Chicken Shawarma

bosco0633

its been a while since I have posted here so I figured I would show off my newly fabricated shawarma and tacos al pastor rack that a buddy built for me.  

I made some shawarma marinade and some white sauce for this cook. Cooked on the Kamado at 375.  

I have been posting my stuff on Instagram if anyone wants to follow me @ryan_torrie

hope to to be around more often

GATraveller

Amazing as always. Would love the recipe if willing. Thanks so much. 

Spaightlabs

YES!!!  Looks excellent.

bosco0633

I will post the recipe in the morning for you 

chzplz

Tony Stark would approve!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYiZeszLosE&t=12s

Killit_and_Grillit

Looks incredible. I would crush that. 

EggMcMic

Haven't had good shawarma since I lived in Chicago...looks great to me!

johnnyp

very cool.  I've been interested in a vertical roasting stick.  Is your buddy selling them?

bosco0633

johnnyp said:

very cool.  I've been interested in a vertical roasting stick.  Is your buddy selling them?

I can ask him

20stone

Great looking cook.  Thanks for posting it.

Focker

Looks edible. 
Nice post.

TideEggHead

Outstanding! Now I'm craving a good gyro.

bosco0633

GATraveller said:

Amazing as always. Would love the recipe if willing. Thanks so much. 

I use a mix of chicken breast and thighs.  I prefer boneless.  I butterfly them and hammer them down for stacking.  If cooking on the grill just butterfly them don't hammer them down.  

2 breasts and 4 thighs
4 tbsp EVOO
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp paprika 
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp allspice 
3/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon  
pinch of cayenne or more if you like spicy
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper

marinate meat for at least 4 hours

The secret to good shawarma is double cooking the meat.  Once thinly sliced, place in skillet and lightly fry.  It caramelizes and adds a crispness to the meat. 

If you grill the meat cook at 375 then thin slice.  If you have a rod, then shave the edges and remove the pieces from the grill.  Place the spit back on and let the new outer edge to cook again and then shave.  Repeat until all meat is cooked.  

Rice Recipe

2 cups basmati
4 cups water or chicken stock
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp turmeric 
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

white sauce

I struggle with tahini paste so I prefer the more non traditional style white sauce.  

1.5 cups of greek yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise 
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 finely chopped parsley
4-6 cloves of minced garlic

add all ingredients to a blender without the parsley.  Mix until all even.  If too thick, add a touch of water.  pulse in the finely chopped parsley after blending.  If you add parsley to the blend the sauce will turn green.

I always serve with pita pockets.  Stuff the pita with shaved iceberg lettuce, tomato and cucumber slices, onion (I don't like onion).  Add rice and chicken mix and hit a liberal serving of white sauce and some hot sauce

Or eat as a dish like pictured above

Hope this helps.  I have enjoyed shawarma and have played with my recipe to get it to where I really enjoy.  I hope that you all enjoy it

Canugghead

Love it, last picture should be in the front cover of food magazine. Printed and saved as pdf. Thanks for sharing.

Budaman5000

Oh my that looks good will have to try this...

HeavyG

johnnyp said:

very cool.  I've been interested in a vertical roasting stick.  Is your buddy selling them?

https://ceramicgrillstore.com/products/meat-stick-spit

bluebird66

Outstanding!!

KiterTodd

That looks awesome.
Can you post some pictures of that rig cooking on the grill?
And of course... the awesome pictures of a couple fresh slices off that.

Would love to make that some time. 

Good tip on the "slice, then cook more, then slice again."  I didn't realize that, but it answers my question of how do you get a stack of meat like that to cook through. 

Have you ever used that method when you are serving dinner all at once? (family style vs. grill-side service).  Was wondering if you have been able to keep the iteratively grilled slices warm and tender as you go through the process.

westernbbq

Awesome looking cook 

KiterTodd

bosco0633 said:

its been a while since I have posted here so I figured I would show off my newly fabricated shawarma and tacos al pastor rack that a buddy built for me... 

Can anyone think of a readily available grilling/cooking tool we can use for one of these shawarma spikes? 

I did an amazon search but all I could find were the full-on $900 rotating shawarma/gyro cookers.  Which reminds me, I bet once you get things cooked it'd be efficient to have a hotter fire below so that when you close the lid you quickly get the heat back in there to cook the outer layer.   In any case, it looks like a fun cooking technique to try.

500

Saved in on my Pinterest page.  Looks great.  Thanks.

HeavyG

KiterTodd said:

bosco0633 said:

its been a while since I have posted here so I figured I would show off my newly fabricated shawarma and tacos al pastor rack that a buddy built for me... 

Can anyone think of a readily available grilling/cooking tool we can use for one of these shawarma spikes? 

I did an amazon search but all I could find were the full-on $900 rotating shawarma/gyro cookers.  Which reminds me, I bet once you get things cooked it'd be efficient to have a hotter fire below so that when you close the lid you quickly get the heat back in there to cook the outer layer.   In any case, it looks like a fun cooking technique to try.

https://ceramicgrillstore.com/products/meat-stick-spit

bosco0633

I just placed it in the middle of the grill with a drip pan. Even if some of the carvings are not 100% cooked you still need to fry it for a true shawarma experience.  The amount of food I got after the first slicing was more than enough for the four of us to eat.  

What i I normally do is slice up all the meat and put it in a container.  I fry what we need up for when we eat dinner and more as we go.  

The mix mix of the breast and thigh is awesome as you get a really nice mix of meat.  

KiterTodd

Ahhhhhh, I misread your initial post. @bosco0633.  I thought the pan fry sear was before you spiked everything, to give some caramelization flavor.  Sounds like I have it backwards or you do both.  In any event, good technique.  Thanks.

@HeavyG - score!  That'll do perfectly.  I just read the write-up and found it was intended for my second favorite cook of this style.. Tacos Al Pastor!

caliking

That plated shot looks righteous! Thanks for sharing the recipe(s).

bosco0633

KiterTodd said:

Ahhhhhh, I misread your initial post. @bosco0633.  I thought the pan fry sear was before you spiked everything, to give some caramelization flavor.  Sounds like I have it backwards or you do both.  In any event, good technique.  Thanks.

@HeavyG - score!  That'll do perfectly.  I just read the write-up and found it was intended for my second favorite cook of this style.. Tacos Al Pastor!

fry in the skillet after it’s sliced up from the spit