Lion Matches are the gold standard of fire lighting in South Africa. We all grew up with the iconic yellow box with the red lion proudly poised on the mantelpiece and without a trusted box of Lion Matches, camping trips would have been far more difficult. For over 100 years, The Lion Match Company has been a quality purveyor of home-care and lifestyle products and has grown to become a nationally cherished brand and household symbol.

Build the Perfect Fire with the Lion Firelighters

With National Braai Day right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about the tools you’ll need to make a roaring fire. Heritage Day, also affectionately known as Braai Day, is all about celebrating unity through diversity and what better way to bring people together than over a good ol’ braai. The Lion Match Company’s latest product, The Lion Firelighter, is the perfect tool for the perfect braai. Sold in both 2kg boxes of firelighter chunks or smaller 12 piece boxes, the Lion Firelighter guarantees quick, easy lighting and longer lasting fires.

How to Build a Great Fire

Lighting a fire can be tricky — some spit, some smoke and sometimes, it just won’t catch no matter how much fanning you do with a paper plate. Wet wood is often the culprit but the good news is, that even if your wood is a little wet, this method is almost foolproof.

What You’ll Need

Kameeldoring or Rooikrans wood
Hardwood charcoal
Lion Firelighters
Lion Matches

The secret to a great fire is having a bed of hardwood charcoal under the wood. You don’t need a ton, just enough to fit between the two base pieces of wood.

Place a channel of charcoal down in the centre of the braai. Place 3-4 pieces of Lion Firelighters on the coals, then build the fire over the coal by stacking with equal sizes of wood until you have 4-5 layers of wood.

Strike a match and light the Lion Firelighters. As the charcoal catches it will burn into a hearty fire that will keep the wood going until it catches. It’s a simple trick but it’s saved many a smoky fire. You’ll be the fire building braai master every time.

---

Enjoy a Cheesy Boerewors & Chutney Braai Broodjie this Heritage Day

Test out your braai building skills on these scrumptious Boerewors, Chutney and Cheese Braai Broodjies. The ultimate South African treat, this braai broodjie has it all — boerewors, oozy cheese and Mrs Balls Chutney, of course.

Ingredients

600 g thick boerewors
12 slices of thick cut, farm-style white bread
200 g butter, melted
Mrs Ball’s Chutney
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
250 g gouda, grated
250 g mozzarella, grated
salt and pepper
a handful of chives, chopped to serve

Braai the boerewors over hot coals until the exterior is well caramelised but the wors is still pink in the middle. Let the wors cool then slice it into discs.

Mix the two cheeses together in a bowl. Lay the bread slices out and brush with butter. Spread a layer of chutney on six of the slices of bread and add slices of boerewors. Top the wors with sliced onion and a generous amount of cheese. Close the broodjies and brush the top of each with butter.

Load the broodjies into a sandwich grid then close the grid and place the butter-brushed side down over medium heat coals. Brush the unbuttered side with the remaining melted butter. Braai slowly for a few minutes per side until they are evenly golden all over and the cheese is melted. To serve, slice each broodjie in half and serve with extra chutney for dipping.

Looking for more ways to improve your outdoor cooking skills? Read these Braai Tips from Karl and Greg from Beer Country. Also, looking for tasty things to braai this Heritage Day, check out our favourite braai recipes and our best braai salads and sides.

lionmatch.co.za | Facebook | Instagram