Kilishi
Kilishi is a Hausa-land dried meat from northern Nigeria and southern Niger: thin slices of beef or other meat, dried, coated in a spiced groundnut paste and dried again.
Equipment · Drying kilns and dryers
Charcoal-fired kilishi dryer (modified six-tray cabinet)
A six-tray charcoal-fired cabinet, modified at Ahmadu Bello University to dry kilishi with insulation, a DC fan on a photovoltaic panel and a relocated chimney.
A charcoal cabinet with a fan
Kilishi is a thin-sliced Nigerian meat product that is dried in stages and then heated. The traditional method exposes the slices to the sun on papyrus mats laid over raised platforms. This page is about a different piece of apparatus: a six-tray cabinet heated by charcoal, which the researchers at Ahmadu Bello University modified to dry the meat more evenly.
The original cabinet lost a great deal of heat and did not move air well. The modifications were ceramic insulation, a DC fan powered by a photovoltaic panel, and a chimney moved from the flat roof to a triangular surface on the sloping top. The fan draws drying air through the trays, and the chimney lets the moist air out.
Sources for this section
The design figures
The paper's design work starts from a minimum batch of 20 kilograms, taken from a survey of local sellers. Its airflow calculation gives about 0.0339 cubic metres per second, and the fan is a 20 watt DC unit run for 8 hours a day. A single 40 watt photovoltaic module is recommended on the paper's stated solar assumptions. The calculated chimney height is 0.567 metres, and the calculated insulation thickness is about 2.92 centimetres.
These are the authors' calculations, not measured drawings. The accessible text gives no cabinet envelope, tray spacing, firebox or grate dimensions, fan curve, wiring or chimney cross-section, so a builder would need the full figure sheets before copying any of them.
Sources for this section
The traditional raised platform
The older method is a raised platform with papyrus mats, where the sliced meat is laid to dry in the sun. The sources describe this as an approach rather than a dimensioned structure, and no measurements for the platform are recorded here. It is a separate piece of apparatus and would need its own record if the sources described it in more detail.
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council describes an improved kilishi plant, but its project page gives no construction drawing or dimensions.
Sources for this section
What the cabinet has not shown
The paper reports a comparison of moisture removal for one prototype. It leaves product quality for later work, and it does not establish that the cabinet is a safe process for meat. The authors' 70 °C drying temperature comes from their calculation and a USDA recommendation they cite; it is not a setting this page recommends.
The combustion side and the drying side need to stay separate, and the paper does not show how that separation is achieved. A builder should measure the air on each side and check for smoke or soot transfer before drying any meat.
Sources for this section
History
The paper was presented at the 23rd conference of the Nigerian Institution of Agricultural Engineers in 2023. It describes a modification of an existing charcoal-fired cabinet. The traditional approach to kilishi drying, in which thin slices dry in the sun on papyrus mats over raised platforms, is described in the literature but not dated here.
Equipment details
Size56.7 cm tall The chimney height of 0.567 m is a calculated value from the 2023 paper, not a measured fabrication drawing. The cabinet, tray and firebox dimensions are not given in the accessible text.
PowerFire or solid fuel Charcoal supplies the heat. The DC fan is powered by a photovoltaic module, so the cabinet also draws on solar power for air movement. The paper calculates 160 Wh per day for the fan at 8 hours of use.
How you get oneImprovised from something else The authors modified an existing charcoal-fired cabinet, redesigning the chimney, adding insulation and sourcing a fan and panel.
CareThe paper does not describe cleaning, seasoning or storage of the cabinet.
Made of
- Ceramic insulation — Reduces heat loss from the cabinet
Calculated thickness about 2.92 cm. The grade and placement are not given in the accessible text. - Sheet metal chimney — Exhausts air from the sloping top of the cabinet
Redesigned in the modification. Its cross-section and joints are not given. - DC fan, 20 W — Moves the drying air through the cabinet
A source-selected rating. The model and fan curve are not given. - Photovoltaic module, 40 W — Powers the DC fan
The paper recommends one 40 W module on its solar assumptions. Mounting and wiring are not given. - Charcoal firebox and grate — Provides the heat
The existing cabinet burns charcoal. The grate and firebox dimensions are not given. - Trays — Hold the meat during drying
Six trays in the cabinet. Tray geometry and spacing are not given.
Risks and precautions
Keep the charcoal combustion and its flue gas apart from the drying air and the meat. The paper does not show how this separation is achieved, so it has to be checked on the built cabinet.
Limits
The paper says the original cabinet lost much heat and had inadequate airflow, which the modifications were meant to address. It reports one prototype comparison, not a transferable design.
Source →The paper states that product-quality parameters remain for future investigation. Its performance results describe moisture removal only.
Source →Places
Nigeria
Manufacture · Country evidenceThe modification was made at Ahmadu Bello University. The sources give no locality.
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Sources
Nigerian Institution of Agricultural Engineers, Proceedings (23rd conference, 2023)Equipment · Method · History
Modification and Performance Evaluation of a Charcoal-Fired Meat (Kilishi) DryerThe modified six-tray charcoal cabinet has ceramic insulation, a 20 W DC fan powered by a 40 W photovoltaic module and a chimney moved to a triangular surface on the sloping top.
The calculated airflow is about 0.0339 m³/s and the calculated chimney height 0.567 m. The authors' drying temperature of 70 °C comes from their calculation and a cited USDA recommendation.
The paper states that product-quality parameters remain for future investigation.
Cited in: A charcoal cabinet with a fan; The design figures; What the cabinet has not shown
Raw Materials Research and Development Council, NigeriaEquipment
Improved kilishi plant (project page)The project page describes an improved kilishi plant, without a construction drawing or dimensions.
Cited in: The traditional raised platform