Sweet Glazed Chewy Kilishi (NIGERIAN BEEF JERKY)

Kilishi (Nigerian Beef Jerky)

Kilishi (Nigerian Beef Jerky) Recipe

Beef Infused in spices and a slurry of peanut honey paste...? and then dried?!...YUM
Nothing but Chewy goodness GUARANTEED!!!!!

KILISHI has been described as one of Nigeria’s national delicacies, which originates from the North and is produced just the way nature intends with no chemicals or preservatives, only fresh market ingredients.

Enjoy this healthy Spicy sweet treat in the comfort of your home in less than 40 minutes!

Prep 7mins
Cook 30 mins
Total time: 37 mins
Cuisine: Nigerian
Serving: 5

Ingredients
10 thin Beef fillets/Sheets (**no fat),
Ginger(small), ½ cup Cloves,1 Bay leaf,3 Garlic,
Dried pepper, Cayanne flakes,
Peanut or kuli kuli,
1 tablespoon honey or ½ cup Date Palm,
Onion flakes or powder
5 strands uda
Stock cubes, 1 tablespoon Suya Spice mix, salt

Tips:-
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 2-4(mm) for easy drying.

Butchers have an appliance for cutting beef into very thin fillets, its usually the size of a palm.

You can buy the suya spice (suya pepper) in African food stores or a spice shop, you can also make yours.

Infusing honey or dates is a major deal breaker, and the secret ingredient behind any sweet glazed chewy kilishi.

Clove is a spice that gives the Kilishi a unique flavour.
1 bay leaf for freshness.

I used fresh ginger but you can use the dry ground one instead. You only need a small quantity of salt. Be careful when adding salt, else the Kilishi will be over-seasoned when done.You can 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. Grind your bay leaf completely into powder and Do the same with the dates(if you wish to use it) Peel the garlic and ginger and pound/grind into a smooth paste. Do same with the peanuts. Add the ground cloves and crushed stock cubes to the garlic and ginger paste.And very little water, stir and sieve to get an extract of these spices and seasoning.Add the suya spice, peanut, date palm and cayenne pepper seeds to the solution, taste to see if adding honey is still necessary, but for these recipe I used 1 tablespoon of honey, stir the mixture and set aside.

Directions for making Kilishi

Set your oven to 250°C (475F), for Gas, Mark 9 to preheat. If your oven temperature settings are not up to these, use the highest possible setting. If your oven has a fan, turn it on as well because it helps speed up the drying process.
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. 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 all together. Line your oven tray with a baking sheet and lay the pieces of beef flat side by side on it. Put the tray of beef into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Flip the beef every 4 minutes for even drying. After 15 minutes, bring out the beef from the oven and brush the Kilishi slurry all over them, making sure that both sides of the beef are well covered and coated.

Put them back in the oven and bake for 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. You want it chewy not crunchy.

Serve with Milk tea or a chilled drink.

Note: 
The way they do it in the North is to roast the fillets of beef in the sun for 3days then soak them in the Kilishi spice solution and spread in the sun (on flat rafia baskets and mats) till dry. Some still grill it after soaking in the Kilishi solution.

Please note that the Kilishi will become drier when it has cooled down completely so bear this in mind when deciding the time to bring it out of the oven.

-The beef's readiness depends on how thinly sliced you cut the meat. You can beat the meat flat if you wish, but it won't be necessary if it's already thin..!

-Less salt and more spice.

-

Warning: those allergic to peanuts should avoid using it.

What do you take your Kilishi with ? I'm dying to know...

Tags: Kilishi