Suya Spiced Slow-Roasted Salmon Recipe

This recipe is a combination of two of my favorite things: suya spice and salmon. Suya is a spicy meat skewer that’s popular in Nigeria, and the seasoning on top of it is called suya spice, or yaji spice. It’s a mix of ground roasted peanuts, ginger, garlic, onion powder, cayenne, and paprika, and it’s by far my favorite spice mix. Not only does it taste delicious, but it also has such a wonderfully fragrant aroma.

When it comes to cooking something easy and hands-off for myself during the week, I typically opt for salmon, aka the perfect low-maintenance protein. Slow-roasting it makes it especially foolproof, because the lower temperature allows the salmon to retain its moisture while cooking through evenly. There’s nothing worse than a dry piece of salmon!

When you combine slow-roasted salmon, suya spice, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, something truly delicious happens. The suya spice offers a big kick of heat, and it’s incredibly aromatic with a bit of sweetness from the peanuts. This contrasts beautifully with the soft, tender salmon, and then the lemon juice offers just the right amount of acidity to tie everything together.

I encourage you to play around with the suya spice and use it as a seasoning in other dishes, too. I love it as a dry rub on chicken or steak, and it tastes great mixed into scrambled eggs. While you can buy a pre-mixed blend, I encourage you to try my homemade one below, because nothing compares to the flavor of freshly made suya spice.