West Africa · Street food
Kilishi (Spiced Sun-Dried Thin Beef Jerky)
Wafer-thin sheets of sun-dried lean beef slathered in a fiery kuli-kuli peanut and aromatic spice paste, then flash-roasted over open coals.
The story
Originating among the Hausa pastoralist butchers of northern Nigeria, kilishi was developed as a preservation marvel to sustain long trans-Saharan trade caravans. Today it is a celebrated artisanal street delicacy sold in specialized markets from Kano to Abuja. Crucially, the process differs from standard biltong or jerky: butchers utilize surgical knife skills to slice beef into translucent 1–2mm sheets, dry them completely in intense dry-season heat, and subsequently infuse them with 'labu'—a paste of defatted groundnut cake (kuli-kuli) and medicinal aromatics—before a brief searing over ember coals.
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