBBED SPRINGBOK (by Marthinus Ferreira)

You’ll need

2 garlic cloves crushed

4 or 5 sprigs of fresh thyme

200g coarse sea salt

50g ground coriander

40g white sugar

5g paprika

springbok fillet

Game on

Crush the garlic, strip the thyme leaves off the sprigs and mix well with all the spices.

Put the fillet in a big bowl and rub the spices thoroughly into the meat. Make sure the fillet is completely covered in spices and let it rest for as least an hour.

The general rule of thumb is that the bigger the piece of the meat, the longer it’ll need to rest in the rub and the more rub you’ll need.

As soon as the coals are ready (moderate to hot) braai the fillet for about four to five minutes a side. Any more than this and it will lose all those ‘lekker’ natural flavours. Let the meat rest for about five minutes before slicing.

To accompany herb crusted rubbed springbok, there a is delicious potato pie recipe in this chapter. Roads Less Travelled is available at all leading bookstores.