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Braai recipe of the week

Braaibroodjies (cheese, tomato and onion braai toasties)

The toastie that ends every proper braai: buttery, crispy, oozing cheese and chutney, cooked on the last of the coals.

Serves 6 (6 sandwiches, cut in half)

Every braai has a hierarchy. The meat gets the glory, but the braaibroodjie is the one people secretly came for. White bread, sharp cheese, tomato, onion and a lick of chutney, toasted in a hinged grid over the dying coals until it’s golden and the cheese escapes out the sides. It’s also the official second veg of the 7:1 split (tomato AND onion: that’s practically a salad). Everything here is in any supermarket, and it works just as well indoors in a pan if the British weather wins the toss.

  • Serves 6 (6 sandwiches, cut in half)
  • Prep 15 minutes
  • Cook 8 to 12 minutes, over low coals once the meat is done

You’ll need

For the braaibroodjies

  • 12 slices of medium white sandwich bread (the soft, everyday kind, not sourdough, sorry)
  • 75 g soft butter, for the outsides
  • 4 tbsp Mrs Ball’s chutney (or another fruity chutney)
  • 200 g mature cheddar, grated
  • 2 large ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
  • 1 small red onion, sliced into very thin rings
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Optional: sliced jalapeños, a little crushed garlic in the butter, or a few slices of mozzarella for extra stretch

Kit

  • A hinged braai grid (a toeklaprooster), so you can flip the whole lot at once
  • A sharp knife and a board for cutting them in half

Method

  1. Plan it for the end of the braai. Once the meat is off and resting, the coals will have dropped to low heat, which is exactly what you want: you should manage the hand test for six to seven seconds at grid height. Too hot and you get black bread and cold cheese. Make sure the grid is clean, so nothing from the raw meat ends up on the bread.
  2. Butter one side of every slice of bread, right to the edges. Lay six slices butter side down on a board.
  3. Spread a little chutney on each of those six slices, then add half the cheese, a layer of tomato and a few onion rings. Season with salt and pepper, add the jalapeños if you like, then top with the rest of the cheese. Cheese on both sides is the glue that holds it together.
  4. Put the other six slices on top, butter side up, press down gently, and pack the sandwiches snugly into the hinged grid. Close it firmly.
  5. Braai over low coals for 8 to 12 minutes, turning the grid every minute or so, until both sides are deep golden and crisp and the cheese has melted and is oozing out the edges. If the bread is browning before the cheese melts, lift the grid higher or move it to the edge of the coals.
  6. Open the grid carefully, rest the broodjies for a minute on a clean board, then cut them in half and hand them round. The tomato inside will be scorching, so warn people before the first bite.

Food safety, the boring-but-vital bit

Use a clean grid and clean tongs, never ones that have touched raw meat. Melted cheese and tomato hold heat for a long time, so let the broodjies stand for a minute before serving, especially to children. If you make them indoors instead, use a frying pan over a low-to-medium heat for about 3 to 4 minutes a side. Get leftovers into the fridge within 2 hours, eat them within 2 days, and reheat only once, until piping hot.

Goes with: Whatever came off the braai before them (wors, chops, sosaties), a cold drink, and your phone open on the Bok Barometer so you can argue about the new caps.

Published 29 October 2026 as part of that week’s Jokes & Braai. Back to all the jokes and recipes. Temperatures follow UK Food Standards Agency guidance.

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