Lebanese Chicken Shawarma

Safira

Lebanese Chicken Shawarma - This Chicken Shawarma recipe is phenominal and it includes a secret unexpected ingredient! Shawarma is an easy Lebanese and Middle Eastern street food recipe, which is made with a few warming aromatic spices that permeate the meat whilst cooking, making every bite incredibly flavourful. This has become such a popular recipe with our loved ones and we have made it many times for a crowd! The smell alone whilst it is cooking is incredible!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 50

Marinade 4

Total Time 5 10

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Lebanese, Middle Eastern

Servings

Calories 641 kcal

Ingredients

Chicken

2 lb Chicken Thighs Boneless, Skinless

Baharat

1 tablespoon Peppercorns
1 tablespoon Coriander Seeds
2 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
4 Cloves
½ tablespoon Green Cardamom
2 teaspoon Paprika
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg Powder

Marinade

½ Onion
½ Red Pepper Optional, add another Onion half if you skip this
3 tablespoon Olive Oil
3 tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 ½ tablespoon Orange Juice or more Lemon Juice
¾ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1 ½ tablespoon Baharat Mix from above mixture
2 teaspoon Chilli Flakes
1 tablespoon Salt
5 Garlic Cloves crushed
½ teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
¼ teaspoon All Spice
½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper or Aleppo Pepper
2 tablespoon White Vinegar

Instructions

Step 1 - Make the Baharat Spice Mix
Lightly toast the Peppercorns, Coriander Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Cloves, Green Cardamom in a dry pan till fragrant. Then grind to a powder. Mix in the Paprika and Nutmeg.
Step 2 - Blend the Onions and Peppers
Coarsely chop the Onions and Peppers and add them a blender. Blend till smooth.
Step 3 and Step 4 - Make the Chicken Shawarma marinade and marinade the Chicken
Cut any larger pieces of Chicken in half. Add the Chicken to a large bowl.
Add the Onion and Peppers paste, 1 ½ tablespoon Baharat, Lemon Juice, Orange Juice, Chilli Flakes, Cinnamon, All Spice, Cayenne Pepper or Aleppo, Turmeric, Salt, Oil, Garlic and Vinegar. Mix together.
Leave to marinade for 2 hours or overnight.
Step 5 - Cook the Chicken Shawarma
You can either place the Chicken directly on to an oven tray or use Skewers (if they are wooden be sure to pre soak them for 30 minutes before using), and skewer each marinaded Chicken thigh across the 4 skewers.
Oven - Bake in the oven for about 40 - 50 minutes turning midway.
BBQ - Or cook on a BBQ for 20 - 30 minutes.
Air Fry - Or Air Fry at 200 C/400 F for 20 - 30 minutes flipping midway.
Step 6 - Brown and Crisp the Chicken
At this stage you can brown and crisp the Chicken on the outside.
*NOTE - This isn't necesaary if you have used a BBQ.
Place on a large pan and cook on 4 - 5 minutes each side over a medium high heat or under a hot grill/broiler.
Step 7 -Slice the Chicken
Slice the Shawarma using a sharp knife into thin pieces and leave to rest for 5 - 10 minutes.

Notes

How to serve it

Wrap - The best way to serve Chicken Shawarma is in a wrap with Toum (Garlic Sauce) and Tahini Sauce. The other sauce that is often served with Shawarma is a Red Shatta Sauce. You can use any pepepry hot sauce in place of this.

The Chicken wrap is usually pressed on a hot griddle to make a more flattish wrap rather then a rounded one.

Other common fillings or sides include salad such as Red Cabbage, Onions and Lettuce as well as Pickles such as Pickled Cabbage, Cucumber and Turnips.

Platter or Bowl - Alternatively you can serve it platter style with all the sides such as pickled Red Cabbage, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions, Flatbreads and the Sauces mentioned. As well as Yellow Rice (made with adding Turmeric, Black Pepper and chopped Onions to Rice) or Vermicelli Rice (recipe coming soon) and Fries! Hummus is also always a welcome addition.

The final option is to serve it in a bowl with all the sides! SO GOOD!

Top Tips to make the BEST Chicken Shawarma

Here is what you need to do to make the best Chicken Shawarma -

Use Chicken Thighs

As this is a fatty cut of Chicken, the Chicken remains juicy.

Marinate the Chicken

This will ensure maximum flavour. Try to do this for 1 - 3 hours or overnight.

Use Orange juice

This helps tenderise the Chicken as well as adding flavour and balance.

Use Chicken Skin

If you are using Chicken Breast, I would strongly suggest that you add Chicken Skin on top of the Chicken. This tenderises it. Traditionally Chicken Shawarma is made with Chicken Fat or Skin between layers. We mimic that by using Chicken Thighs which have fat on them. Adding Chicken Skin on top of Chicken Breast makes the Chicken even more juicy.

Add blended Onions to the Chicken

This is the most excellent tenderiser for Chicken and it adds flavour.

Crisp it up

Brown the Chicken and crisp it up under the grill or broiler or in a hot cast iron pan.

Cook time

Check the Chicken after 30 minutes to see if it requires the full 40 - 50 minutes of cooking time. The juices from the Chicken should run clear once it is cooked. Ovens do vary so keep an eye on it.

How to Make Ahead

Before Cooking

You can marinade the Chicken for 2 days and then cook it the following day.

You can also freeze the marinaded and thaw overnight in the fridge before cooking.

After the Chicken is cooked

You can also cook the Chicken 4 days in advance and then assemble on the day of eating!

Simply reheat on the stove top or in the Microwave and serve with the sides mentioned in the How to Serve section.

Storage and Reheating

Fridge

Once cooled, place leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Reheat - Heat a pan over medium heat and add the Chicken pieces with some Oil. Heat till warm all the way through. Or reheat in a microwave.

Freezer

To freeze Chicken Shawarma place it in an airtight box for up to 3 months.

Reheat - Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Variations

Add Mayonnaise

I have seen a couple of Shawarma recipes that use Mayonnaise in the marinade. According to Kenji Lopez (The Food Science Expert Guy), this helps the marinade stay in place and gives it a crusty coating. It also helps it to brown. I tried it with Mayonnaise but I prefer it without.

Use Chicken Strips

If you use Chicken Strips. I would suggest making it with the same marinade, marinading overnight and cooking in a hot pan on the stove top.

Add Toum

Instead of using Garlic Paste, you can use Toum. If you can find it, this will add a lovely hit of Garlic.

No Skewers? No Problem!

If you do not have skewers, place the Chicken directly onto an oven tray.

Make in a loaf pan

This mimics the rotisserie style of cooking. Use the same cooking time and temperature but just make sure that every Chicken piece is fully cooked before serving.

Use Lamb instead

I haven’t tried this myself yet. So keep an eye on it as cooking times will vary. Use Shoulder or Leg for best results.

Use a Yoghurt marinade

I prefer this recipe without a Yoghurt marinade as I think it changes the overall texture and flavour of the Chicken. I prefer to use Onions to tenderise the Meat in this recipe. If you are a fan of Yoghurt marinades, do give it a try by adding ¼ cup of Yoghurt to the marinade and skipping the Onions and Peppers.

Ground Spices

In this recipe, we used Whole Spices and roast them to get as much flavour as possible in the marinade. I have found that most of the recipes online use ground Spices. If you are in a rush and want to use ground Spices instead of making Baharat, I would suggest using Ground Spices in the Baharat mix. To do that, combine 1 teaspoon ground Cumin, ½ teaspoon Coarse Black Pepper, ½ teaspoon ground Corinader, ⅛ teaspoon ground Cardamom, 2 teaspoon Paprika, ¼ teaspoon ground Nutmeg and add that to the marinade with the remaining ingredients.

Nutrition

Calories: 641kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 39gFat: 50gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gMonounsaturated Fat: 24gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 222mgSodium: 1968mgPotassium: 664mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 1170IUVitamin C: 31mgCalcium: 73mgIron: 3mg

Keyword chicken shawarma, lebanese shawarma, Middle eastern recipes, middle eastern shawarma, Shawarma

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