Turkish Chicken Kebabs

This chicken kebab recipe uses a flavorful, yogurt-based marinade. I'd like to think that all the chicken coming off American grills this summer will be as tasty, juicy, and tender as these. Even inexperienced grillers can produce impressive results! I'm not sure how "Turkish" this is — it's loosely based on a lamb marinade I've used for a long time.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 12 mins
• Total Time: 27 mins
• Calories: 539 Calories

Ingredients

• ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon Aleppo red pepper flakes
• 2 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, halved
• 4 long metal skewers

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.

Step 2

Whisk yogurt, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, ketchup, red pepper flakes, salt, cumin, black pepper, paprika, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.

Step 3

Place chicken thigh halves into the yogurt marinade and coat them thoroughly on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate, 2 to 8 hours.

Step 4

Using 2 skewers for each kebab, thread half of the chicken thighs onto each pair of skewers making a fairly thick "log" shape.

Step 5

Place kebabs on the preheated grill. Do not try to turn them until they begin to unstick from the grill, 3 or 4 minutes. Turn kebabs and grill the other side for 3 to 4 minutes. Continue cooking and turning until chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 6 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).