Budget Braai Secrets: Tastes Like a Million Bucks
Travel Trails Tastes
18,370 views
I'm proving you can serve a full three-course South African braai feast for four people — starter, mains, sides, AND dessert — and not spend more than R250.
We're doing cocktail cheese grillers to kick things off, juicy pork loin chops with amazing crackling and boerewors over the coals, a curry pasta salad, cheese and onion baguette and a banana, tennis biscuit, and vanilla fridge tart to finish.
This is how you braai like a king on a budget.
🧀 STARTER: Cocktail Cheese Grillers with Honey Mustard Dip
Ingredients:
14 cocktail cheese grillers (cheese-filled sausages)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
1 tsp mayonnaise
Method:
Braai the cheese grillers over medium heat
For the dip: mix tbsp Dijon honey mustard and 1 tbsp mayo together.
Skewer 4 grillers per stick for presentation.
🥩 MAIN: Pork Loin Chops with Crackling & Smoky Marinade
Ingredients:
4 pork loin chops
Coarse salt (for the skin)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp garlic powder
Black pepper & salt
Smoky braai spice
Juice of ¼ lemon
Method — Prepping the Crackling:
Score the skin lightly in a crosshatch pattern. Then make deeper incisions through the fat only — NOT into the meat.
Rub coarse salt generously onto the skin side only. Place in the fridge for ±1 hour to draw out moisture.
Remove from fridge, let come to room temperature, then wipe ALL the salt off. The skin must be completely dry.
Method — Marinade:
4. Mix soy sauce, sugar, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, braai spice, and lemon juice.
5. Paint the marinade onto the FLESH side only.
Method — Braaing:
6. Place chops skin-side/fat-side down FIRST — you want the crackling to render and crisp.
7. Once the skin is crispy, flip and flash-braai the flesh side quickly, turning often.
8. Baste the flesh side one last time — still keeping the marinade off the crackling.
9. Braai for 5 minutes. Pork loin dries out fast.
10. Remove and REST for 5 minutes
🌭 MAIN: Karoo Boerewors
Ingredients:
Karoo boerewors (enough for 4)
Method:
Lay wors on the braai with space between each piece so heat reaches the sides.
Turn when coloured underneath.
Braai until the outside is crispy and deep golden, but the inside is still juicy.
Remove, cover loosely to rest while you finish the chops.
🍝 SIDE: Creamy Curry Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
½ bag (roughly 250g) Fusilli pasta (or macaroni, bowties — whatever you have)
3 tbsp Mrs Balls Peach Chutney
3 tbsp mayonnaise
3 tbsp All Gold Tomato Sauce
±1 tbsp Rajah's Mild Curry Powder
Salt & black pepper
½ red onion, finely chopped
½ green pepper, thinly sliced
Method:
Boil pasta in salted water until al dente. Strain.
While pasta is still warm, mix the sauce: chutney, mayo, tomato sauce, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Combine well.
Pour sauce over warm pasta and mix thoroughly.
Add chopped onion and green pepper. Mix again.
Refrigerate and serve COLD. Tastes even better the next day — make it ahead if you can.
🍞 SIDE: Cheese & Onion Braai Bread
Ingredients:
1 store-bought cheese & onion baguette
Method:
Place on the braai at the back (indirect heat — like an oven).
Remove when golden, crunchy, and heated through.
🍌 DESSERT: Banana, Tennis Biscuit & Caramel Fridge Tart
Ingredients:
1 packet caramel-flavoured instant pudding
450ml cold milk
1 banana (skin on for braaing)
±8–10 coconut Tennis biscuits
4 small serving glasses
Method:
Whisk instant pudding with 450ml cold milk for ±2 minutes until thick and set. Refrigerate.
Place the whole banana (skin on) onto the braai. Let the skin go completely black — the inside will be gooey and soft. Remove and slice.
Crush the Tennis biscuits into a rough crumble.
Layer in glasses: crushed biscuits → caramel pudding → sliced gooey banana → repeat. Finish with biscuits on top.
Serve immediately or keep chilled.
Chapters:
00:00 — The Budget Braai Challenge
01:32 — How to achieve pork crackling
05:58 — How to Make Curry Pasta Salad
14:38 — Cocktail Cheese Grillers (Starter)
19:06 — Boerewors Over Coals
20:09 — Pork Loin Chops: Marinade & Fire
25:23 — Banana & Tennis Biscuit Fridge Tart
27:10 — The Full Spread Reveal
28:24 — Taste Test & Cheers
Hashtags:
#Braai #BudgetBraai #SouthAfricanBraai #PorkLoinChops #Boerewors #FireCooking #BraaiOnABudget
If you like this type of thing, please subscribe and follow the channel. Cheers to the next one. 🔔 Subscribe: @traveltrailstastes
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🔥 More Fire-Cooked South African Classics:
👉 The BEST Snoek Braai: The BEST Snoek Braai Recipe | I Also Tried...
👉 Cape Malay Bobotie Over Fire: Cape Malay Bobotie | How I Made South Afri... ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
20 Comments
Budget Braai Secrets: Tastes Like a Million Bucks
Travel Trails Tastes
18,370 views
I'm proving you can serve a full three-course South African braai feast for four people — starter, mains, sides, AND dessert — and not spend more than R250.
We're doing cocktail cheese grillers to kick things off, juicy pork loin chops with amazing crackling and boerewors over the coals, a curry pasta salad, cheese and onion baguette and a banana, tennis biscuit, and vanilla fridge tart to finish.
This is how you braai like a king on a budget.
🧀 STARTER: Cocktail Cheese Grillers with Honey Mustard Dip
Ingredients:
14 cocktail cheese grillers (cheese-filled sausages)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
1 tsp mayonnaise
Method:
Braai the cheese grillers over medium heat
For the dip: mix tbsp Dijon honey mustard and 1 tbsp mayo together.
Skewer 4 grillers per stick for presentation.
🥩 MAIN: Pork Loin Chops with Crackling & Smoky Marinade
Ingredients:
4 pork loin chops
Coarse salt (for the skin)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp garlic powder
Black pepper & salt
Smoky braai spice
Juice of ¼ lemon
Method — Prepping the Crackling:
Score the skin lightly in a crosshatch pattern. Then make deeper incisions through the fat only — NOT into the meat.
Rub coarse salt generously onto the skin side only. Place in the fridge for ±1 hour to draw out moisture.
Remove from fridge, let come to room temperature, then wipe ALL the salt off. The skin must be completely dry.
Method — Marinade:
4. Mix soy sauce, sugar, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, braai spice, and lemon juice.
5. Paint the marinade onto the FLESH side only.
Method — Braaing:
6. Place chops skin-side/fat-side down FIRST — you want the crackling to render and crisp.
7. Once the skin is crispy, flip and flash-braai the flesh side quickly, turning often.
8. Baste the flesh side one last time — still keeping the marinade off the crackling.
9. Braai for 5 minutes. Pork loin dries out fast.
10. Remove and REST for 5 minutes
🌭 MAIN: Karoo Boerewors
Ingredients:
Karoo boerewors (enough for 4)
Method:
Lay wors on the braai with space between each piece so heat reaches the sides.
Turn when coloured underneath.
Braai until the outside is crispy and deep golden, but the inside is still juicy.
Remove, cover loosely to rest while you finish the chops.
🍝 SIDE: Creamy Curry Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
½ bag (roughly 250g) Fusilli pasta (or macaroni, bowties — whatever you have)
3 tbsp Mrs Balls Peach Chutney
3 tbsp mayonnaise
3 tbsp All Gold Tomato Sauce
±1 tbsp Rajah's Mild Curry Powder
Salt & black pepper
½ red onion, finely chopped
½ green pepper, thinly sliced
Method:
Boil pasta in salted water until al dente. Strain.
While pasta is still warm, mix the sauce: chutney, mayo, tomato sauce, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Combine well.
Pour sauce over warm pasta and mix thoroughly.
Add chopped onion and green pepper. Mix again.
Refrigerate and serve COLD. Tastes even better the next day — make it ahead if you can.
🍞 SIDE: Cheese & Onion Braai Bread
Ingredients:
1 store-bought cheese & onion baguette
Method:
Place on the braai at the back (indirect heat — like an oven).
Remove when golden, crunchy, and heated through.
🍌 DESSERT: Banana, Tennis Biscuit & Caramel Fridge Tart
Ingredients:
1 packet caramel-flavoured instant pudding
450ml cold milk
1 banana (skin on for braaing)
±8–10 coconut Tennis biscuits
4 small serving glasses
Method:
Whisk instant pudding with 450ml cold milk for ±2 minutes until thick and set. Refrigerate.
Place the whole banana (skin on) onto the braai. Let the skin go completely black — the inside will be gooey and soft. Remove and slice.
Crush the Tennis biscuits into a rough crumble.
Layer in glasses: crushed biscuits → caramel pudding → sliced gooey banana → repeat. Finish with biscuits on top.
Serve immediately or keep chilled.
Chapters:
00:00 — The Budget Braai Challenge
01:32 — How to achieve pork crackling
05:58 — How to Make Curry Pasta Salad
14:38 — Cocktail Cheese Grillers (Starter)
19:06 — Boerewors Over Coals
20:09 — Pork Loin Chops: Marinade & Fire
25:23 — Banana & Tennis Biscuit Fridge Tart
27:10 — The Full Spread Reveal
28:24 — Taste Test & Cheers
Hashtags:
#Braai #BudgetBraai #SouthAfricanBraai #PorkLoinChops #Boerewors #FireCooking #BraaiOnABudget
If you like this type of thing, please subscribe and follow the channel. Cheers to the next one. 🔔 Subscribe: @traveltrailstastes
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🔥 More Fire-Cooked South African Classics:
👉 The BEST Snoek Braai: The BEST Snoek Braai Recipe | I Also Tried...
👉 Cape Malay Bobotie Over Fire: Cape Malay Bobotie | How I Made South Afri... ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━