Spicy Shawarma Chicken
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Start to finish: Active: 35 minutes | Inactive: 2–12 hours
Impresses: 2–3
By Kasim Hardaway (@kasimjhardaway)
Today is World Milk Day and the beginning of June Dairy Month, which means it’s time to get acquainted with chicken shawarma. Keep reading to learn why.
If you are unfamiliar with this Middle Eastern classic, it’s marinated chicken typically slow roasted for days on a vertical spit. Once ready to serve, it’s shaved into thin, succulent and flavorful slices.
My version turns up the heat with the addition of cayenne and crushed red pepper. The result is a flavorful, yogurt-marinated chicken that packs heat.
You only need two kitchen items to recreate a cooking process similar to roasting on a spit: skewers and a baking dish. The end result will be a juicy, pleasantly spicy shawarma, comparable to the original.
How does this relate to World Milk Day? You probably already know that milk can help cool your mouth when you eat something spicy. But did you know that as the planet heats up, milk — yes, M-I-L-K — is helping cool things off by lowering emissions in the atmosphere?
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and its Nerd Herd of dairy farmers, scientists, engineers and many more are working to make dairy more sustainable. They’re doing that by using sustainable farming practices, like optimizing their cows’ diets so they release fewer burps, which means less emissions that heat the planet.
So, milk can help cool your palate while you’re eating this spicy chicken shawarma — and it can help cool the planet. Learn more about how dairy can help at DFANerdHerd.com.
Ingredients
1 pound chicken thighs, skinless and boneless
1 cup whole-milk yogurt
2 tablespoons garlic paste
1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Method
Pat chicken thighs completely dry and add to a non-reactive bowl or zip-top bag. Add all other ingredients. Massage well, ensuring that all nooks and crevices of chicken thighs are coated. Marinate for at least 2 hours but up to 12 hours for best results.
Remove chicken thighs from marinade, leaving a thin layer of the yogurt-spice mixture on the thighs.
To recreate a spit, place chicken thighs on metal skewers. Chicken thighs should be pushed tightly together. Leave 2–2½ inches exposed on each end of the skewers. Use the exposed ends of the skewers to rest on a baking dish with a few inches of depth. The goal is to have the chicken ‘hanging’ with the underside lifted off the surface of the baking dish.
Bake chicken at 425 F for 28–30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 170 F. Allow to rest and cool.
Once slightly cooled, present on skewers alongside a medley of fresh vegetables or slice and serve in pita pockets or atop hummus. To beat the heat, enjoy with an ice-cold glass of milk.