Grilled Chicken Kebabs

(from wetherstorms’s recipe box)

Serves 4
Don’t skimp on the marinating time; any less than 3 hours and the chicken won’t be as flavorful or tender. Conversely, marinating for more than 6 hours will make the chicken mushy. Serve with Yogurt-Herb Dipping Sauce (see related recipe).

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
To keep the chicken in our Grilled Chicken Kebabs recipe from drying out, we marinated it in a blend of yogurt, olive oil, garlic, and herbs. The tangy, mildly acidic yogurt tenderized the chicken in our recipe and added valuable flavor—as long as the chicken only marinated for three to six hours. For the vegetable component of our kebabs recipe, we preferred firm vegetables like sweet red onion and red bell pepper. When cut into similarly sized pieces, they cooked evenly and became soft—but not mushy—by the time the chicken was cooked through.

Source: Cook's Country June/July 2006 (from RecipeThing user Bethany)

Categories: Poultry

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced (about 4 teaspoons)
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 large red onion, prepared according to photo

Directions

  1. Whisk yogurt, 1/4 cup oil, 1 tablespoon garlic, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, and cayenne in large bowl. Stir in chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 to 6 hours. Whisk remaining 1/4 cup oil, remaining teaspoon garlic, basil, and lemon juice in small bowl. Cover and refrigerate while chicken is marinating.

  2. Remove chicken from yogurt marinade; discard marinade. Thread each skewer with 2 pieces pepper, 1 piece onion, 2 pieces chicken, and 1 piece onion. Repeat twice more, ending with 2 additional pieces of pepper. Grill over high heat until vegetables and chicken are charred around edges on all four sides and chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to serving platter and brush kebabs all over with lemon dressing. Serve.

  3. MAKING THE CUT It’s important to cut the onion into bite-sized pieces that will cook at the same rate as the chicken. Trim the ends and cut the onion into quarters. Peel away the first 3 (outer) layers and discard the inner core. Working with the outer layers only, cut each quarter into 3 even strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 3 pieces.

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