When grilling chicken skewers, achieving the perfect balance of tenderness and smokiness can be a challenge. Often, the chicken ends up tough and overcooked. To ensure juicy and flavorful chicken skewers every time, it’s time to rethink the cut of meat.
Instead of using breast meat, which is the typical choice, consider using darker thigh meat. Not only is thigh meat more flavorful, but its higher fat content also makes it more forgiving on the grill. And rather than cutting the meat into thick chunks, slicing it into strips is the way to go. Thinner strips cook faster, and when threaded onto skewers, they provide more surface area for flavorful rubs and sauces to adhere to.
This recipe from our book “The New Rules” incorporates these lessons and draws inspiration from Turkey, the country that gave shish kebabs their name.
The marinade for these Turkish-style chicken kebabs features Fresno chilies, roasted bell peppers, tomato paste, dried and fresh mint, and a hint of honey for balance. Aleppo pepper, known for its smoky and fruity flavor, adds a unique touch to the marinade. If you can’t find Aleppo pepper, you can substitute it with a combination of sweet paprika and cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
It’s essential to remove any excess marinade from the chicken as you thread it onto the skewers to prevent a sticky buildup on the grill grates.
To make these delicious Turkish-style chicken kebabs, first blend together roasted red peppers, garlic, chilies, oil, dried mint, Aleppo pepper, honey, tomato paste, and salt. Reserve a portion of the puree for a later step, and use the rest to coat the chicken. Let it marinate for at least an hour or up to 12 hours.
Prepare your grill by igniting the coals or preheating a gas grill. Thread the marinated chicken strips onto metal skewers, ensuring even distribution of the pieces and scraping off excess marinade. Grill the skewers, turning them every few minutes, until they are evenly charred and the thickest piece of chicken is fully cooked. Serve the skewers with a sauce made from the reserved puree and fresh mint.
These Turkish-style chicken kebabs are sure to impress with their juicy and flavorful results. So next time you’re planning a barbecue, think strips, not chunks, for the perfect grilled chicken skewers!
Turkish-style chicken kebabs (Tavuk Şiş) recipe
Start to finish: 1 hour, plus marinating
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
½ cup drained roasted red bell peppers, patted dry
6 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 Fresno chilies, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons dried mint
2 tablespoons Aleppo pepper (see headnote)
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Kosher salt
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut crosswise into 1-inch strips
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Directions:
In a food processor, combine the roasted red peppers, garlic, chilies, oil, dried mint, Aleppo pepper, honey, tomato paste, and salt. Process until almost smooth, scraping the sides as needed. Set aside 3 tablespoons of the puree and mix it with lemon juice to create a sauce. Refrigerate this sauce. Transfer the remaining puree to a medium-sized bowl, add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
Prepare your grill. For a charcoal grill, ignite a large chimney three-quarters full of coals. Once the coals are lightly ashed over, distribute them evenly over one side of the grill bed. Open the bottom grill vents and the lid vent. For a gas grill, turn all burners to high and heat, covered, for 15 minutes. Then clean and oil the grate and turn all burners to medium-high.
While the grill heats, remove the reserved puree from the refrigerator. Thread the marinated chicken onto metal skewers, evenly dividing the pieces and scraping off excess marinade. Place the skewers on the hot side of the grill (for charcoal grills) or directly on the grill grate (for gas grills). Cook the skewers, uncovered, turning every 2 to 3 minutes, until they are evenly charred on all sides and the thickest piece is opaque when cut into. This should take about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the cooked skewers to a serving platter. Stir the fresh mint into the reserved puree and serve it with the kebabs.
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