This month's Hot From the Pit requested my Nigerian Suya recipe. Well...ask and ye shall receive.
First some background. Suya is a traditional Nigerian street food of beef kebabs seasoned with Suya Pepper before and after cooking, then served wrapped in newspaper with chunks of raw tomato and onion. It has a very earthy flavor due to Kuli Kuli (dried, ground peanut cake), and heat from the peppers. A Nigerian friend in the UK over at the KK forum put several of us onto it at about the same time that Milk Street featured it in an issue. The Milk Street recipe has you make your own Suya Pepper from scratch and, while very good, isn't quite authentic.
So what is in Suya Pepper? It is a blend of ground, dried roasted peanuts (Kuli Kuli), ginger, African negro pepper, other ground peppers, and secret stuff. Respectable suya stands never divulge their recipes, so nobody really knows for sure.
What cut of beef do you use? My Nigerian friend's research resulted in: whatever you have on hand. I like flank or skirt.
So how do *I* make Suya? If you aren't lucky enough to have a Nigerian friend send you some from Lagos, you buy Suya Pepper from Bazaar Spices. This is very close to the real deal, but not spicy enough. Add a bit of cayenne to amp it up and you're there.
In the pic below I opted to incorporate the traditional onion and tomato in the form of a board sauce with olive oil and more suya pepper. My Nigerian friend approved of this innovation, so it's legit.
First some background. Suya is a traditional Nigerian street food of beef kebabs seasoned with Suya Pepper before and after cooking, then served wrapped in newspaper with chunks of raw tomato and onion. It has a very earthy flavor due to Kuli Kuli (dried, ground peanut cake), and heat from the peppers. A Nigerian friend in the UK over at the KK forum put several of us onto it at about the same time that Milk Street featured it in an issue. The Milk Street recipe has you make your own Suya Pepper from scratch and, while very good, isn't quite authentic.
So what is in Suya Pepper? It is a blend of ground, dried roasted peanuts (Kuli Kuli), ginger, African negro pepper, other ground peppers, and secret stuff. Respectable suya stands never divulge their recipes, so nobody really knows for sure.
What cut of beef do you use? My Nigerian friend's research resulted in: whatever you have on hand. I like flank or skirt.
So how do *I* make Suya? If you aren't lucky enough to have a Nigerian friend send you some from Lagos, you buy Suya Pepper from Bazaar Spices. This is very close to the real deal, but not spicy enough. Add a bit of cayenne to amp it up and you're there.
- Slice the beef against the grain into 1/2" strips
- Dry brine it.
- Mix suya pepper with olive oil to make a paste, then shmear it into the beef. How much you want is a matter of taste.
- Thread onto skewers and grill it to your taste, but anything more than medium rare is a prosecutable offense. Just sayin'.
- Remove it from skewers and sprinkle with more suya pepper.
- Serve it hot with chunks of raw tomato and onion.
In the pic below I opted to incorporate the traditional onion and tomato in the form of a board sauce with olive oil and more suya pepper. My Nigerian friend approved of this innovation, so it's legit.
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