Ingredients
Goat
- 800 ggoat leg or shoulder, boned and cut into 3 cm cubes with some fat left on
- 1 tbspcoarse salt
Marinade
- 4 tbspvegetable oil
- 4garlic cloves, crushed
- 20 gginger, grated
- 1onion, grated
- 1 tbspmild curry powder or ground coriander
- 1 tspground black pepper
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tspAkabanga chilli oil, or 1 chopped pili-pili
To grill and serve
- 4semi-ripe plantains (ibitoke), peeled and halved lengthwise
- 2 tbspoil, for brushing
- Akabanga chilli oil, on the table
- a cold Primus or Mützig
Kit
- 8metal skewers, or wooden ones soaked 30 minutes
- a charcoal grill
Directions
- Cube the goat and leave a little fat on each piece. Lean goat dries out on a grill and there is no fixing it afterwards.
- Mix the marinade ingredients, rub the mixture hard into the meat, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
- Light the charcoal and let it burn right down to grey-ashed embers with no flame. Rwandan brochettes are cooked slowly over embers, not seared over fire.
- Thread 5–6 cubes onto each skewer, pushed together but not crushed, and let them come up to room temperature before they hit the grill.
- Grill for 12–15 minutes, turning every 2–3 minutes and moving the skewers to a cooler part of the grill whenever the dripping fat flares.
- Brush the plantain halves with oil and lay them alongside for the last 8–10 minutes, turning once, until striped black outside and soft in the middle.
- The goat is ready when the outside is dark and crusted and the inside is just cooked through with a little chew. Rwandan brochettes are not served pink, but they should still run juice.
- Serve them on the skewer with the grilled plantain, a dish of salt, and Akabanga on the table so everyone adds their own drop per bite.
Technique
- Goat (ihene) is the default; beef and grilled tilapia from Lake Kivu are the other standard bar orders. Brochettes are bar food above all, ordered by the skewer and eaten standing with a large beer.
- Cook over embers, never flame. Goat fat drips and flares, and flame-charred brochettes taste of soot rather than smoke.
- The marinade is deliberately mild. Heat comes from Akabanga at the table so that each person sets their own level, which is the whole social point of the little yellow bottle.
- Grilled plantain is not a side dish here, it is part of the order: one skewer, one plantain, one beer.
Substitutions
- No goat: mutton or lamb shoulder, cut the same way and cooked 2–3 minutes less. Beef sirloin works but loses the distinct goat flavour.
- No charcoal: a very hot ridged grill pan, with the plantain done in the same pan afterwards.
- No Akabanga: any thin habanero chilli oil, used just as sparingly.
Variations
- Brochettes de poisson, tilapia cubes, which need only about 8 minutes.
- Brochettes de foie, liver, cheap and popular, cooked in 6 minutes and served very hot.
- The same skewers served as a plate with isombe, rice and beans instead of as bar food.
History
Skewered grilled meat from the Sahelian butchery tradition, sold at dusk beside roadside grills with chili and onion.
Frequently asked questions
What is Brochettes?
Brochettes is a street food from Burkina Faso: charcoal beef or mutton skewers with mustard and chili. Skewered grilled meat from the Sahelian butchery tradition, sold at dusk beside roadside grills with chili and onion.
How long does Brochettes take to make?
Brochettes takes 25 min plus 2 hr marinating of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings, 8 skewers. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Brochettes?
Yes, within limits. No goat: mutton or lamb shoulder, cut the same way and cooked 2–3 minutes less. Beef sirloin works but loses the distinct goat flavour. No charcoal: a very hot ridged grill pan, with the plantain done in the same pan afterwards. No Akabanga: any thin habanero chilli oil, used just as sparingly.
What is the most important thing to get right in Brochettes?
Cook over embers, never flame. Goat fat drips and flares, and flame-charred brochettes taste of soot rather than smoke.
