A Favourite – The Southern African Bredie

One of my favorite South African dishes. Tell me what you think?

Bredies are simply mutton cooked long and slowly with fruit or vegetables and flavorings so that the result is neither meat nor vegetable but a delectable mingling of flavor. In short " a new flavor, a new taste experience.

We are dealing with bredies, for centuries, a unique South African culinary creation. The most well-known bredies are undoubtedly tomato bredie and green bean bredie, both originated in South African.

The cooking!
The moment of truth has finally arrived " judging whether the “bredie” is cooked. If you cook it too long it’s like young women tired of flirting. If you cook it too quickly it’s like a precocious girl " of whom one quickly tires, but if you cook it just right, it’s like good woman " a blessing.
An old-fashioned South African bredie is usually cooked for 2 -3 hours. You can cook for longer at a lower temperature in a slow cooker. The slower you cook it the better it will taste.  Two or three day’s maybe?

It almost like a soup, the first time you eat it, it’s delicious but then you place the left overs in the freezer and about a month later you cook it again. This time it’s just so much better!
If you have put tomatoes in the bredie it may ferment and you will be left with sour bredie.

Below is a recipe for South African Green Bean Bredie.

2 kg mutton
25 " 50 gr tendered sheep tail fat
10 ml (2t) ground ginger
5ml (1t) ground cloves
10 ml (2t) freshly ground pepper
3 allspice berries
1 stick cinnamon
6 plumb garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with:
10 ml (2t) salt
3 large onions, halved lengthways peeled and sliced
4 large potatoes, peeled, halved length ways and all then halved once across
Grated Nutmeg
1 -2 whole chillies
2- 4 bay leaves
1 ½ - 2 kg green beans, trimmed and sliced
15 ml (3t) dried savoury oregano or marjoram grated
Juice of 1 " 2 lemons

The method of cooking African Bredie

Fry the meat in fat or butter over moderate heat until it is brown.
Set meat apart. Pour off all excess fat.
Pour ½ cup water into pot to loosen all fried bits and return friend meat to the pot.
Sprinkle ginger, cloves, pepper, allspice cinnamon, garlic and salt over the meat and cover the pot.
All the onions and potatoes and grate a little nutmeg over.
Add the chillies and bay leaves.
If necessary add a little water too.
Cover and braise for 39 minutes. Add 1/3 of the green beans, cover and braise.
Stir thoroughly, check the pot add a little bit of water if its necessary.
Add remaining green beans, savoury and lemon juice.
Cover and simmer until cooked.
Remove chillies. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if its necessary.
Serve with rice.

This amazing South African recipe was brought to you by the guys from Saffa-Traders " South African food masters. The guys at Saffa trading sell many products online including the delectable Royco cook in Sauces with many flavors including the Tomato Bredie satay