Turkish Chicken Kebabs
Commonly used in Turkey, Aleppo pepper is a robust spice that actually comes from the Aleppo region in Syria. It has a smoky, lemony flavor with a moderate heat level. It is often found in a crushed, flaky form and can be used in place of ordinary dried and crushed red chilies.
Cubed chicken breasts (or thighs) are marinated overnight in a combination of thick yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, tomato paste, red wine vinegar and Aleppo pepper.
Grilled to perfection, these delicious chicken kebabs are fantastic served with some Sangak (or nan-e sangak). This is a thin, rectangular or triangular, Iranian flatbread that is about two feet long. It is commonly sold in Persian markets. If you cannot find this type of bread, you can substitute pita bread or naan bread.
These kebabs would also go very well with Greek Salad, Roasted Red Peppers, Tzatziki, Hummus and some steamed rice or quinoa.
Here is the full text recipe for Turkish Kebabs.
Happy Grilling!
That’s pretty much how it’s made in Turkey. I feast on all these delights when I go to Turkish restaurants in London. Cooking pieces of chicken on a skewer is easy. The hard one is cooking kufta (ground lamb) on a skewer without it falling off. Steve Raichlen’s new barbecue book suggest adding lamb tail fat. I’ve tried that and it still falls off. Do you know how hard it is to get it even at an ethnic butcher? I’ve tried refrigerating the meat and the skewers so that it’s extra cold, that didn’t work. I’ve tried it the Indian way by adding garbanzo flour or beaten egg and it still falls off. I’ve tried asking the kebab masters in Istanbul, and they laugh at me. “Refrigerating the skewers?” and I’m met with disbelief. Please, someone help me!
Hi Roy
You may want to check out the comments on this post as a few people were having that same trouble. Cheers!
Hi Roy. If you’re in London, head over to Books for Cooks in Notting Hill. I was there a few weeks ago and this very subject (kofta) is covered in Tandoori by Ranjit Rai. This is supposed to be the “bible” of tandoori cooking. I remember reading about the meat has to be minced very fine (food processor) and kneaded until soft and also about preheating the skewers. Also, if onion is added, it has to be grated and drained.
I can really see Alton Brown put on his geeky toque and tackling this dilemma ;)
I love kebabs! In fact while stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, I had some of the softest, fluffiest lamb kebabs ever. Kebabs piled with slices of raw red onion and some mint yougurt dressing folded into one of those giant Afgan slipper naans was heavenly. Too bad I had to eat with my eyes darting around and my finger on the trigger at the same time.
Wow it all sounded so wonderful until that last part. Amazing that you were still able to enjoy the food and take in the moment. Cheers!
Looks delicious
These look absolutely amazing! BTW…on the ground lamb falling off the skewer dilema…my ex’s parents were Serbian and made a traditional lamb “sausage” called Cevapcici (Chee-vup-cheetza). To get the meat to stay on the skewer it had to be kneaded until it was extremely soft. It seems kind of gross really because all that kneading also makes it a little warm. We always grilled the Cevapcici on metal skewars or just laid across the grates on the grill. The onion thing, as I believe it was Ian that left the remark…was finely grated onion that was squeezed dry of juice. Also, a little baking soda is kneaded into the meat along with the salt and pepper.
Love kebabs, and these look fantastic! I’m curious about the aleppo pepper that you mentioned, is there something that can be substituted for it like red pepper flakes?
Substitutions can be made for the Aleppo pepper but just know that you won’t obtain the same results. See the notes at the bottom of the text recipe for what to use for substitutions. Cheers!
Where can I get some Aleppo pepper??? I have some Piment d’ Espelette which looks similar with some heat to it.
You can find Aleppo pepper in many Mediterranean stores. You could also call one of your local restaurants (Mediterranean or Turkish food) and see if they might be able to help you. Also many gourmet or specialty stores sell it.
And then of course you can always find it online. Cheers!
Thank you Dawn!
Most excellent. I have been thinking about kabobs lately. Needed some new recipes.
Jason
Love Aleppo pepper. If you don’t have it though, you can substitute Cayenne.
Cayenne pepper is much hotter and will substantially change the flavor of this dish. If you must make a substitution, use a combination of cayenne and sweet paprika (about 1 tsp cayenne plus 4 to 5 tsp of paprika).
we’ve been grilling maniacs at our house these days – so these kebabs will be perfect. thank u!
Hi G.
Hope you like them. Also wanted to let you know that I checkout out your blog. Very nice pictures, very clean and beautiful. Cheers!
To follow up on Kafta, in order to form and get it to stay on the skewer. As you are needing pass one hand under the cold water two or three times. also you can add a mild pepper sauce it is delicious and gives it a redish color, it’s name is ONCU product of turkey
hi roy!
i know im a little “late” but im going to type this really fast so excuse bad grammar and typos please!
i have a few suggestions that you might want to try just incase you havent found a resolution to your meat falling off of the skewers..
first puree whatever veggies you’ll be using in the processer garlic onion, then pour into a stainer and let it sit for a bit. Sooo much water will be released. then put that back in the blender with whatever ground meat you will be using. pour everything into bowl and season;mix and voila! your mix shouldnt be too wet at all. if youre using plain yogurt to marinate that can also be the prob. make sure you use a cheese cloth to drain that too before adding to meat. you can always use bread crumbs and an egg to bind ingredients. theres also an amazing seasoning called “sumac” it has this lemony flavor so you wont have to add too much lemon juice to your meat.
good luck and keep us posted