Kilishi is a spicy Nigerian Beef Jerky made from Northern Nigeria. This is one of those Nigerian snacks that is a delight of many
Kilishi can be likened to Nigerian suya in that they have similar ingredients but the preparation and texture is different.
Traditionally, Kilishi is dried under the sun’s intense heat for about 3 days but here’s how to make it in your kitchen.
Ingredients
Pieces of wafer-thin beef
Suya spice (suya pepper)
Cloves of garlic
cloves
A small piece of ginger
Small stock cube
Salt
Dry cayenne pepper seeds
Notes on the ingredients
- The beef you will use for Kilishi should be cut from the reddest part of the beef with no fat at all.
- Cut the beef as thin as possible. It is usually as thin as 3mm.
- You can buy the suya spice (suya pepper) in African food stores, you can also make yours.
- By 3 cloves of garlic I mean 3 small pieces of garlic you get when you break up a bulb of garlic.
- Cloves are a spice that gives the Kilishi a unique flavour.
- You can use the fresh ginger or dry ground ones
- You only need a small quantity of salt.
- You get the dry cayenne pepper seeds by removing the red part of the pepper.
Prepare the Kilishi Spice Solution
Grind the cloves with a dry mill and set aside.
Peel the garlic and ginger and pound/grind into a smooth paste.
Add the ground cloves and crushed stock cubes to the garlic and ginger paste.
And some water, stir and sieve to get an extract of these spices and seasoning.
Add the suya spice and cayenne pepper seeds to the solution, stir and set aside.
Directions for making Kilishi
Cut the beef into very thin fillets if it has not been done for you by the butchers.
Cut off all traces of fat from the beef.
Set your oven to 250°C (475F) or Gas Mark 9 to preheat. If your oven temperature settings are not up to these, use the highest possible setting but this means that your own drying times will change. If your oven has a fan, turn it on as well because it helps dry the beef faster.
Sprinkle a tiny quantity of salt on the fillets of beef and spread them around. You only need a tiny quantity and you can skip salt altogether.
Line your oven tray with a baking sheet and lay the pieces of beef flat on it.
Put the tray of beef into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Flip the beef every 5 minutes for even drying.
After 15 minutes, bring out the beef from the oven and brush the Kilishi spice all over them, making sure that both sides of the beef are well covered.
Put them back in the oven and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Flip them from time to time and this time, keep a very good eye on it else it will become bone dry.
Please note that the Kilishi will become drier when it has cooled down completely
Serve with more pepper (if you wish) and a chilled drink.
