Brochettes are the universal Sahelian-West African street meat skewers, particularly popular in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali. The peanut-and-spice seasoning gives them a distinctive Burkinabé character.
Take a brochette — charred meat cubes on a wooden skewer, dusted with peanut-spice rub. Bite: smoky-char outside, juicy spiced interior, the peanut-rub adds nutty richness and slight sweetness that complements the savory meat. With fresh bread to wrap each cube and a cold beer, this is the Ouagadougou street-food evening.
Peanut-spice mix adheres to the meat through the oil-lime marinade. High-heat charcoal grilling creates Maillard char on the outside while keeping the inside juicy.
Variations
Brochettes with chicken. With lamb. With offal (heart, liver — traditional). Modern Ouagadougou versions with marinade variations.
On the Palate
Where Brochettes sits in the Burkinabé flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
8 steps · 25 min active + 1 hour 5 min waiting
- 14 min
Cube 800 g beef (or lamb) into 2-cm pieces.
- 23 min
Make spice mix: combine 3 tbsp ground roasted peanuts + 1 tbsp paprika + 1 tbsp ground ginger + 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp pepper + 1 tsp ground cumin + 1 tsp garlic powder.
- 34 min
Toss meat with 2 tbsp oil + 2 tbsp lime juice + 1 bouillon cube; coat with spice mix.
Watch outWork the peanut-spice mix into the meat with your hands until every cube is coated — the oil and lime help it cling so it chars into a crust on the grill.
- 460 min
Marinate 1 hour.
- 530 min
Soak wooden skewers in water 30 min.
- 65 min
Thread 4-5 meat cubes per skewer.
- 79 min
Grill over hot charcoal 4-5 min per side until charred and cooked through.
Watch outGrill over properly hot charcoal and don't move the skewers until they've taken char — that blackened crust seals the juices in; a cool grill just dries the meat out.
- 83 min
Serve hot with extra spice mix for dipping, fresh bread, and onion slices.
