Nigerian Suya-Spiced Beef Sandwich with Herb Butter

About This Recipe

Suya is Nigeria's beloved spiced grilled beef, coated in yaji — a peanut-based spice blend of ground roasted peanuts, ginger, cayenne and other spices — and grilled over open flame by street vendors called mai suya. This sandwich takes that same suya beef and tucks it into soft bread spread with an herb butter, a home-kitchen mashup that turns a street snack into a heartier sandwich meal, popular with young Nigerians looking for a quicker way to eat their suya on the go. The key to real suya flavor is the yaji spice mix itself; store-bought yaji works, but making it fresh from roasted, finely ground peanuts, ginger powder, cayenne, garlic powder and stock cube gives a much more layered, nutty crust once the beef hits the grill. The meat is sliced thin against the grain so it cooks through quickly and stays tender under the intense dry heat of the spice crust. Piled into bread with raw onion, tomato and cabbage, and finished with extra yaji dusted on top, this sandwich captures suya's smoky, peanut-forward heat in a format that's easy to eat anywhere.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500 gbeef sirloin(sliced thin against the grain)
• 0.5 cuproasted peanuts(finely ground)
• 1 tspground ginger
• 1 tspcayenne pepper
• 0.5 tspgarlic powder
• 0.5 tsponion powder
• 1beef stock cube(crushed)
• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 4 tbspbutter(softened)
• 2 tbspparsley(finely chopped)
• 4soft sandwich rolls
• 1onion(sliced into rings)
• 1tomato(sliced)
• 1 cupshredded cabbage

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the yaji spice

   Combine ground peanuts, ginger, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder and crushed stock cube in a bowl.

2. 2

   Coat the beef

   Toss beef slices with oil, then coat thoroughly in the yaji mix, pressing it onto both sides of each strip.

3. 3

   Grill the beef

   Grill or pan-sear the strips over high heat, 2 to 3 minutes per side, until charred at the edges and cooked through.

4. 4

   Make the herb butter

   Mix softened butter with chopped parsley and a pinch of salt.

5. 5

   Toast the bread

   Split the rolls and spread with herb butter. Toast cut-side down in a hot skillet until golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

6. 6

   Assemble

   Layer cabbage, tomato and onion in the toasted rolls, top with the grilled suya beef, and dust with a little extra yaji before serving.

Variations

• •

  Use chicken breast instead of beef for a lighter suya sandwich.

• •

  Add a smear of ata din din (Nigerian pepper sauce) instead of butter for a spicier version.

• •

  Skip the bread and serve the suya beef straight off the grill with onion and tomato, the traditional street-food way.

Storage

Refrigerate cooked suya beef up to 3 days; reheat in a hot dry skillet to re-crisp. Assemble sandwiches fresh — the bread goes soggy if stored pre-built.

Frequently Asked Questions