24 September, every year
National Braai Day
On South Africa's Heritage Day the whole country lights a fire. Here is everything you need to join in, wherever you live.
Next Braai Day: Friday 24 September 2027
What is National Braai Day?
24 September is Heritage Day, a public holiday in South Africa that celebrates the country's many cultures. Since 2005 it has also been known as National Braai Day, after a campaign that asked South Africans of every background to mark the day the same way: around a fire. Archbishop Desmond Tutu became its patron in 2007, pointing out that every one of the country's languages uses the same word, braai.
Most people spend the day at a braai with family and friends, often cooking the classics: boerewors, lamb chops, pap and a potjie. Not everyone loves the idea of a heritage day turned into a braai day, and the debate is part of the story. Read the full history of Heritage Day and Braai Day.
Braai Day classics
All recipes
Meat
Boerewors rolls with tomato smoor
A coil of boerewors cooked slowly over medium coals, served in rolls with a soft tomato and onion relish.
Meat
Karoo-style lamb chops
Thick lamb loin chops with salt, coriander and lemon, cooked fast over hot coals with the fat crisped first.
Chicken
Chicken sosaties with apricot and curry
Skewers of chicken thigh, dried apricot and onion in a sweet, mild Cape curry marinade.
Meat
Sticky braai lamb ribs (lamb ribbetjies)
Fatty lamb ribs cooked soft in the oven first, then finished over medium coals with a dark chutney glaze until the fat crisps.
Potjie
Lamb potjie (lamb knuckle and vegetable)
Lamb knuckles browned and simmered for hours with coriander, cumin, tomato and red wine under a layer of potatoes and carrots.
Meat
Skilpadjies (lamb liver in caul fat)
Small parcels of spiced lamb liver wrapped in caul fat and braaied in a hinged grid until the outside is crisp and the centre just pink.
Sides
Stywe pap with chakalaka
Firm maize porridge with a spicy relish of onion, peppers, carrot and beans. The side dish for any braai.
Sides
Braaied mielies with flavoured butters
Sweetcorn cobs cooked in foil over medium coals, then charred on the grid and finished with curry, chakalaka, herb or lime-chilli butter.
Bread
Braaibroodjies
Grilled sandwiches of cheese, tomato, onion and chutney, toasted slowly over the last of the coals.
Dessert
Malva pudding (oven or kettle braai)
A light apricot-jam sponge baked in the oven or a closed kettle braai, then soaked while hot with a butter and cream sauce.
Celebrating outside South Africa
Braai Day works anywhere you can light a fire. The hard part is usually boerewors. Look for a South African butcher or an online shop that ships it frozen, or make your own with our homemade boerewors recipe. Chutney, Aromat and maize meal all have close supermarket substitutes, listed in finding South African ingredients in the US.
In the US, 24 September usually falls on a working day, so plenty of expats braai on the weekend before or after instead. If it is your first time at the fire, start with your first braai, step by step.
Braai Day dates
| Year | Day | South African public holiday |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | Friday 24 September | Friday 24 September |
| 2028 | Sunday 24 September | Monday 25 September (24 September is a Sunday) |
| 2029 | Monday 24 September | Monday 24 September |
| 2030 | Tuesday 24 September | Tuesday 24 September |
| 2031 | Wednesday 24 September | Wednesday 24 September |
When a public holiday falls on a Sunday in South Africa, the Monday after it is a holiday instead.
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