The Ultimate Braai pie

Here in South Africa we love to braai. You might know it as BBQ. The procedure is pretty much the same. As long as you cook your meat on an open flame on top of a grill… However, the side dishes are just as important as the “braai-ed” meat. So why not try your hand at the ultimate braai pie.
(directly translate: BBQ pie)

The flaky dough with a super tasty filling makes this dish so special. Our favorite is definitely a mixture of bacon, BBQ chicken and loads of cheese. Delicious 😋
But the beauty of this pie, is that you can fill it with pretty much any thing that you like.

Tips & Tricks for Ultimate Braai pie

There are a few tricks worth knowing when making the perfect braai pie, and the best kept secret is definitely the use of spinach. The layer of spinach ensures that the pastry does not go soggy. So it is best not to skip this step.

Also, making it the fist time, you might be tempted to over fill the pie. But don’t. You would want to avoid the grill cutting into the pie when you close it.

Another very important step is to make sure you grease the braai grid very good. I use spray and cook but I am sure any non stick spray for cooking will work even some olive oil will do the trick.

Make sure that your puff pastry is thawed thoroughly. Taking it out of the freezer the night before works well. It is not recommended to thaw the dough in your microwave as this will soften the dough and make it soggy.

Also make sure that after you have washed the spinach leaves that you dry them off completely. The less moisture you have around the dough the better.

The Ultimate Braai pie recipe

Ingredients

2 Rolls puff pastry, thawed
1 Bunch spinach, washed (Large leaves, do not chop)
1 Cooked & flavored chicken breast, shredded (BBQ flavor works well)
250g Cooked bacon bits
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon of crushed garlic
2 Large Handfuls of grated cheddar cheese
Spicy mayo sauce( Or any sauce you like)

Directions

Fry the onion , bacon and garlic in a little olive oil until the bacon is cooked. Now add the cooked chicken and mix. Set the filling aside.

Grease the braai/BBQ grid well and set on a tabletop. Now carefully roll the first roll of puff pastry out on top of the grill. There is no need to roll it out thinner, use the dough as it comes out of the packaging.

Place half of the spinach on top of the rolled out puff pastry. Make sure to leave around 2-3 cm (or 1 inch) around the sides of the dough open. This will help you seal the pie later.

Now add a hand full of cheese evenly covering the spinach. Add the prepared filling on top of the cheese followed by some spicy mayo sauce (or any sauce you like) add just enough for flavoring. You do not want the pie to saucy. Cover with the remainder of the cheese followed by spinach leaves.

Carefully unroll the last puff pastry roll and place on top of the pie fillings. Press the open sides of the dough together. Slightly roll the sides up and press it down with a fork. This is to seal the pie so that the filling does not ooze out when you are cooking it. (The same method that you will use when you make pies)

Close the braai/BBQ grid, make sure not to pinch the pie too much, you would want to avoid the dough being cut.

Cook the pie over open fire. Make sure to constantly turn the pie until golden brown. Rather turn the pie to much than to little. The pie is done when it has become golden brown and no raw dough is visible any more.