Nigerian Suya Recipe

Suya is widely sold in Nigeria, originating from the North. Suya is one of the best things that ever happened to grilled beef or lamb or goat or chicken.

In the middle East, they have Kebabs, In Malaysia, they have Satays, but we are proud to have Suya here in Nigeria. The characteristics of Suya is that the marinade includes a must have ingredient "Kuli Kuli Powder" also know as grounded peanut powder (with the excess oil stripped off).



Suya is normally served wrapped in newspaper (mostly when bought from the Hausa Suya Makers) and foodgrade plastics, served alongside, raw onions, tomatoes and sometimes cabbage, fried chips, bitter lemon, and jellof or fried rice.

I am not a fan of raw onions so I mellow the taste by soaking it in water for about 5 minutes. I also tossed the diced tomatoes with finely chopped coriander just for a more vibrant color.
To prepare this recipe, here's what you need.

Ingredients:

• 500g beef fillets (or as desired)
• Suya sticks (as much as possible)
• 1 cup of roasted peanuts (a cup = 250ml)
• 1 teaspoon dry grounded pepper (chilli or cayenne)
• 1 teaspoon paprika (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder (optional)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 stock cube (maggi) (optional)

Procedure:

• Soak the suya sticks in cold water for at least 5 hours so that hey do not char during grilling
• Blend roasted peanuts to a fine powder
• Transfer the powder to a medium bowl and add in the grounded pepper, paprika, ginger, garlic, onion, salt and stock cube
• Mix thoroughly to have your Suya Spice (also known as Yaji in Hausa). I usually use a mixer or add in the ingredients to the already blended roasted peanuts and blend further, so that it will mix well
• For the beef fillets, they need to be thin (it will be better if your butcher have the appliance for this purpose but if not just do your best and cut the beef into thin fillets using your kitchen knife)
  
• Cut the fillets into short pieces so that they do not flap too much when you thread them on the sticks
• Thread the pieces of beef on the pre-soaked sticks

• In a small bowl, mix groundut/peanut oil or any other vegetable oil with a pinch of salt. Then using a clean brush, spread the oil and salt mixture over the threaded beef as this is what will help the suya spice stick to the beef
• In a medium tray, pour some of the suya spice and then dab the beef on the spice (be generous with the spice and get as much spice as possible on the beef, you may want to wear food gloves during this process as the spice is a little bit hot on the skin)
  
• Repeat the step above for the rest of the threaded beef and place on a flat plate, then cover with a thin film and leave to marinate for about 1 hour. (PLS DO NOT REFRIGERATE)
• After 1 hour set the oven to grill, set the temperature to150c (300f) for slow grilling
• Remove film from the suya and spray them on the oven rack ensuring that they all lie flat on it
• Transfer to oven to grill slowly for about 20 minutes depending on the thickness of the beef
• After 20 minutes, pull out the rack from the oven (ensure you protect your hand by using gloves or towel) and the turn the suya over so that the other side can grill well for another 20 minutes
• Pull out the oven rack again and dab some more oil on both sides of the suya using your brush, and continue to grill for another 5 minutes. (At this point you may increase the temperature of the oven a little bit for some sizzle)
• Remove and serve with or without the sticks
• Garnish with chunks of onions, tomatoes, cucumber and cabbage for the complete Nigerian suya effect

Tips for making the best Nigerian Suya:

1. If possible use beef that was cut on the same day for your Nigerian Suya
2. It is not advisable to refrigerate the beef including when marinating it. The Mai Suyas (the Suya Gurus of Nigeria) say that refrigerating the meat for Nigerian Suya at any point depletes the natural flavour of the beef
3. Use the fleshiest part of the beef for your Nigerian Suya, the part with as little fat as possible. Small streaks of fat here and there is fine but if you use the part with lot of fat, the fat will melt away during grilling and the Nigerian Suya will turn out sticky when cold
4. Grill the Suya at low temperatures. Yes I know you are impatient so start biting into those yummy Nigerian Suyas but the patient You eats the tastiest Suya.................=D

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