Shish Tawook — Lebanese Garlic Chicken
Lebanese grilled chicken skewers marinated in yoghurt, garlic and lemon until tender, served with garlicky toum.
Method
- Whisk the yoghurt, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, tomato paste and all the spices together in a large bowl until smooth.
- Add the chicken cubes and turn them until every piece is coated.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. The yoghurt and lemon tenderise the meat; going beyond 24 hours starts to break down the texture too far.
- Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes if using, and take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking so it grills evenly.
- Thread the cubes onto skewers, leaving a small gap between pieces so the heat reaches all sides. Scrape off any thick excess marinade, which burns before the chicken cooks.
- Heat a grill, barbecue or heavy griddle to high. The surface should be hot enough that the chicken sizzles sharply on contact.
- Grill for 10 to 14 minutes in total, turning every 3 to 4 minutes, until charred in places and cooked through with clear juices.
- Rest the skewers for 5 minutes, loosely covered, so the juices settle.
- Serve with warm flatbread, toum, pickled turnips and a simple salad.
How to make Shish Tawook — Lebanese Garlic Chicken
Shish tawook is the chicken skewer of the Levant, found everywhere from charcoal grills on Beirut street corners to home barbecues across the diaspora. The yoghurt marinade is what sets it apart from other grilled chicken: it tenderises gently and helps the surface colour without drying out.
Thighs over breast
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Thigh meat stays juicy through the high heat of a grill and forgives a minute or two of overcooking. Breast works, but cut it slightly larger and watch it closely.
Marinate properly, then scrape
Four hours is the minimum for the yoghurt and lemon to do their work, and overnight is better. Before grilling, wipe off the thick coating clinging to the meat: it chars into bitter patches long before the chicken is done.
Leave gaps on the skewer
Packing the cubes tightly means the sides touching each other steam instead of grilling. A few millimetres between pieces gives colour on every surface.
Toum
The traditional accompaniment is toum, an emulsion of garlic, lemon, salt and oil whipped to a stiff white cream. A spoonful on hot chicken, wrapped in flatbread with pickles, is the classic combination.
Traditional Lebanese grill cookery, a fixture of restaurants and home barbecues across the Levant. Editorially researched from widely documented preparations, and not kitchen-tested by Axadle.
Contains dairy from yoghurt. Naturally gluten-free, egg-free and nut-free; flatbread served alongside contains gluten.
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