“For meat and flame enthusiasts,” reads the slogan of David Higgs’s restaurant Marble in Rosebank, Johannesburg. It perfectly describes what’s on offer, with its main aim being to reflect what South Africans love so much – cooking with fire. So who better to turn to for tips on braaiing steak than the chef himself?
David says:
1. Choose the right piece of meat. Find a butcher that you trust, and someone who knows what you like. Choose something with a bit of marbling (tasty fat), and a bit of maturity – at least two weeks.
2.The second thing to note is the temperature of the fire that you’re cooking on. You want the coals hot enough to caramelise the outside of the meat and to give it a beautiful appearance.
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3. Make sure the meat is rested for at least 10 minutes before you eat it. Rest it on the side of the fire – not in an oven – at a lower heat.
4. Once it’s rested, eat it as soon as possible. The fire cooks meat at a very high temperature, and meat dehydrates and deteriorates quickly once cold, so make sure to tuck in as quickly as you can.
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