---
title: "Five beefy recipes for the coals this weekend"
description: "Beef is versatile and is not only about steaks. We’ve trawled through years of braai recipes to find some of your Food Editor’s favourites. Here’s his beefy take on braaied meat."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "BRAAI DAY"
author: "Tony Jackman"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/tonyjackman/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-09-23-five-beefy-recipes-for-the-coals-this-weekend/"
published: "2026-09-23T10:03:58"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 317
---

# Five beefy recipes for the coals this weekend

> Beef is versatile and is not only about steaks. We’ve trawled through years of braai recipes to find some of your Food Editor’s favourites. Here’s his beefy take on braaied meat.

By Tony Jackman · Published 23 September 2026, 12:03 SAST

## Key points
- Five beef-forward braai ideas from our Food Editor — not just steaks: rosemary, Asian, Portuguese and Karoo flavours for your coals this weekend.
- Rosemary beef fillet: a lockdown favourite — whole fillet cooked on rosemary cuttings for smoky, herb-forward flavour.
- Braaied rump with an Asian twist: rump topped with a foil-braaied brown mushroom and zesty relish — try reverse-searing for foolproof results.
- Two espetada takes: the traditional bay-branch method, and a Madeiran-inspired version using nagmaalwyn for a distinct Karoo twist.

## Content

Rosemary is a cert when you’re deciding how to flavour beef. But this meat goes with Asian flavours too. We also bring you two ways with beef espetada on the coals, and a juicy rump tail basted with orange, ginger, rosemary and garlic.

### Rosemary beef fillet on the braai

This recipe for a [whole beef fillet](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-10-26-lockdown-recipe-of-the-day-rosemary-beef-fillet-on-the-braai/) cooked with lots of rosemary on the coals was first published during lockdown in 2020. It’s a TGIFood veteran.

This is the perfect recipe for those of you who have a sizeable rosemary bush in your garden. Give it a prune, and use the cuttings over the coals.

### Braaied rump steak with an Asian touch

This recipe brings a tang of fresh Asian flavours to the braai. A [rump steak](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-03-07-whats-cooking-today-braaied-rump-steak-with-an-asian-touch/) is topped with a big brown mushroom that has been braaied in foil, and finished with an equally zesty relish.

### Beef espetada on the braai

You may know espetada from your Portuguese restaurant where they’ll be suspended dramatically from metal skewers in the modern version of presenting them. But traditionally they’re cooked on slim bay branches — like [this recipe](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-09-17-whats-cooking-today-beef-espetada-on-the-braai/) is.

### Beef espetada with nagmaalwyn

Here’s [another way with beef espetada](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-01-11-whats-cooking-today-beef-espetada-with-nagmaalwyn/). Madeira, by which I mean the fortified wine from the islands of that name in the North Atlantic, is sometimes used in marinades for the Madeiran speciality of beef espetada. Back in 2022, I gave it a Karoo twist by substituting nagmaalwyn, which is readily available at most liquor stores on the fortified wine shelves.

### Steak seared in reverse gear

The striving to cook a perfect steak is easier and more assured of victory when you do it back to front. This method, called [reverse searing](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-02-25-steak-seared-in-reverse-gear/), was shared with me years ago by my cookbook author friend Gordon Wright. The story I wrote about reverse searing was written in the middle of our time in the Karoo. **DM**