Grilled Chicken Souvlaki Skewers
Grilled Chicken Souvlaki Skewers – A bold marinade, intense heat, and an extraordinary sauce made this grilled chicken something we couldn’t stop thinking about for years.
Grilled chicken souvlaki, a beloved Greek dish, has a history rooted in ancient practices of cooking meat on skewers.
The dish’s origins trace back to ancient Greece, with mentions in Homer’s Iliad and other classical texts.
While the exact form of souvlaki we know today developed later, the practice of roasting meat on spits has been a part of Greek culinary traditions for centuries.
Grilled Chicken Souvlaki Skewers Recipe
Souvlaki is a dish of marinated meat (or occasionally vegetables) threaded onto skewers or a spit (“souvla” means “spit” in Greek) and cooked over a fire.
Inspired by chef Timothy Hontzas’s technique, we first marinated strips of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a bold mixture of lemon zest, olive oil, oregano, thyme, and other seasonings.
Then thread the strips onto skewers in an S shape, which allowed the potent marinade to get stuck in the crannies of the folded chicken, providing concentrated pops of flavor.
After getting some good char on the meat by grilling it over high heat, we drizzled it with a tahini-butter sauce to cloak the chicken with an extra layer of richness and allure.
Grilled Chicken Souvlaki Skewers Ingredients
Grilled Chicken Souvlaki Skewers – Chicken
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 (3-inch) strips lemon zest, chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
6–8 (10-inch) wooden or metal skewers
Tahini-Butter Sauce
2 tablespoons tahini
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
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