In essence, this meal reminds me very much of how my mother makes and serves chicken souvlaki: she grills garlic- and basil-marinated chicken and serves it with tzatziki, pita or flatbread, lemon wedges, and often a cucumber salad on the side. Here, the spices and sauces look farther east: the chicken marinates with cumin, coriander, and smoked paprika, the cucumber-yogurt sauce is inspired by an Indian recipe, and the spiced green sauce, skhug, is a condiment often used in Yemeni and Israeli cooking. Note: You don’t have to make the skhug — the chicken + cucumber yogurt sauce + bread is a fine meal on its own — but if you haven’t yet made skhug, I encourage you to give it a go. Once you make skhug once, you will want to put it on everything.
Components of Smoky Grilled Chicken Platter
Chicken Thighs (or Breasts) marinated with garlic, cumin, coriander, and smoked paprika. If you’re up for it, toast whole spices and grind them — they’re just a little bit more fragrant and flavorful.Yogurt Sauce: Inspired by the yogurt sauce in this Bon Appetit recipe, this one includes grated cucumber, fresh lemon and garlic. (Note: this is a sauce that is equally delicious with grilled eggplant, roasted red peppers, grilled fish … it’s just a really nice, fresh, tangy sauce.)Flat Bread: Homemade naan is delicious here, but if you are pressed for time, buy the bread! I love the Stonefire Naan brand. It’s soft, pliable, and so delicious, a perfect accompaniment to this meal. Skhug, (pronounced skoog), is a Middle Eastern (often used in Yemeni and Israeli cooking) blend of herbs, chilies, and toasted spices: here there’s parsley, cilantro, cumin, coriander as well as a heap (1/2 cup) of hot chilies. Because the chilies are seeded, the sauce is not terribly spicy.Optional: Harissa: I made this meal last summer at a cooking class at the Hillsdale General Store and we served it with homemade harissa, which is another really nice condiment for this meal. If you’re feeling ambitious, make both the skhug and the harissa.
Wishing you all a lovely long weekend. PS: Marinating and Grilling 101 PPS: ALL the Recipe for Memorial Day Weekend Here’s the play-by-play: Rub chicken thighs with garlic, smoked paprika, toasted and ground cumin and coriander, salt, and pepper. Drizzle in a few tablespoons of oil and rub to coat. Marinate for at least 1 and up to 12 hours. Light the coals. I like using chimney starters for this. More grilling tips here: Grilling 101. When the coals turn white, dump them into the grill, pushing them to one side to allow some of the grill to remain cool-ish. Grilling in the rain. Yes. You. Can. These chicken thighs cook for about 3 minutes a side over super hot coals. Transfer meat to a platter and let rest for at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile: Make a cucumber-yogurt sauce with grated cucumber, garlic, Greek yogurt, lemon, and salt. If you wish, make some skhug (a favorite), too. Recipe is below; more in-depth how-to here. To serve, smear the cucumber-yogurt sauce on a plate, top with grilled chicken, drizzle with skhug, and serve with lemon wedges. Also: bread! Homemade naan is delicious here, but I love this store-bought brand: Stonefire naan. No reviews
As always, you can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in place of the thighs. If you do, I suggest you pound them lightly, so each breast is an even thickness. This could be 3/4-1-inch thick (or thicker or thinner). You will likely need to grill for less time, so keep an eye on them. Scale this recipe up as needed. A good rule of thumb: Use 1 teaspoon kosher salt per pound of meat. Diamond Crystal kosher salt (red box) is what I use. I like toasting whole cumin and coriander seeds and grinding them in my mortar and pestle, but you can substitute ground spices in place of the whole. If you do, use less — 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of each. Another nice condiment to serve here: Homemade Harissa.
5 from 10 reviews Schug (pronounced skoog, sometimes spelled Skug, Zhug, Zhoug) is a Middle Eastern (often used in Yemeni/Israeli cooking) blend of herbs, chilies, and toasted spices: there’s cumin and coriander as well as hot chilies. Because the chilies are seeded, the sauce is not impossibly spicy—it’s, in fact, bright with lemon, and it has a bit of texture thanks to the mass of chilies, garlic, and herbs. Once you make schug once, you will want to put it on everything. Note: You’ll see in the video I only used 1 chili — it was all I had on hand that day! — and I didn’t add lemon zest…I forgot. All of this is to say the recipe is very forgiving. As long as you include some toasted spices and something that provides a little heat, and as long as you get the balance of lemon to olive oil right, you’ll be good to go.
