Chicken Kebabs

My dear blogger friends, it’s been a while since I last posted. My husband and I recently went on a wonderful cruise on the Queen Elizabeth. I plan to write about our experience later. I’ve been back home for two weeks and have been busy cooking. I experimented with an apricot cake made with spelt flour, but unfortunately, it was inedible, despite being from a well-known German chef. So, I decided to go back to the drawing board and find a new apricot cake recipe. I hope the next one will be blog-worthy! In the meantime, I have a collection of delicious apricot recipes that I’ve loved and tested over the years.

The 4th of July is just around the corner, and I thought I’d share a recipe for grilled chicken kebabs that I found in the July issue of Cook’s Illustrated. These tasty morsels are marinated to perfection and bursting with flavor. They’re the perfect way to celebrate summer and barbecuing.
I apologize, but I can only share one photo of the kebabs. I was having fun with my friends and forgot to take the more photos.. I’ll add more once I make them again. Annie Petito, the author, explains in detail why she prefers boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this dish. She believes they are more flavorful and can be cooked at higher temperatures without drying out. The marinade is well-balanced and elevates these kebabs. They are so tasty and juicy, making them an excellent alternative to a typical barbecue. They’ll be our summer staple as long as my husband continues to grill them. I served them with my delicious peach panzanella salad. I added lettuces to my orginal recipe. The author suggests serving these kebabs with rice and vegetables, or on flatbread or tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes, Greek yogurt, and hot sauce.

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Ingredients:
Serves 6 
¼ cup tomato paste ( I used paste in a tube imported from Italy)
3 TBS vegetable oil
2 TBS fish sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ tsp. sugar
1 ¼ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Pepper
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 ( 12-inch metal skewers)

Directions:
Prepare the marinade by whisking together tomato paste, oil, fish sauce, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper in a bowl until smooth. Cut the chicken thighs into 1-inch pieces, leaving the fat on as it adds flavor to the kebabs. It will burn off during the grilling. Mix the marinade with the chicken pieces until evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to 12 hours.
While the grill heats up, thread the chicken pieces onto skewers, folding them to form 1-inch pieces. 
My husband barbecued the kebabs on his gas grill. He said he set the grill to a low fire. Here are the instructions from Cook’s Illustrated:
1. Turn all burners to high.
2. Cover the grill.
3. Heat the grill until it’s hot, about 15 minutes.
4. Leave the primary burner on high and turn off the other burners.
5. Place the kebabs directly over the primary burner and cook them covered unyill the grilled side is well browned.
6. Turn the kebabs one-quarter turn and continue cooking until all sides are browned. 
7. The meat should register 175˚ F, which will take about 12 minutes.
8. Let the meat rest for 5 minutes

Guten Appetit!
Recipe from Cook’s Illustrated 
Author Annie Pepito
Posted by Sunnycovechef