On the braai crayfish

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Step up your braai game this Heritage Month … with crayfish

The meat grills beautifully, and its natural richness just gets better when drenched in a wine-infused, buttery Beurre Blanc sauce. A delicious warm-weather treat, particularly when paired with a glass of Fat bastard Chardonnay.

The wine. This is the granddaddy (or grandmammy, if you prefer) of all Fat bastards. Inhale the scent of classic ripe, rich butter and tropical fruit, taste soft vanilla … it’s a voluptuous wine that’s fabulous to drink.

THE CRAYFISH BRAAI
Serves 8 (depending on size of crayfish tails)

You’ll need: 20 crayfish tails; melted butter, for brushing; 150ml Fat bastard Chardonnay; 60ml white wine vinegar; 1 Tbsp shallots, finely minced; 225g fridge-cold butter, cut into small cubes; salt and pepper, to taste

To serve: Fresh green salad and lemon wedges

To make: Prepare your braai.

For the sauce: Bring the Fat bastard Chardonnay, white wine vinegar and shallots to the boil. Reduce until you have about two tablespoons of liquid remaining. Then turn the heat down as low as it can go, and add the cold butter two to three little pieces at a time, whisking constantly.

Continue to add the butter, whisking with each addition until the sauce is thick, smooth and glossy. Season to taste, then strain into a bowl and keep in a warm place or in a dish with warm, not hot, water (heating the sauce too much will cause it to split).

For the crayfish: Cut the crayfish tails in half. Clean, remove the veins, rinse well and pat dry with paper towel.

Brush the melted butter evenly over the crayfish halves and braai them flesh side down for about two minutes and then flip and finish cooking for another one to two minutes.

Remove crayfish from the braai and plate family style on a platter.

Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with the Chardonnay Beurre Blanc – serve the rest on the side for dipping.

Squeeze over some fresh lemon juice and plate alongside a big green salad.

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