Middle East · Main · Medium
Chicken Shawarma
Rome's most famous pasta. Silky egg and Pecorino sauce clinging to every strand, studded with crisp guanciale. No cream, ever.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Chicken Shawarma, in 5 ideas
- Thighs, never breast. Thighs stay juicy through high-heat roasting. Breast dries out before the edges crisp.
- Single layer on the pan. Crowded chicken steams. Space lets the edges caramelize, which is the whole point.
- Slice thin after resting. Thin shavings mimic the spit. Thick chunks are just roast chicken in a wrap.
- Make the toum. Store-bought garlic sauce is fine in a pinch, but real toum (emulsified garlic and oil) is transformative and keeps a week.
- Warm the bread. Cold flatbread cracks when rolled. Two minutes in a hot oven makes it supple.
What you need
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 6 large flatbreads or pita
- 1 cup toum (garlic sauce)
- 1 cup pickles, sliced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cup parsley leaves
How to make it
Directions
- Whisk the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and all the spices. Coat the chicken thoroughly, cover, and marinate overnight in the fridge. Eight hours minimum.
- Bring the chicken to room temperature for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 425F.
- Arrange the thighs on a foil-lined sheet pan in a single layer. Roast 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges are deeply browned and crisp.
- Rest 10 minutes, then slice thin against the grain.
- Warm the flatbreads in the oven for 2 minutes.
- Spread toum down the center of each bread. Pile on chicken, pickles, tomato, and parsley. Roll tight and serve.
Overnight marinade, no shortcuts. The yogurt and acid need hours to tenderize and flavor the thighs. Two hours gives you surface seasoning. Overnight gives you shawarma.