Skottel
The skottel is the gas-fired pan that comes out for breakfast at the campsite, a quick lunch, or a paella for a crowd. These recipes say which flame to use and how to tell when the food is done.
3 skottel recipes
Skottel know-how
Skottel
Skottel beef stir-fry
Thin beef strips seared in batches on a high flame, tossed with peppers, broccoli and carrot in a soy, ginger and garlic sauce, with noodles.
Skottel
Skottel breakfast
Bacon, boerewors, mushrooms, tomato and eggs fried in onion rings, all in one skottel, cooked in order so everything is ready together.
Skottel
Skottel paella
Chicken, boerewors and seafood paella for a crowd, cooked in a skottel or paella pan on gas with smoked paprika, saffron and short-grain rice.
New skottel recipes are added every week.
Also good on a skottel
Braai recipes that work just as well in the pan. Each one has an "On a skottel?" note above the method.
Meat
Frikkadels (heritage recipe)
Old Cape frikkadels of lamb mince, milk-soaked bread and nutmeg, shaped into flat patties and cooked on the braai, adapted from an 1891 Cape cookbook.
Fish
Braaied calamari with lemon and chilli
Scored calamari tubes marinated in olive oil, lemon zest, garlic and chilli, cooked for two minutes over very hot coals and served with a fresh tomato sambal.
Sides
Mieliepoffers (sweetcorn fritters)
Small golden fritters of creamed sweetcorn, egg and flour, fried in a pan on the braai. Serve them savoury with chilli and coriander, or sweet with cinnamon sugar.
Dessert
Pampoenkoekies (pumpkin fritters, heritage recipe)
Soft pumpkin fritters fried in a pan over the coals and rolled in cinnamon sugar, adapted from an 1891 Cape cookbook.
Fish
Garlic butter prawns on the braai
Shell-on prawns split down the back, basted with garlic, lemon and parsley butter and cooked fast over hot coals in a hinged grid.
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.
Cooking on a skottel
- Set it up outside, on level ground. Keep the gas bottle upright and test new connections with soapy water before you light it.
- Preheat for 5 to 10 minutes. A few drops of water should sizzle away at once before any food goes in.
- Use the slope. The centre is the hottest part, for searing. The rim is cooler, for keeping cooked food warm and softening onions.
- Do not crowd the pan. Cook meat in batches so it browns instead of stewing in its juices.
- Cook to a safe temperature. Poultry 74°C (165°F), sausages and mince 71°C (160°F), whole cuts of beef, lamb and pork 63°C (145°F) with a rest, fish and prawns 63°C (145°F).
- Turn off at the bottle first. Let the flame burn out, then close the burner tap. Clean the pan while it is still warm.
Skottel guides
- Skottel basics: choosing and seasoning one: What a skottel is, which size and surface to buy, how to season a bare steel pan, and what to do before the first cook.
- Skottel heat control and gas safety: How to preheat a skottel, which flame to use for what, how to use the hot centre and cool rim, and the gas bottle checks to make every time.
- Cleaning and caring for a skottel: How to clean a skottel while it is warm, what to do differently for enamel and bare steel, how to remove rust, and how to store the pan and gas.
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