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Food

Chicken Shawarma Recipe

If you have a spit for your grill, great. If not, this classic middle eastern dish will still taste incredible.
Chicken Shawarma Recipe
Photo by Heami Lee

Servings: 6-8
Prep time: 20 minutes, plus overnight marinating
Total time: 1 ½ hours

Ingredients

for the chicken:
4 ounces|113 grams fresh basil
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
¼ cup finely chopped mint
2 limes
¾ cup|200 ml olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
kosher salt, to taste
4 ½ pounds|2 kilograms boneless and skinless chicken thighs

for the pickled cabbage:
8 ounces|225 grams thinly sliced red cabbage
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ cup|120 ml white wine vinegar
kosher salt, to taste

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to serve:
garlic mayo
hot sauce
flatbread or pita

Directions

  1. Marinate the chicken: Place the herbs and oil in the bowl of a blender. Zest in the limes (halve the limes and save for later). Blend until smooth and season with salt. Reserve half of the marinade for serving with the chicken and stir in the garlic. The rest, add to a large bowl with the chicken thighs. Toss to combine, cover, and refrigerate for 12 hours or overnight.
  2. If you have a spit for your grill, great. Use this. Skewer one of the lime halves on the bottom, then add the chicken thighs until all of them are used. Place another lime half at the other end and pop it on your grill. If you don’t have a spit, we can rig this up for you. Take a wide, metal skewer and treat it as you did the spit, but this time, instead of putting it on the grill, you’re going to thread it through the handles of a roasting rack that is rested in a roasting tray. Heat the oven to 425°F. Season the chicken all over with salt and place in the oven. Roast, turning the skewer every 10 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 165°F, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Remove from the oven (taking care not to burn yourself) or from the grill, and let rest for 10 minutes before transferring to a cutting board and carving.
  3. Meanwhile, make the pickled cabbage. Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl and season with salt.
  4. To serve, heat a pita and top with some pickled cabbage, garlic mayo, slices of chicken, hot sauce, and the reserved herb marinade.

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