Braai Season

Summer is finally here and it is time to invite friends to kuier around the braai. But before you light your charcoal, check out the rules and regulations that might apply to you.

The following rules are relevant if you live in a rental property:

Am I allowed to grill on the Balcony?

As a tenant you are generally allowed to grill on the balcony, terrace or in the garden.
There is no law prohibiting it. However, landlords can explicitly allow, restrict or prohibit grilling in your rental agreement.
They can also specify if you are allowed to use charcoal.

When am I not allowed to grill?

When it is stipulated in your rental agreement that you are not allowed to grill on your balcony or in the garden.
When the smoke from your fire or grill goes into the apartment or home of your neighbours. When this happens you are committing an administrative offence, and you can be fined for it.

These rules are governed by the German Tenants’ Association (DMB). Anyone who disregards these rules risks being warned or even given notice.
It can also result in the termination of your rental contract.

What can I do?

First of all, read your rental contract and make sure you know what the stipulations are.
You should always be considerate towards your neighbours,
Electric grills makes less smoke than a charcoal grill
If possible, work with aluminium trays.
Adhere to the applicable quiet periods (Ruhezeiten)

A case that went to court was in 2002 in the district of Essen. The tenant disregarded the rules and ignored warnings and had to move out as a result. (LG Essen, judgment of 07.02.2002, Az .: 10 S 438/01).
Another in Düsseldorf – “A barbecue party with a total of seven guests was organized in the garden of an apartment building. As a result, smoke penetrated through the windows of the neighbouring apartment. Their residents saw themselves on the one hand disturbed by the smoke, on the other hand by the additional noise level. The tenant, who was responsible for the grilling, was consequently fined (OLG Düsseldorf, judgment of 26.05.1995, ref .: 5 Ss (OWi) 149/95 – (OWi) 79/95 I).”

What else do I need to know?

If you are allowed to grill at your home, the smells and noise from a grill party should be tolerated by your neighbours to some extent. Take notice of the quiet periods and make sure to keep noise levels acceptable. These rules are governed by the local municipality

Wood and charcoal

Hard wood that produces a lot of embers with little smoke is the best to grill with. This includes:

Beech (Buche) and Birch(Birke) wood are suitable for meat and fish dishes. It gives food a smokey flavour.
Oakwood (Eiche) can also be used, it burns hotter and does not flavour the meat
Maple wood (Ahornholz ) is suitable for vegetables and fish
Wild Cherry wood (Wildkirsche) is particularly suitable for pork, veal, poultry and fish

Notice!!
Do not use soft wood like Spruce(Fichte), Fir (Tanne), yew (Eibe), larch (Lärchen) or pine(Kiefer) as these have a high resin content and can make the food bitter. Also avoid using oily wood such as Cedar (Zeder), eucalyptus or Thuja as they can cause health problems
Never use wood that has been treated for example telephone poles or railway sleepers.

Vuur en Rook in the Netherlands is an online shop that sell Sekelbos and other wood

Ons gaan braai, also in the Netherlands sells Sekelbos and more

Charcoal in Germany is made mostly from Beechwood (Buche). During the summer seasons, most grocery and hardware shops sell charcoal.

Boeries, Biltong and Braai spices

Looking for some tasty South African treats and drinks for your next braai? Check out these businesses selling Boerewors, Biltong, and braai spices. Some even have your favourite SA beverages available!

Gunii Products

We all long for a taste of home and Gunii offers top-quality Biltong, Droewors and other products the way you remember it. (Online Store Only)

Christys Küche

Hi, I’m Christy, a South African living in Düsseldorf since 2018. Prior to leaving SA, I ran my own catering business. I also had

Kiefer Cuisine

At Kiefer, it is important to us to bring the authentic taste of South African gourmet biltong to the German community. After living in South

Cape33

We carefully select unique and quality products from the Cape region of South Africa and make these available in the EU market. Our current product

Runder Biltong

Runder Biltong is a young owner-run company, based on the outskirts of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Owners Kyle and Wesley, a South African and Dutch duo

Mopani Braai

South African meat and sausage specialities made in Germany My motto in life is “Love goes through ones stomach”. I plan to devote more time

Saffa Shop

A variety of South African products Home made biltong, boerewors, droëwors and chilli bites. Lamb chops. Maize Meal and Samp Maltabella, Jungle Oats, Kreemymeelm and

Die Spens

Die Spens shop is situated next to the A1 in Amersfoort, easily reachable from all over The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Come and have a

Trockenfleischmanufaktur-Allgäu GmbH & Co. KG

Unser Familienunternehmen produziert seit nun mehr als 15 Jahre Trockenfleisch von höchster Qualität. Unsere Produkte werden aus bestem Rindfleisch hergestellt. Des weiteren verzichten wir auf

Where to buy meat

German and South African meat cuts are not similar. On our Meat and Fish page we explain the German cuts, and listed some shops that sell meat online.

Meat

German meat cuts are different from those in South Africa. South Africa tends to follow the British way of cutting meat.Below is a explanation of the German Beef Cuts German beef cuts Rinderhals, Kamm or Nacken (Chuck steak) Querrippe (Short ribs) Rinderbrust (Brisket) Hochrippe or Fehlrippe (Standing rib roast) Vorderrippe or hohes Roastbeef Rostbraten or flaches Roastbeef5. & 6. together are the Roastbeef or Zwischenrippenstück Filet (Fillet) Spannrippe or Knochendünnung Dünnung or Bauchlappen (flank steak) Falsches