7 Commandments for Safe Braai Meals

An outdoor braai with its sizzling steaks, sausages and bright and colourful salads (and alcohol) is synonymous with summer. As a focus for gatherings with family and friends, it’s a delight to the senses to hear, watch and smell what’s cooking, and to contribute to the meal with one’s own specially prepared dishes.

In the not-too-distant past, especially when the men invariably wielded the tongs, a braai often meant a flaming, smoky incineration of meat, perhaps stemming from the belief that meat had to be cooked right through to make it safe. 

While this is true for chicken and minced meat products such as hamburger patties and sausages, it’s not necessary with steak. 

"A lot of older blokes  still think they should overcook steak," says food safety expert Lydia Buchtmann. "But you only really need to sear it on the outside, and cook it on the inside to your taste."

The latest nutrition research has identified several new approaches to cooking on a braai. This follows on from evidence that has started to build in the last few years linking blackening or charring food with health risks.  

Here, then, are seven new essentials for creating safe, delicious and nutritious outdoor meals.

• Marinate your meat before grilling. "This will reduce the likelihood of burning, and also keep meat tender and add flavour," says Buchtmann. Studies, mainly in animals, link a higher risk of cancer with consumption of blackened or charred meat. Scientific trials in Hawaii have shown teriyaki sauce or turmeric-garlic sauce can reduce the risks of dangerous chemicals forming in red meat (though honey braai sauce may increase them).

• Precook the meat in a microwave oven for two minutes and drain off the liquid before braaing. Meats which are partially cooked in the microwave first cook with lower levels of unhealthy compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs). Be careful not to microwave meat for too long, though, or it will become tough.

• Use thinner slices of meat – they cook quicker and with less heat. Trimming all visible fat, or using lean cuts, will help avoid flame-ups (and bad cholesterol).

• Braai at low temperatures and don’t let the meat sizzle too much. The lower the temperature and the shorter the cooking time, the less chance of any HCAs forming.

• Maintain the water content in food to stop damaging compounds forming. Try adding lemon juice or vinegar – these acidic liquids stop the development of dangerous by-products.

• Reduce the quantity of meat served by increasing vegetables and fruit, fresh, crisp salads and breads. "Braai-cooking has been very focused on meat," says dietitian Dr Trent Watson. "Get the balance right: marinate vegetables such as onions, zucchini, eggplant, capsicum and mushrooms, then braai them. Half your dinner plate should be vegies and salads, a quarter should be meat, and the other quarter a carbohydrate like a potato, piece of bread or pasta salad. Antioxidants and fibre are just as important as not charring the meat, if not more so."

• Include lots of seafood – it cooks quickly and it’s nutritious, versatile and tastes great.