Chicken Shawarma
What if I told you, you could make the best Shawarma at home. This chicken shawarma recipe is so easy to make, with the help of the Alchemy. I started off by seasoning my chicken with Never Not Eating Shawarma spice and layering it on a metal skewer to hang smoke in the Alchemy. I took the diffuser out of the smoker box, exposing the chicken to the hot coals and wood, infusing it with a delicious smoky flavour and fire-kissed exterior. Once the chicken is cooked, it's cut off the skewer onto the plancha, cut up and grilled. I also squeezed on some fresh lemon juice.
To dress my shawarma, I made hand-cut French fries that I wrapped up with the smoked chicken in a grilled pita with creamy garlic-yogurt cucumbers, marinated onions and parsley, fresh tomato and a dash of hot sauce. It was so so tasty and so easy to make, you might never want to go out for shawarma again. If you want to find out how to make my Chicken Shawarma recipe, keep reading or jump to the full recipe.
Set smoker to 350F. Butterfly your chicken breasts and place in a bowl, season with canola oil, Shawarma spice and salt. Mix until chicken is coated.
Cut the onion and lemon in half. Add half an onion, half a lemon, the seasoned chicken, then the other half lemon and onion onto the hanging rack.
Place in the smoker for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the internal temp is at least 160F.
Chop your potato into thin fries and add to a bowl of cool water and set aside and let soak 15-20 minutes. Place a cast iron pan to the grill and add canola oil.
Finely chop half a white onion and put in a bowl. Finely chop the parsley and add to bowl. Squeeze in the juice from two lemons, season with salt and mix. Set aside.
Dice the cucumber and mince the garlic, add to a bowl and add the Greek yogurt, season with salt and mix. Set aside.
Thinly slice the tomato and then cut in half.
Add the potatoes to the oil and fry until golden brown and crispy, flipping occasionally.
Once done, remove from the oil and season with salt.
Remove the chicken from the smoker once it has reached an internal temp of 160F. Slice onto the plancha.
Squeeze the juice from one lemon over the chicken. Allow to sear and crisp up, using a metal spatula to chop up the chicken.
Heat up your pita on the plancha. Remove and build by placing the pita on a piece of foil lined with parchment paper. Add the cucumber and yogurt sauce, 4-5 tomato slices and the onions and parsley.
Add a healthy portion of the chicken, a handful of fries and season with hot sauce.
Roll up the shawarma in the parchment and tinfoil, twist the bottom of the tinfoil to keep everything in.
And now for the full recipe...
Chicken Shawarma
Serves 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
½ salt
2-3 tbsp canola oil
1 lemon
1 white onion
1/3 English cucumber
5 cloves garlic, chopped
3-4 tbsp Greek yogurt
½ tsp salt
1 field or hot house tomato, thinly sliced
½ white onion, thinly shaved
½ bunch parsley, chopped
Juice from 23lemons
½ tsp salt
1 russet potato
Canola oil for frying
How to BBQ Right Hot Sauce
4 large pitas
How to make Chicken Shawarma:
Set smoker to 350F.
Butterfly your chicken breasts and place in a bowl, season with canola oil, Shawarma spice and salt. Mix until chicken is coated. Cut the onion and lemon in half. Add half an onion, half a lemon, the seasoned chicken, then the other half lemon and onion onto the hanging rack. Place in the smoker for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the internal temp is at least 160F.
Place a cast iron pan to the grill and add canola oil. Chop your potato into thin fries and add to a bowl of cool water and set aside and let soak 15-20 minutes.
Finely chop half a white onion and put in a bowl. Finely chop the parsley and add to bowl. Squeeze in the juice from two lemons, season with salt and mix. Set aside.
Dice the cucumber and mince the garlic, add to a bowl and add the Greek yogurt, season with salt and mix. Set aside. Thinly slice the tomato and cut in half.
Add the potatoes to the oil and fry until golden brown and crispy, flipping occasionally. Once done, remove from the oil and season with salt.
Remove the chicken from the smoker once it has reached an internal temp of 160F. Slice onto the plancha. Squeeze the juice from one lemon over the chicken. Allow to sear and crisp up, using a metal spatula to chop up the chicken.
Heat up your pita on the plancha. Remove and build by placing the pita on a piece of foil lined with parchment paper. Add the cucumber and yogurt sauce, 4-5 tomato slices, the onions and parsley, a healthy portion of chicken, a handful of fries and season with hot sauce. Roll up the shawarma in the parchment and tinfoil, twist the bottom of the tinfoil to keep everything in. Dig in!
