South African steak sandwich

When you think of Jord Althuizen, you think of barbecue. In South Africa, he learned everything about braai, a local variation of barbecue that lets you grill, roast, bake and braai over a wood fire. In the third part of his barbecue bible, Smokey Goodness 3, he explains how to achieve this at home. Like in this ultimate South African steak sandwich. 

Jord says: ”In the Netherlands, we have toasted sandwiches in the most delicious flavors, but they will never ever beat South African braaibroodjies. Why not? For fire-addicted BBQ fanatics, a sandwich maker with a plug can never compare to a rustic sandwich cooked over glowing coals. Besides, you can pile a braaibroodjie really high: a sandwich maker would choke on it. In this version, we generously top the bread with thinly sliced picanha steak and lightly smoky scamorza, a cheese I absolutely adore. The grape jelly is a culinary nod to the fantastic pairing of steak and red wine, and rounds everything off deliciously and makes it wonderfully succulent.”

Method

Prepare a BBQ for indirect grilling and heat it to 130°C . Arrange the smoking wood chunks among the glowing coals. Score the fat layer of the picanha crosswise and sprinkle the meat evenly with the coffee rub. Cook the picanha for 30–40 minutes, until it reaches an internal temperature of 54°C . Let the meat cool and slice it as thinly as possible.

Set up your BBQ for direct grilling, place a cast-iron grate on it and heat the BBQ to 180°C. Spread butter on one side of the bread slices; when making the braaibroodjies, this buttered side will be on the outside (giving you a beautiful brown crust). Set aside four slices of bread and layer half of the scamorza, the red onion, arugula, picanha steak and the remaining scamorza on top, in that order. Cover with the remaining four slices of bread (with the buttered side facing out). Tie the braaibroodjies together with kitchen twine and grill them until crisp and the cheese has melted. Serve with the grape jelly.

Title: Smokey Goodness
Author: Jord Althuizen
Publisher: Kosmos Uitgevers