Kilishi, of beef jerky, is a popular Nigerian snack. Kilichi is eaten on its own or with beverages, added to other Nigerian dishes, or packed as snacks for schoolchildren and workers. Like many other foods, kilishi meat tastes best when it’s homemade. Learn how to make Nigerian kilishi right now!
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1. Ingredients for kilishi
Before we move on to the kilishi recipe adapted for home cooking, it’s worth noting that when it comes to traditional processing, kilishi is one of the hardest ones to replicate. Your homemade kilishi may not taste exactly like store-bought, but you’re still guaranteed to enjoy the taste!
Here are the kilishi ingredients you’ll need:
- Lean beef
- Stock cube – 1
- Garlic – 3 cloves
- Salt – 1/4tsp
- Cloves – 1tsp
- Suya spice – 1tsp
- Dry cayenne pepper seeds – 1tsp
- Fresh ginger – 2cm
2. How to prepare kilishi
Follow these kilishi production steps to make your first batch of delicious beef kilishi.
- Preheat the oven to 250°C or the highest setting on your oven.
- The most important step in making kilishi is choosing the right meat and slicing it correctly. For kilishi you need to use red lean parts of beef without any fat. Trim the fat and slice the beef into 3mm thick pieces – the larger the pieces, the better.
- Grind together the garlic, ginger, cloves, and stock cube to achieve a smooth consistency.
- Add a small quantity of water into the mixture, stir well and sieve to get a liquid spice solution. Add the suya spice, cayenne pepper seeds, stir and set aside.
- Place the beef slices on the baking tray lined with baking sheet and lightly salt on each side.
- Put the beef into the oven and bake for 15 minutes, flipping the slices every 5 minutes so that they dry evenly.
- Take the tray out and brush each beef slice with your spice solution on both sides.
- Put the kilishi back into the oven for additional 10 to 15 minutes. Flip at least once and remember that the kilishi will dry further after it’s been taken out of the oven, which means it’s best to take it out when it’s still slightly soft.
Your kilishi is ready to be served or stored in a cool dry place for weeks!
3. How to serve kilishi
Now that you know how to make kilishi meat, you can also learn how to use it to spice up your cooking! The most popular way to eat beef kilishi is, of course, with a glass of refreshing drink – in that case you can serve kilishi with more spices or sauces.
You can also finely chop the kilishi and sprinkle the crumbs over your salads, soups, and side dishes. The dried meat will add a nice crunch to the otherwise mild texture of the foods and enhance their flavour with its unique spice palette.
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