Braai wood vs charcoal: which for which cook

Decide by the braai you own

Your braai	Burn	Why
Built-in or open grid on the stoep	Wood	Room for a fire, flavour, and coals that hold for rounds
Weber kettle	Charcoal or briquettes	The lid and vents are built for it; wood smokes it out
Kamado, Big Green Egg, Monolith	Hardwood lump charcoal	Holds shape, answers the vents, outlasts the meat
Fire pit, boma	Wood — big pieces	It is a fire first and a braai second
Flat or complex, no open fires	Charcoal	All the heat, no flames
Pizza oven	Rooikrans or sekeldoring	Fast, fierce, gets the dome glowing
Smoker	Briquettes, wood for flavour	Steady temperature for hours

Wood: which bag for which cook

• Weeknight chops and wors — Rooikrans Bulk Bag, R80. The Cape’s braai wood: lights without fuss, hot, quick to coal. Or Wingerd Stompies XXL (R85) for the quickest, sweetest-smelling fire in the range.
• A crowd, meat in rounds — Kameeldoring ±18kg, R120. Dense, slow, a deep bed of coals that holds while the chops go on in rounds. One bag to braai on, whatever the head count.
• Steaks, boerewors, a whole chicken on the grid — Sekeldoring ±18kg, R120. Smaller pieces that catch sooner and burn fiercer.
• Local hardwood at a local price — Blackwattle ±20kg, R109. Denser than bloekom, hotter, proper cooking coals.
• Long, slow, fragrant — Mopane ±15kg, R105. The wood of the bushveld braai; a leg of lamb over indirect heat.
• Fire pit or boma — Namibian Hardwood Chunky ±18kg, R135. Extra-large pieces that burn slower and steadier.
• Potjie — Kindling / Potjie, R49, fed stick by stick.

Charcoal: which bag for which grill

• Kamado, premium grill, a big group — Restaurant Grade Lump Charcoal 10kg, R150. Hardwood lump, 50–150mm, no binders: lights fast, sears, holds its shape on the grate. The bag that survives the party.
• Kettle braai, one good braai — Namib Charcoal 5kg, R60. Namibian hardwood charcoal that lights quickly and cooks hot. The answer where an open wood fire is not an option.
• Whole chicken, snoek, brisket — Namib Briquettes 4kg, R60. Uniform, predictable, steady for a long cook.

Lump is hotter and faster and holds its shape; briquettes are steadier for longer. For a long, low cook, start with briquettes and add lump for the sear.

How much

Wood: one bag to braai on, whatever the head count. A second bag if you want a fire to sit around after. A bag of potjie kindling if there is a pot going alongside. Charcoal: a 5kg bag is one good kettle braai; a 10kg bag of lump sees a big group through the meat without rebuilding the fire. One firelighter box and one bag of kindling for every five bags of wood. The braai calculator puts a season’s worth in the cart in three taps.

Lighting it

Wood: a firelighter, a handful of pine kindling, three or four smaller pieces in a loose stack, then the big pieces once it is roaring. Kameeldoring takes a little patience at the start; give it hardwood kindling and ten minutes. Charcoal: a chimney starter over one firelighter, and the coals are grey-edged in fifteen minutes. No fluid, ever — it is in the food.

Questions people ask us

Is wood or charcoal better for a braai?

Wood on an open grid or a built-in braai, charcoal on a kettle, kamado or anywhere open flames are not an option. Wood gives the flavour and the fire to sit around; charcoal gives control and speed. Many people run both — wood for the fire, a chimney of lump charcoal to top up the coals for the last round.

How many bags of wood do I need for a braai?

One bag of kameeldoring to braai on, whatever the head count — a ±18kg bag gives a full grid of coals with some to spare. Add a second bag if you want a fire to sit around once the food is off. Rooikrans and blackwattle work the same way, bag for bag.

Lump charcoal or briquettes?

Lump is hotter and faster and holds its shape; briquettes are steadier for longer. Sear steaks over lump. Roast a chicken, do snoek or a long brisket on briquettes. The house tip: briquettes for the base, lump for the sear.

Which wood for a potjie?

Kindling / Potjie — Namibian hardwood cut small, so you feed the fire under the pot stick by stick and hold a gentle simmer for three hours without the spikes a big log gives. One bag alongside the braai wood.

Is your wood actually dry?

Yes, and we stake 25 years on it. Our bagged wood is seasoned and stored under cover, so it lights properly and burns hot instead of hissing at you. If a bag ever disappoints, tell us and we’ll make it right — that is the Dry Guarantee. Read the Dry Guarantee.

Pick the bag, we bring it

Order online and the bags are carried in and stacked where you want them, or WhatsApp us and we will say what we would put on the truck.

See prices · Delivery from R200 WhatsApp an order — 060 978 8945