Block and Blade

Braai Chicken with House Spice

Chicken is the one most people overcook or undercook on the fire. The fix isn't a trick — it's heat control. Here's how we do it.

1. Mix the oil, spice, lemon juice and garlic into a marinade. Rub it into the chicken pieces and leave for at least 2 hours, or overnight in the fridge.
2. Set up your coals for two-zone heat — a hotter side and a cooler side. Chicken needs longer, gentler cooking than red meat, and two zones give you the control to manage that.
3. Start the chicken skin-side down over the cooler zone. This renders the fat slowly without burning the skin before the inside is cooked.
4. Turn every 5–6 minutes, moving pieces briefly to the hotter zone to build colour, then back to the cooler side to keep cooking through.
5. After about 30 minutes, check the thickest piece — juices should run clear with no pink near the bone. If in doubt, give it a few more minutes on the cool side rather than blasting it on the hot side.
6. Rest for 5 minutes before serving so the juices settle back into the meat.