The Best Meat To Braai This Heritage Day

Heritage Day is a public holiday that South Africans count down the days to. Many other countries debate about how to mark a national day, but we settled ours decades ago. We light a fire, throw on some good meat and invite everyone. It's the only holiday with its own nickname that everyone uses instead of the official one.

If you're planning this year's fire: boerewors and lamb chops carry the day, chicken feeds the crowd, sosaties keep it interesting and if you're anywhere near the Cape, snoek is non-negotiable. Here's how to get all of it right, plus how much to actually buy so nobody's fighting over the last chop.

Location: Room Key Church Haven

Why is Heritage Day called Braai Day?

In 2005, food writer Jan Braai launched a campaign to rebrand 24 September as National Braai Day. A unifying tradition every South African, regardless of background, could get behind. It stuck enough that most people now say "Braai Day" before they say "Heritage Day." 

Heritage Day is a day where we celebrate the diversity of our rainbow nation. That diversity matters around the dining table too. Heritage Day is bigger than one dish. It's braai in some homes, potjie in others, bunny chow, umngqusho, biltong and bobotie and plenty more. This guide sticks to the fire, because that's what we live for. But if your Heritage Day table has more on it than meat, that's the whole point of the day.

Jan Braai pictured above

What to Braai on Heritage Day

Order of operations: the boerewors and chops go on first. These take the longest and forgive you if you're mid-conversation. Chicken goes on once the coals have settled into a steady medium heat, since it needs time more than intensity. Sosaties and snoek go on last, closest to serving time, because both can give you some issues fast if you walk away.

Meat from Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants

With a full grid feeding a Heritage Day crowd, your tools matter more than you'd think. After all, you don't want to keep burning your hands at every flip. This is exactly why you need the Donkey Long Tong 80cm. It's literally made for big fires and big braais. And then you also obviously need the Donkey Tong 69cm to flip your meat. What is a braai without some good tongs?

For recipes and technique on chicken and snoek braais specifically, we've already done some deep dives: How to Braai Chicken Like a Pro and How to Braai Snoek. They're worth a read as you prep for the biggest braai day of the year.

Get the fire right before the meat goes anywhere near it

To make sure your braai is perfect for the coming public holiday on 24 September, we suggest catching up on some reading. Specifically, our blogs on how to make a fire. For a fire-building method, check out: How to Make a Braai Fire the Right Way. Still deciding on wood? The Best Braai Wood in South Africa will steer you right. 

Whoever's manning the fire deserves proper tools

If you're hosting, or if you know exactly who's going to be standing over those coals for the next three hours, a decent pair of tongs is the difference between a relaxed braai and someone with singed knuckles. A few options if you're buying for (or as) this year's braai master:

We've also put together a full Heritage Day Gift Guide if you want more options, or browse the full range if you already know what you're after.

Light from Litehouse

Final Thoughts

No matter what you're braai'ing this Heritage Day, we're just glad that everyone will be gathering around the fire. To us, getting together, telling stories and celebrating our beautifully diverse heritage is what it's all about. And what represents that better than a lekker braai?

Light from Litehouse

Frequently Asked Questions