Lebanese chicken skewer marinated in yogurt is soft, tasty and juicy – 12/04/2023 – Marcão’s Recipes

Lebanese cuisine, in Brazil, immediately reminds us of kibes and esfirras.

In the background is the rich tradition of grilled meat and fish – with the exception of the area of ​​Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), with more recent immigration, where there are fantastic Arab restaurants specializing in barbecue.

Lebanese grill goes far beyond kafta. The guys are great at making beef, offal (heart, liver), lamb and chicken.

Like traditional Brazilian barbecue, Lebanese barbecue is cooked on a skewer; unlike us (who prefer coarse salt and nothing else on the meat), they load up on seasonings.

To explore the Syrian-Lebanese way of barbecue, let’s go for shish taouk.

In Turkish, it means chicken skewer. Turkish?

Lebanon and Syria, until the beginning of the last century, were areas occupied by the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. Those who are a little older may remember that Arab immigrants were called “Turks” in Brazil, because they arrived with passports from Turkey – and they rightly hated the misguided gentile.

The invader left, but left permanent traces in Levantine culture and food. Shish taouk is an example.

What makes it very different from a regular chicken kebab is the marinade in yogurt, which results in soft, tasty and juicy meat.

Marinating, in culinary jargon, means leaving the meat for a few hours in a seasoning broth. Marinades usually have an acidic component: lemon, vinegar, wine, etc.

The acid triggers chemical reactions that disintegrate the meat fibers, softening it. This has side effects. Citric (lemon) and acetic (vinegar) acids significantly alter the texture of the meat and leave it dry.

The lactic acid in yogurt is much less aggressive and works very well. Arabs, Turks, Persians and Indians know the method well. Studies also show that yogurt softens the garlic breath, which is abundant in this recipe.

Use natural yogurt without any type of sweetener. Prefer those made only with milk and yeast, without thickeners, stabilizers and other additives.

I prefer to make shish taouk with cubes of thigh and drumstick. Feel free to touch the brisket, but be aware that it can be a little dry.

Speaking of being dry, I tested two methods for this recipe: grilling and air frying. You can even make it in the air fryer, but it is substantially drier.

You can eat shish taouk with pita bread, with a salad, with lentil rice. Or turn the screw on and have it with farofa and vinaigrette.

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SHISH TAOUK

Difficulty: easy

Performance: 4 skewers

Ingredients

2 chicken thigh and thigh fillets, cut into cubes

3 tablespoons of full-fat natural yogurt

3 crushed garlic cloves

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of ground black pepper

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon of ginger powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

Juice of ½ lemon

1 small red onion, cut into quarters and dismembered into petals

Way of doing

1. The night before, marinate the chicken in yogurt with the remaining ingredients (except the onion), in a covered container, in the refrigerator.

2. If using wooden or bamboo skewers, soak them in water for at least two hours before preparing the shish taouk. Soaked, they take longer to burn and catch fire.

3. On wooden or metal skewers, intersperse pieces of chicken and onion petals. Discard the marinade.

4. In the air fryer, heat for 5 minutes at 200º and bake for 25 minutes, turning twice to brown evenly. On the grill or barbecue, grill until all sides of the chicken are golden.

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