Master tips for potjie perfection

If you want to start with a traditional potjie, these are the rules to live by

Preheat your potjie. Keep control of the temperature by removing the potjie from the coals when you add new layers of ingredients. Keep it simmering – a rolling boil will make meat tough.

Layer up. Start with the meat – I recommend marinating it in spices and oil so you can just drop it into the hot potjie instead of frying the spices first. Then add ingredients according to cooking time. The longer the required cooking time, the earlier it goes in – dried beans, followed by root vegetables, then green veg, and finally herbs. A potjie should only ever be two-thirds full to allow room for the steam.

Cut vegetables into large

chunks. You don’t want them to disintegrate. If you want to add soft green veggies like beans or mushrooms, add them as close to the end of cooking as possible. Frozen peas can be stirred in once the potjie is removed from the heat.

Resist the urge to stir. Consider investing in a gadget called the Potjie Percolator, available from specialist outdoor and camping stores. It helps distribute liquid evenly, cooks your potjie faster and rules out stirring. If you want to reduce your sauce, take the lid off for a bit right at the end. Then, you can stir.