Citrus varieties: Orange, Grapefruit, Lime, Lemon
By Cat, Dec 2007 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)
See also: 1. Poultry & Fowl Menu; 2. Homemade yogurt
My mom introduced me to kabobs (or kebabs), and it is one of my favorite ways to grill meats, especially for outdoor parties.
I don’t yet have my outdoor gas grill set up, waiting for me to build a level patio. So in the meantime, I do all my grilling indoors on my gas range (using a cast iron grill pan), or outdoor on my Mom’s old charcoal grill.
Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Citrus Dipping Sauce
I forget where I got this recipe back in 2007. This recipe makes about 20 skewers and 1 cup of citrus dipping sauce, and makes an attractive first course for a summer party, or can be served with rice and grilled vegetables as a main course.
If you start with bone-in, skin-on chicken, you must remove the bone, but removing the skin is optional (I keep it on); note that the weight is determined without the bone. Another option is to use a mix of breast and thigh meat (without the bone). I recommend brining at least the breast meat.
I like to include veggies on my kabobs, but you could grill veggies separately and serve them on the side.
Serves 2 – 4.
Ingredients & Equipment:
- Skewered Chicken:
- 1 pound chicken breasts and/or thighs, preferably brined (at least the breast meat)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
- ¾ tsp unrefined sea salt
- ½ tsp fresh-ground pepper
- Optional Veggies
- 1 carrot
- ½ – 1 red onion
- 1 red or green bell pepper
- Citrus Sauce:
- 1 cup plain, unsweetened yogurt
- 2 tsp fresh orange juice
- 1 tsp orange zest
- ½ tsp minced garlic
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- Equipment:
- 20 wooden skewer sticks
- bowl or baking pan with lid
- medium bowl
Method:
- Prep: Brine chicken breasts for 30 minutes. Remove from brine, rinse and drain. Remove bones (reserve bones for making chicken stock another time); removing skin is optional.
- While brining, prepare marinade: Combine the oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt and pepper in marinating pan or covered container.
- Slice chicken meat into bite-size cubes/pieces (or, if not using veggies, cut chicken in ¼” – ½” strips), and add to the marinade. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- If including veggies on the skewers, cut carrot into ¾” segments; cut onion in half crosswise, and each half into wedges; cut bell pepper in half crosswise, then cut each half lengthwise into ¾” strips.
- Citrus sauce: Grate 1 tsp zest from the orange. Cut orange in half and squeeze 2 tsp juice (you’ll probably only need one of the halves). Stir together zest, just and remaining sauce ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve; if the bowl doesn’t have a cover, place bowl in plastic bag.
- Cook: When ready to cook the kabobs, alternate pieces of chicken and veggies as you slide them on each skewer. If not using veggies and you cut the meat in narrow strips, run each skewer through one strip of breast meat several times. Grill for about 4 minutes, turn over and grill until cooked through, about 4 more minutes.
Assembly or Serving Suggestions
- Pour sauce into an attractive bowl for dipping (or into individual bowls). Place bowl(s) on platter and arrange skewers around the bowl.
- Place a scoop of rice on each serving plate, arranging skewers over the rice. Spoon grilled vegetables alongside the rice, then pass the citrus sauce to each guest.
