Chicken Shawarma
This Lebanese classic is a staple in my household. My husband loves chicken shawarma sandwiches and fries, so you can only imagine how often I make it. This recipe uses a vertical skewer stand to get that restaurant style look and taste.
Chicken Thighs: I use chicken thighs, but sometimes I switch it out for chicken breasts. It could be used interchangebly, but I have found the thighs to be juicer.
7 Spice: 7 spice is a staple spice in Lebanese cooking. It typically includes a mix of black pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, paprika, and nutmeg. You can find it in any middle eastern market!
Vertical Skewer Stand: I found mine on Amazon here
Cook time: Cooking on the vertical skewer stand can kind of be tricky. Make sure to cover your chicken to help cook it internally before it gets overly crispy on the outside. A thermometer is a must because it could look cooked on the outside, but be raw on the inside. At the 1 hour mark, my chicken was an internal temp of 158-160 F and I uncovered it for another 15-20 minutes without then foil. This helps crisp up the outside and finish cooking the inside.
Chicken Shawarma
Equipment
- 1 Vertical Skewer Stand (check above for replacement if you don't have this)
Ingredients
Marinade
- 2.5 lbs chicken thighs (cleaned)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp 7 spice
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1/2 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp paprika
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (or laban)
Sandwich
- 1 package Pita Bread / Lebanese Bread
- Lebanese Pickles / Pickled Turnips
- Garlic Sauce (or sauce of your choice)
Instructions
Marinade + Cooking
- Season your chicken thighs with the grated garlic cloves, 7 spice, turmeric, onion powder, cumin paprika and add the olive oil and greek yogurt.
- Combine well and let marinade for 30 min to an hour.
Skewering + Cooking
- VERTICAL SKEWER STAND: Preheat your oven to 450 F.
- If you are using the vertical skewer stand, place half an onion on the bottom of your skewer and then begin layering the chicken thighs. Top it off with the other half of the onion and cover with foil.
- I baked mine for about an hour, I suggest checking every 15-20 minutes after the first 45 min to check the internal temperature.
- Once the internal temperature was around 158-160, I removed the foil and allowed the outside to crisp up while the internal temperature rose to 165.
- Allow to cool slightly and slice vertically to add to your sandwich.
- STOVE TOP: If you don't have a skewer stand, you can always cook the chicken on the stove top!
- Heat up a tbsp of olive oil and add your chicken to the hot skillet.
- Cook through until your chicken has an internal temperature of 165 F.
- Once done, slice up your chicken to add to your sandwich.
Assembly
- Traditionally, we eat our chicken shawarma wrapped in pita bread with pickles, pickled turnips, french fries, and lots of garlic sauce!
