Cook the marinated meat over a hot grill, and the meat stays nice and juicy — even off the bone. Chop up the grilled meat and serve with warm pita bread, thinly sliced cucumber and heirloom tomatoes, some pickled onions, and a generous slather of this luscious Creamy Green Harissa Sauce (trust me, you’ll be putting it on everything in your fridge, so maybe double the recipe) and you’ll never look at chicken the same way again. New to grilling chicken? We explain it all here.
Grilled Chicken Shawarma with Creamy Green Harissa Sauce
(serves 4)
For Chicken:
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless organic chicken thighs (about 4 or 5 thighs, depending on size, defrosted)
¼ cup olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
2 t. ground cumin
1 t. each ground black pepper, coriander, kosher salt, sweet paprika, and turmeric
½ t. each dried oregano, garlic powder, ground ginger, onion powder, and smoked paprika
Rinse chicken thighs and pat dry with paper towel. Place in gallon-size resealable Zip-Loc bag.
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, and spices. Scrape marinade into bag with chicken, press out air, and seal. Gently massage bag so that marinade gets into every nook and cranny of the meat (boneless chicken thighs are the English Muffins of the poultry world). Refrigerate for at least one hour, but not more than 12, as the lemon juice will break down the protein more than you’d like if you let it go too long.
Preheat grill and carefully grease the grilling surface with neutral vegetable oil (canola or sunflower oil recommended). Keeping the fire in the 450F range, grill until browned and edges pick up a nice crispiness, about 5 minutes per side.
Remove from grill and let rest on a cutting board for a few minutes, then it’s dealer’s choice to roughly chop the meat or slice into thin strips — either will work — and place on a serving platter along with thinly sliced cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes, a tangle of pickled onions, warm pitas, and a bowl of Creamy Green Harissa Sauce (recipe below). Round out your meal with roasted potatoes and a green salad.
Creamy Green Harissa Sauce:
½ cup plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1 cup each coarsely chopped fresh cilantro and Italian flat-leaf parsley
2 small jalapeño peppers, stemmed but not seeded, coarsely chopped
2 large scallions, trimmed, coarsely chopped (use both whites and greens), or substitute a peeled shallot
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thinly
Juice of one good-sized lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
1 t. each kosher salt and ground cumin
2 T. olive oil
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until desired consistency. Too thick? Add another tablespoon of olive oil. Too thin? Add another tablespoon of yogurt. Season to taste with salt and black pepper as needed. Serve with everything! It’s great on eggs, lamb, salmon, pork, burgers, potatoes, etc.
Happy Grilling!
More Recipes You Might Like
Chicken Shawarma
Equipment
- Gas or Charcoal Grill
- Sharp Knife
- Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds Chicken thighs boneless, skinless
- 1/4 cup Olive oil
- 1/2 Lemon
- 2 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- 1 tsp Coriander
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp Sweet paprika
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 1/2 tsp Dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp Garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp Ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp Onion powder
- 1/2 tsp Smoked paprika
Instructions
- Rinse chicken thighs and pat dry with paper towel. Place in gallon-size resealable Zip-Loc bag. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, and spices. Scrape marinade into bag with chicken, press out air, and seal. Gently massage bag so that marinade gets into every nook and cranny of the meat (boneless chicken thighs are the English Muffins of the poultry world). Refrigerate for at least one hour, but not more than 12, as the lemon juice will break down the protein more than you’d like if you let it go too long.
- Preheat grill and carefully grease the grilling surface with neutral vegetable oil (canola or sunflower oil recommended). Keeping the fire in the 450F range, grill until browned and edges pick up a nice crispiness, about 5 minutes per side.
- Remove from grill and let rest on a cutting board for a few minutes, then it’s dealer’s choice to roughly chop the meat or slice into thin strips — either will work
- Place on a serving platter along with thinly sliced cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes, a tangle of pickled onions, warm pitas, and a bowl of Creamy Green Harissa Sauce (recipe below). Round out your meal with roasted potatoes and a green salad.
Nutrition
Creamy Green Harissa Sauce
Equipment
- Blender or Food Processor
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt Substitute with sour cream
- 1 cup Cilantro Freshly chopped
- 1 cup Italian parsley Freshly chopped
- 2 Jalapeño peppers (small) Stemmed but not seeded, coarsely chopped
- 2 Scallions (large) Use both whites and greens, or substitute a peeled shallot
- 2 Garlic cloves Peeled and sliced thinly
- 1 Lemon (juiced) Approx. 3 Tbsp.
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until desired consistency. Too thick? Add another tablespoon of olive oil. Too thin? Add another tablespoon of yogurt. Season to taste with salt and black pepper as needed.
I LOVED this recipe! So good! I have had it twice now, once on tostadas and once over Crispy Fried Rice in a bowl. I added a habanero to the Green Chili Sauce which was great for those who really like spicy.
Great to hear Jen. Thanks for commenting.