RECIPE / ONE REALIZATION

Şiş Tavuk

Adapted from the Sultan's Kitchen: A Turkish Cookbook by Ozcan Ozan, this recipe gives instructions on how to prepare a basic şiş tavuk with a marinade of yogurt, lemon juice, and garlic.

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Servings: 4
Preparation: 15 min
Cooking: 8 min
Total: 23 min

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
FOR THE MARINADE
1 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup virgin olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp paprika
salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

01
Combine the ingredients for the marinade in deep, either a plastic or a ceramic, bowl. Toss the chicken cubes in the marinade, taking care they are well coated. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of two hours. Turn the chicken once or twice during those two hours.
02
Meanwhile, set up a charcoal grill. Skewer the meat on four skewers and keep the leftover marinade for later.
03
Grill the skewers for about 8 minutes, turning them often and glazing the meat with the leftover marinade.
04
Serve the meat with or without the skewers.

OTHER REALIZATIONS

3 other variations

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Şiş Tavuk with Vegetables

35 min

Adapted from the Everyday Lebanese Cooking by Mona Hamadeh, this recipe gives instructions on how to prepare şiş tavuk with chicken and vegetables, in this case, peppers, but you can use other kind as well such as onions and tomatoes, and even mushrooms.

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Claudia Roden's Şiş Tavuk with Four Marinades

35 min

Adapted from Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Eastern Food , this recipe shows how to prepare different types of şiş tavuk: Lebanese, Turkish, Moroccan, and Iranian.

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Şiş Tavuk with Tomato Marinade

38 min

The following recipe gives instructions on preparing şiş tavuk with a marinade, which also has tomato paste that helps tenderize the meat even more. Although the recipe does not state so, leaving the meat to marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours, but ideally, overnight is advised.

USEFUL NOTES

What to pay attention to

MEAT

The meat of choice is chicken breast, but because it's juicier when compared to the breast, some prefer to use leg meat.

METHOD

Always dice the meat into equally-sized cubes, as that way all the meat will be done at the same time. Also, although there is nothing wrong with using wooden skewers, metal ones are preferred because they pick up heat from the exposed parts and conduct it throughout, which means the meat is cooked from the center as well. Do not throw away the leftover marinade, but keep it to baste the chicken as it grills. Once grilled, place the meat inside a warm container, then close it tightly for 8-10 minutes so that the steam can further soften the meat.