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tekobo

Nigerian Suya

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okay, so suya was on the menu this evening as promised. Used bavette for the meat, and salted it for a couple of hours in advance. Rub was roasted peanuts, ground ginger, a little bit of paprika, some onion powder, some garlic powder, black pepper and a small amount of cayenne (for me, I'd use a lot more, but the six-year old is still not at Nigerian levels of spice yet...). Added this and let sit for another couple of hours - since I didn't fry out the oil in the peanuts, it was already oily enough to be a marinade without additional oil. Grilled it on the lowest grate at about 350F for ten minutes - enough time for some charring, but not too much. Served with achar (typically served with satay, so went well), and a corn & manchego salad which, whilst not authentic, went perfectly.

Photos are cooked / cooking / rubbed & raw. Added some extra cayenne to leftover rub and added it after slicing... 

Thanks for the inspiration, y'all. A really pleasurable reminder of times past.

 

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I saw the Milk Street recipe, and thought it looked pretty good. It was from the same issue as the Piri Piri chicken, which was also pretty good. I'm South African by background, so thought there were a few Americanisms in both - brown sugar in suya? no thanks - but they are really solid foundations for these great African dishes that few people seem to know about.

@tekobo are you up for trying pepper soup next? :-)

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20 minutes ago, _Ed_ said:

I saw the Milk Street recipe, and thought it looked pretty good. It was from the same issue as the Piri Piri chicken, which was also pretty good. I'm South African by background, so thought there were a few Americanisms in both - brown sugar in suya? no thanks - but they are really solid foundations for these great African dishes that few people seem to know about.

Yes, @tekobo vectored me off the lime juice. I did try it with the brown sugar -- it does nothing for flavor, but is intended only as a "char enhancer". It seemed to work as that, but will probably omit it next time as the sear grate over a hot coal bed is sufficient for all the char you need. 

In general, Milk Street Americanizes everything for both simplicity (few Americans would bother with a recipe that requires catching a goat first) and the American palate, but I like the exposure to a wide range of cuisines that I would otherwise have little exposure to.

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@Pequod yep, I agree re Milk Street. If you haven't already, try the Fattoush recipe from the same issue as the suya / piri piri - it really is very good indeed. My main objections are, as always, the whole cups/tablespoons thing - please, just some nice, simple metric measurements would be a treat. :-)

 

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4 hours ago, Bruce Pearson said:

I’m not very good with real spicy is the suya really hot?

Hi Bruce.  Yes, suya is usually pretty spicy but you can taste and reduce the amount of rub you use to suit your palate.  I did that this evening as my mother-in-law doesn't like so much spice and it worked well.  People who want extra spice can add it as they wish.

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4 hours ago, _Ed_ said:

okay, so suya was on the menu this evening as promised. Used bavette for the meat, and salted it for a couple of hours in advance. Rub was roasted peanuts, ground ginger, a little bit of paprika, some onion powder, some garlic powder, black pepper and a small amount of cayenne (for me, I'd use a lot more, but the six-year old is still not at Nigerian levels of spice yet...). Added this and let sit for another couple of hours - since I didn't fry out the oil in the peanuts, it was already oily enough to be a marinade without additional oil. Grilled it on the lowest grate at about 350F for ten minutes - enough time for some charring, but not too much. Served with achar (typically served with satay, so went well), and a corn & manchego salad which, whilst not authentic, went perfectly.

Photos are cooked / cooking / rubbed & raw. Added some extra cayenne to leftover rub and added it after slicing... 

Thanks for the inspiration, y'all. A really pleasurable reminder of times past.

Lovely cook @_Ed_.  Can't tell you how happy this makes me.  I hope this helps to build your son's curiosity and enjoyment of suya and all the other fun things from our home countries.  

2 hours ago, _Ed_ said:

@tekobo are you up for trying pepper soup next? :-)

Absolutely!  The Husband is in the middle of making up some goat stock.  He does this in the expectation that I will turn up at some stage to turn it into goat pepper soup and maybe even his favourite, chicken gizzard pepper soup.  Beats chicken soup for clearing a cold hands down!

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Tonight's mystery meat suya cook was fun.  First I had to skewer lots of meat.

At the top was calf's liver, middle left was pig's kidney and the rest was goat loin. 

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Lamb's kidneys from New Zealand via the freezer section at Waitrose.  I went easy on the rub as my mother-in-law doesn't like the heat.  

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I pressure cooked the Italian chicken gizzards for ten minutes or so to avoid a chewy skewer

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Gizzards all skewered up

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First batch of skewers in the obligatory on KK shot.

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The now obligatory @amusedtodeath-day-lily-in-the-background cooked meat shot.  The white bowl contains extra suya rub for people to add their own post cook. 

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Hotter cook for the second batch which turned out just perfect.  Dad loved his calf's liver.  Don't tell him I am a Daddy's girl.  

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P.S.  It all tasted good but I am now certain I don't like pig's kidney!

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Well lookie what showed up at my house today! Genuine Nigerian Suya Pepper by way of England. Thank you again, @tekobo! This is a generous amount and, of course I had to taste a small amount immediately. I’m still sucking down water, and pretty sure I turned red and yellow. Before my tastebuds went numb, I definitely detected an earthiness that isn’t present in the Milk Street version. It might be the Kuli Kuli vice ground peanuts. Or maybe the negro pepper. Don’t really know, but can’t wait to try it on beef. And I’ll be very sure to have gallons of water handy!

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1 minute ago, Pequod said:

Well lookie what showed up at my house today! Genuine Nigerian Suya Pepper by way of England.

Yippee!  

1 minute ago, Pequod said:

I had to taste a small amount immediately. I’m still sucking down water, and pretty sure I turned red and yellow. Before my tastebuds went numb

Man up! This stuff is on the milder end of the suya spectrum.  :smt098

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Very nice, Mackenzie. 

Can't begin to describe all the crazy good beers that I've drank in the last week. Portland has an amazing beer scene. I'm lucky to have any enamel left on my teeth after all the sour beers that I've drank. :occasion5:

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14 hours ago, tekobo said:

Lovely cook @_Ed_.  Can't tell you how happy this makes me.  I hope this helps to build your son's curiosity and enjoyment of suya and all the other fun things from our home countries.  

Absolutely!  The Husband is in the middle of making up some goat stock.  He does this in the expectation that I will turn up at some stage to turn it into goat pepper soup and maybe even his favourite, chicken gizzard pepper soup.  Beats chicken soup for clearing a cold hands down!

That's so exciting! Goat pepper soup is my absolute favourite. I once took a friend of mine (who happens to be Scottish) to Yellow Chili in Lagos, and he ordered the pepper soup there. He managed to get one spoonful down before going beet-red and practically diving headfirst into a pint of beer. Oh, happy times. 

I've got piri piri marinating for dinner this evening. it's definitely African food week here... deep joy.

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