The Great Potjie Debate: what really makes it authentic?

What can be more satisfying on a lazy summer afternoon than settling in for a good, slow-cooked potjie?

It’s the kind of meal that rewards patience with its deep, rich flavours, veggies that melt into the sauce, and meat so tender it practically slides off the bone.

But mention the word potjie and out come the purists! 

Is it still a proper potjie if the pot has a flat bottom? Does an enamel coating disqualify you from the potjie hall of fame? And can one ever (shock horror) cook a potjie using a gas flame? 

"A potjie, in essence, is a pot outside on a fire," explains Steak Chop van Zijl (otherwise known as Jaap-Henk Koelewijn) of Braai Witness News.

"It has to be a cast-iron pot".

The origins of the potjie date back hundreds of years, says Koelewijn, explaining that the concept was brought to South Africa by the Europeans.

"But then it was completely absorbed by all aspects of South African life, not just the settlers."

The slow-cooking element came from having to cook tough cuts of meat, he explains, but adds that eventually the ingredients for a potjie became something of a free-for-all.

"You just moer anything in there!" he jokes.

And the delights of the potjie go far beyond just the eating, says Koelewijn

"It forces people to sit around the fire; it takes time."

To listen to Koelewijn in conversation with Lester Kiewit, click below: