Cooking in foil on the braai
How to wrap foil parcels that do not leak or burn, which foods suit them, where to put them on the fire, and how long common parcels take.
Foil turns the braai into a small oven. A sealed parcel steams food in its own juices while the coals do the work, and it frees you to watch the meat. This guide covers how to wrap a parcel properly, where to put it on the fire, and rough times for the common braai sides and puddings.
Use the right foil
Use heavy-duty foil, or two layers of ordinary foil. Thin foil tears when you turn the parcel with tongs and burns through where it touches a coal. Put the shiny or dull side wherever you like. The difference in heat is too small to matter.
Acid and salt react with foil over long cooking. Tomato, lemon, vinegar and heavily salted food can pit the foil and leave a metallic taste. For acidic food, line the foil with a sheet of baking paper first.
How to wrap a parcel
- Tear a sheet about twice as long as the food.
- Put the food in the middle, with butter or oil underneath so it does not stick.
- Bring the two long edges together above the food and fold them down together in 1 cm (1/2 inch) folds until the seam sits just above the food.
- Fold each open end over itself two or three times and press tight.
- Leave a little air space inside. Steam needs room to move, and a tight parcel cooks unevenly.
For food you want to brown at the end, such as potatoes or garlic bread, open the top of the parcel for the last 5 to 10 minutes.
Where to put it
There are two ways to cook in foil.
- On the grid, over medium coals. This is the safest method for most food, because you can see and move the parcel.
- In the coals, nestled into grey, ashy coals at the edge of the fire. This suits dense food such as whole potatoes, sweet potatoes and butternut. Never bury a parcel in fresh, flaming coals. The outside chars before the middle warms through.
Turn grid parcels every 5 to 10 minutes and rotate them so no corner sits over the hottest coals the whole time. Use long tongs and gloves. Steam escaping from an opened parcel burns badly, so open it away from your face.
Times for common parcels
| Food | Where | Rough time |
|---|---|---|
| Parboiled baby potatoes | Grid, medium coals | 15 to 20 minutes |
| Whole raw potatoes | In grey coals | 45 to 60 minutes |
| Garlic bread | Grid, low to medium coals | 10 to 15 minutes |
| Butternut halves | Grid or grey coals | 40 to 60 minutes |
| Fish fillets with butter | Grid, medium coals | 10 to 15 minutes |
| Mushrooms | Grid, medium coals | 10 to 15 minutes |
| Bananas with chocolate | Grid or grey coals | 8 to 12 minutes |
Fish in foil is done when it flakes and reaches 63°C (145°F) in the thickest part. Check with a thermometer pushed through the foil, or open one parcel to look. Vegetables are done when a knife slides in without resistance.
Recipes that use foil
- Braaied baby potatoes start in a foil parcel and finish on the grid.
- Braai garlic bread in foil is the classic.
- Banana boats are wrapped and set at the edge of the fire.
- Chocolate orange cakes bake in their own peel inside foil.
When not to use foil
Do not wrap steak, chops or boerewors. Foil traps steam, and meat that should be browned and crisp comes out grey and boiled. Keep foil for food that should steam, and give the meat the open grid.