Braai (which rhymes with "dry") is an abbreviation of braaivleis, an Afrikaans word translated as "meat grill". More than simply the process of cooking over an outdoor fire, however, a braai is a cultural event arguably even more central to the South African identity than barbecues are to Australians. Despite its identification as part of quintessential white South Africa, braais are now popular across the races, and at any national park, nature reserve or resort you'll never be far from the distinctive odor of gently sizzling meat.

A braai is an intensely social event, usually amongst family and friends and accompanied by gallons of beer. It's also probably the only occasion you'll catch an unreconstructed white South African man cooking. You can braai anything, but a traditional barbecue meal consists of huge slabs of steak, lamb cutlets and boerewors ("farmer's sausage"), a deliciously spicy South African  specialty. Potatoes and onions wrapped in aluminium foil and placed in the embers are a usual accompaniment. The real skill comes in knowing when the coals are hot enough to cook the meat and in concocting the marinades and sauces - in fact, discussion on the topic vies with rugby as the subject of the most intense conversation around a braai.

A variant on the braai is potjiekos - pronounced "poy-key-kos" - (pot food), in which the food is cooked, preferably outdoor over an open fire, in a three-legged cast-iron cauldron the potjie ). In a similar vein, but cooked indoors is boerekos, (literally "farmer's food"), a style of cooking enjoyed mainly by Afrikaners.