Mediterranean · Main · From the menu Brasa

Marinated chicken souvlaki

Souvlaki de pollo, limón, orégano

Thigh meat marinated overnight in lemon, oregano and garlic, threaded tight on skewers and cooked fast over charcoal. The most-eaten thing on the Brasa menu, by a distance.

Serves
Six to eight
Prep
25 min
Cook
15 min
Cuisine
Mediterranean

Thigh, never breast. Breast on a grill has about ninety seconds between raw and ruined, and at a party nobody is watching that closely. Thigh forgives you, and the fat dripping into the coals is what makes the whole terrace smell right.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 kg boneless chicken thighs, skin off, cut into 4 cm pieces
  • Juice and zest of 2 lemons
  • 6 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, grated
  • 2 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp fine salt, plenty of black pepper
  • Flatbreads, lemon wedges and yoghurt to serve

Method

  1. Mix everything except the chicken into a marinade and taste it. It should be aggressively lemony and salty; it is about to be diluted by a kilo and a half of meat.
  2. Add the chicken, work it with your hands until every piece is coated, cover and refrigerate for at least four hours, ideally overnight. Do not go past 24 hours or the lemon starts breaking the texture down.
  3. Take it out of the fridge 40 minutes before cooking. Cold meat on a grill cooks unevenly.
  4. Thread the pieces tightly onto skewers, five or six per skewer, pressed against each other. Loose pieces dry out; tight ones steam each other and stay juicy.
  5. Get the charcoal to a medium-high, even heat with no flames. Cook the skewers 12 to 15 minutes, turning every three minutes, until charred in places and firm.
  6. Rest them five minutes on a warm plate. Squeeze lemon over while they are resting, not before.
  7. Serve on warmed flatbreads with yoghurt, or straight off the skewer with a bowl of lemon wedges.

Serve it with. Grilled corn, the salad table, and cold beer.