Recipes / Sides
Spiced butternut on the coals
Halved butternut stuffed with onion, garlic, rosemary and butter, wrapped in foil and buried in medium coals for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Prep
- 15 min
- On the fire
- 40 min
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
Method
Cooking on gas?
- A gas grill has no coals to pile on top, so the parcels cook from below with the lid closed.
- Set the burners to medium, 175 to 200°C (350 to 400°F). Lay the parcels seam-side up on the grates and close the lid.
- Cook for 20 minutes, turn them over and cook for 20 to 25 minutes more. Start testing at 40 minutes, as in the recipe.
- Build your fire and let it burn down to a solid bed of glowing coals with very few flames. You need medium coals: hold your hand 10 cm (4 inches) above the coal bed and you should have to pull it away after 5 to 6 seconds.
- Mix the salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cinnamon and cayenne together in a small bowl.
- Lay out six doubled foil sheets and brush the inner surface of each with a little butter from your portion.
- Place one butternut half cut-side up on each foil sheet. Trim the onion half slightly if it is too large to sit in the cavity, then set it in.
- Scatter one chopped garlic clove over each half, lay a rosemary sprig on top, and place one piece of butter on the onion. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over all six halves.
- Wrap each half tightly in its foil, folding the seam upward so the juices stay inside. Press out any gaps.
- Push some coals to one side to make a flat coal bed. Set the parcels seam-side up directly on the coals, then use tongs to pile more hot coals around and on top of them.
- Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, then use tongs to turn each parcel over once. Continue cooking for another 15 to 20 minutes.
- After 30 minutes total, open one parcel carefully, pointing the seam away from your face to let the steam escape. Push a thin skewer or knife tip into the thickest part of the flesh.
- If there is any resistance, reseal the parcel and return it to the coals for another 5 to 10 minutes, then test again.
- Once done, move all parcels to a cooler zone away from the coals. Open them at the table or transfer the flesh and juices to a platter, spooning the buttery onion and garlic liquid over the top.
Done when: a skewer or knife tip slides through the thickest part of the flesh with no resistance and the onion is completely soft. The centre should be steaming hot throughout.
Tips
- Double the foil. A single thin layer can puncture on sharp coals and the juices will burn away.
- Do not cook over tall flames. The foil scorches on the outside before the butternut cooks through.
- Butternuts vary in size. Always test the thickest section rather than relying on time alone.
- If your butternuts are large or came straight from a cold fridge, allow up to 50 minutes total.
- Trim the onion so it fits inside the cavity without forcing the foil open at the top.
- Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in foil on low coals or in a 180°C (350°F) oven for 15 minutes.
Coal-baking is one of the oldest fire-cooking methods, and butternut suits it well. The dense, sweet flesh softens slowly in the sealed parcel while it absorbs the butter, garlic and herb juices around it. South African braai cooks have long used this technique as a low-effort side that goes onto the coals while the main meat cooks.
The method works alongside almost any braai. While your lamb chops or boerewors are on the grid, the parcels sit in the coals and look after themselves. See reading your coals if you are unsure whether your fire is at the right stage.