Failing NY Times Chicken Shawarma

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Modified for the Blackstone. Fun easy cook. I added a bit of soy sauce to finish on the BS and it was the right call. Seemed a little bland but I only marinaded for an hour so it needed a little bump (for me anyway). In the end, the flavor was awesome. Lots of lemony brightness with a salty crispy bite. 

Served with (storebought) nann and the yogurt cucumber sauce with fresh parsley finish. 

100% thumbs up for us. 

Mods I made from the (failing) NYT Recipe:(I made a 1.5x recipe so adjust soy accordingly if you follow this). 

i sliced the chicken into thin slices before the marinade. 

I cooked on the Blackstone instead of in the oven 

i added 1/8-1/4 cup of soy sauce to caramelize on the BS.

Recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017161-oven-roasted-chicken-shawarma

tarheelmatt

Looks fantastic Cen. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

tarheelmatt said:

Looks fantastic Cen. 

give it a rip. very good. The blackstone is the right play too. 

Theophan

I've been thinking of cooking the same recipe, and I'm confused about how the recipe "failed."

The recipe said to marinate at least an hour and up to 12, and then roast in a hot oven. You marinated it only the minimum hour, and then fried it instead of roasting it, and added soy sauce.  

What you did sounds GREAT, and I'm not complaining that you changed the recipe and loved the result!  But I've been thinking of trying this recipe so I really want to know if it's a "failing" recipe or not, and given how very differently you prepared it than the recipe, I can't tell.  How sure are you that if I actually made it the way they call for in the recipe, marinating it a lot longer and then cooking it in the BGE instead of an oven (and probably direct, which would be more like the original rotisserie-cooked meat), that it would "fail?"

HeavyG

I believe the "failing" was just a commentary on Voldemorts opinion of the NYTimes.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Theophan said:

I've been thinking of cooking the same recipe, and I'm confused about how the recipe "failed."

The recipe said to marinate at least an hour and up to 12, and then roast in a hot oven. You marinated it only the minimum hour, and then fried it instead of roasting it, and added soy sauce.  

What you did sounds GREAT, and I'm not complaining that you changed the recipe and loved the result!  But I've been thinking of trying this recipe so I really want to know if it's a "failing" recipe or not, and given how very differently you prepared it than the recipe, I can't tell.  How sure are you that if I actually made it the way they call for in the recipe, marinating it a lot longer and then cooking it in the BGE instead of an oven (and probably direct, which would be more like the original rotisserie-cooked meat), that it would "fail?"

I was poking a little fun of Donald Trump calling the NYT the "Failing New York Times"

The recipe was great. I can see how that is confusing but make this with confidence. The recipe is good, the joke was bad

Killit_and_Grillit

Hard to beat a good schwarma! Great cook!

caliking

Good stuff!

I keep hearing about Zankou's garlic sauce on the interwebz and want to try it with something like this. 

20stone

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

....Served with (storebought) nann ....

Philistine!  

I want my starter back

nolaegghead

Theophan said:

I've been thinking of cooking the same recipe, and I'm confused about how the recipe "failed."

The recipe said to marinate at least an hour and up to 12, and then roast in a hot oven. You marinated it only the minimum hour, and then fried it instead of roasting it, and added soy sauce.  

What you did sounds GREAT, and I'm not complaining that you changed the recipe and loved the result!  But I've been thinking of trying this recipe so I really want to know if it's a "failing" recipe or not, and given how very differently you prepared it than the recipe, I can't tell.  How sure are you that if I actually made it the way they call for in the recipe, marinating it a lot longer and then cooking it in the BGE instead of an oven (and probably direct, which would be more like the original rotisserie-cooked meat), that it would "fail?"

FAKE NEWS!!

Paul B.

How much do you love the Blackstone?  Looks awesome.  That is that piece I am missing.  

I am not giving the NYT's my email - w nt let me see the recipe ; (

Looks great thx for sharing.

NCSmoky

@Paul B.” Just type NY Times Chicken Shawarma in your browser and follow the google link,wont ask for email.

kl8ton

NIce work!

buzd504

Paul B. said:

How much do you love the Blackstone?  Looks awesome.  That is that piece I am missing.  

I am not giving the NYT's my email - w nt let me see the recipe ; (

Looks great thx for sharing.

Psst, you can give them a made-up email.

JohnnyTarheel

Excellent cook my friend....

Legume

buzd504 said:

Paul B. said:

How much do you love the Blackstone?  Looks awesome.  That is that piece I am missing.  

I am not giving the NYT's my email - w nt let me see the recipe ; (

Looks great thx for sharing.

Psst, you can give them a made-up email.

so, fake email unlocks fake news?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Paul B. said:

How much do you love the Blackstone?  Looks awesome.  That is that piece I am missing.  

I am not giving the NYT's my email - w nt let me see the recipe ; (

Looks great thx for sharing.

They will spam the $hit out of you too. I blocked them from my email but can still see the recipes. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

NCSmoky said:

@Paul B.” Just type NY Times Chicken Shawarma in your browser and follow the google link,wont ask for email.

correct and tons of 3rd party sites have linked to it. You can get it

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Paul B. said:

How much do you love the Blackstone?  Looks awesome.  That is that piece I am missing.  

I am not giving the NYT's my email - w nt let me see the recipe ; (

Looks great thx for sharing.

We do enjoy the blackstone quite a bit. Once I got the cover situation right, we have enjoyed it even more. It can be a little bit of a PITA to maintain the grill surface if you don't have a proper cover. I got a new one for Christmas that has made all the difference for me. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Marinade (per 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thigh)

1/2 cup EVOO
Juice from 2 lemons
6 cloves of garlic smashed and minced
Tsp Salt
2Tsp black pepper
2Tsp Ground Cumin
2Tsp Paprika
1/2Tsp Turmeric
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of ground pepper flakes (dealer's choice)
Large Red Onion-quartered 

How I did it: Slice thighs into strips, Marinate the thighs up to 12 hours (I only had an hour and it worked- more would have been better). Throw the onion in the marinade as you are getting your griddle hot. Throw it all on a screaming hot griddle and sear it until crispy and the marinade has caramelized on the chicken. I did not pour all the liquid out of the bag and that was a good call. I grabbed the chicken from the bag with tongs and threw it on the Blackstone. There was plenty, if not too much, marinade on the griddle. 

I tasted a piece on the griddle and it was good but lacked punch. I threw maybe an 1/8 cup of soy sauce just to add some umami and some color and that worked like a champ. I was using 3 lbs of chicken so adjust this step accordingly. 

Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with naan

Janell made a cucumber/yogurt raita to go on top. It was fantastic but I don't have that recipe at hand. I'll post later if I think about it. 

KiterTodd

That looks good.

I bought the big stainless poker and tray from CGS over the holidays to make something like this in the big Latin/Greek stack.  Haven't broken it out yet, though.

So, question below about the recipe...

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Marinade (per 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thigh)

1/2 cup EVOO
Juice from 2 lemons
6 cloves of garlic smashed and minced
Tsp Salt
2Tsp black pepper
2Tsp Ground Cumin
2Tsp Paprika
1/2Tsp Turmeric
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of ground pepper flakes (dealer's choice)
Large Red Onion-quartered 

How I did it: Slice thighs into strips, Marinate the thighs up to 12 hours (I only had an hour and it worked- more would have been better). ...

...I'm always nervous when a recipe with lemon or lime juice calls for a long marinade, as sometimes it cooks the meat and it develops a pasty white consistency.  While I've had that happen on long marinades, I have also followed plenty of recipes where it does not.  The flavors just deepen and taste awesome.

Does anyone know if there is an ingredient in marinade that maybe neutralizes the acidic cooking potential of the citrus so you can do long soaks with those flavors?  I thought maybe the EVOO helps with that, as opposed to if the juice of 2 lemons was the only liquid.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

KiterTodd said:

That looks good.

I bought the big stainless poker and tray from CGS over the holidays to make something like this in the big Latin/Greek stack.  Haven't broken it out yet, though.

So, question below about the recipe...

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Marinade (per 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thigh)

1/2 cup EVOO
Juice from 2 lemons
6 cloves of garlic smashed and minced
Tsp Salt
2Tsp black pepper
2Tsp Ground Cumin
2Tsp Paprika
1/2Tsp Turmeric
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of ground pepper flakes (dealer's choice)
Large Red Onion-quartered 

How I did it: Slice thighs into strips, Marinate the thighs up to 12 hours (I only had an hour and it worked- more would have been better). ...

...I'm always nervous when a recipe with lemon or lime juice calls for a long marinade, as sometimes it cooks the meat and it develops a pasty white consistency.  While I've had that happen on long marinades, I have also followed plenty of recipes where it does not.  The flavors just deepen and taste awesome.

Does anyone know if there is an ingredient in marinade that maybe neutralizes the acidic cooking potential of the citrus so you can do long soaks with those flavors?  I thought maybe the EVOO helps with that, as opposed to if the juice of 2 lemons was the only liquid.

I'm with you on that but I think this is more like a vinaigrette. Mostly EVOO with some lemon. The lemon really shines through so it's definitely in there. I think 4-6 hours should be plenty but this turned out fantastic with the splash of soy. I don't think I would change a thing about the way this turned out. 

GATraveller

KiterTodd said:

That looks good.

I bought the big stainless poker and tray from CGS over the holidays to make something like this in the big Latin/Greek stack.  Haven't broken it out yet, though.

I want one of those for to make Al Pastor.

gtcharlie

I have made the exact recipe a couple of times with fantastic results.  Both times marinated overnight and done in the oven.  Only change I make is to at least double the amount of onions called for.   Serve on either pita or naan with some tzatziki sauce and diced tomatoes.   Highly recommended and so simple.

nolaegghead

KiterTodd said:

That looks good.


Does anyone know if there is an ingredient in marinade that maybe neutralizes the acidic cooking potential of the citrus so you can do long soaks with those flavors?  I thought maybe the EVOO helps with that, as opposed to if the juice of 2 lemons was the only liquid.

Baking soda or baking powder will neutralize the acidity.

caliking

KiterTodd said:

...I'm always nervous when a recipe with lemon or lime juice calls for a long marinade, as sometimes it cooks the meat and it develops a pasty white consistency.  While I've had that happen on long marinades, I have also followed plenty of recipes where it does not.  The flavors just deepen and taste awesome.

Does anyone know if there is an ingredient in marinade that maybe neutralizes the acidic cooking potential of the citrus so you can do long soaks with those flavors?  I thought maybe the EVOO helps with that, as opposed to if the juice of 2 lemons was the only liquid.

Stopped marinating meat in acidic liquids (lime, lemon, yogurt) for more than 4 hrs for the same reason. If you want a longer marination, you could try adding the citrus towards the end, so its only in there for 1/2/4 hrs, or however long you want. 

Theophan

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I was poking a little fun of Donald Trump calling the NYT the "Failing New York Times"

The recipe was great. I can see how that is confusing but make this with confidence. The recipe is good, the joke was bad

Oh, for crying out loud <laughing>, how dumb was I?  Sorry, I completely missed the reference to Trump and the Times, thought you were seriously saying it was a terrible recipe but adding soy and doing it on the Blackstone somehow made it better.  I'm sure your version was great, but (a) I don't have a Blackstone, and (b) I really like the idea of grilling it direct, maybe pounding it a bit thinner first, as maybe getting a more similar result to real shawarma.  Dunno.  Definitely want to try it sometime.

Anyway, thanks for the explanation, sorry I completely misunderstood the joke!

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Theophan said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I was poking a little fun of Donald Trump calling the NYT the "Failing New York Times"

The recipe was great. I can see how that is confusing but make this with confidence. The recipe is good, the joke was bad

Oh, for crying out loud <laughing>, how dumb was I?  Sorry, I completely missed the reference to Trump and the Times, thought you were seriously saying it was a terrible recipe but adding soy and doing it on the Blackstone somehow made it better.  I'm sure your version was great, but (a) I don't have a Blackstone, and (b) I really like the idea of grilling it direct, maybe pounding it a bit thinner first, as maybe getting a more similar result to real shawarma.  Dunno.  Definitely want to try it sometime.

Anyway, thanks for the explanation, sorry I completely misunderstood the joke!

This would be awesome grilled direct. At the end of the recip it said “if you want it crispy (like the NYC food carts) slice it thin and put it in a hot cast iron skillet”. I figured I would skip the middleman (oven) and just do it on the flat top. 

Paul B.

I used to run a chicken restaurant called Koo Koo Roo and our signature chicken was marinated for 3 days. We put chicken pieces in a large lexan and put sliced onions over the top of the chicken then alot of salt.  The salt would make the onions drain their juice and we would mix that together really well.  After 18-24 hours we would add lemon juice (real lemon 100% lemon juice in the bottle) mixed with black pepper and marinade for 48 hours mixing it a couple of times.  The chicken was cooked over an open flame and finished with a tomato based sauce similar to bbq but not as sweet.  It was a bit tart from the lemon juice but super juicy.  The first restaurant was in L.A. owned if i remember right by two Lebaneese brothers. Another guy that I worked for bought the recipe and expanded the concept but it was based on that chicken. At one point there were 25 - 30 restaurants that did well.  It was a lot of pepper and salt and the chicken did get white from the marinade but it was really good! Chi Chi's mexican restaurants wound up buying it and ruined the concept ; (

Citrus worked for that recipe and I still, make the chicken but I finish it w bbq.....

The Cen-Tex Smoker

So nice we did it twice. This time I grilled direct on skewers. TFJ said it was better but I kinda liked the flat top version better. Both had merits, the skewer cook has nice  little crispy bits mixed in while I thought the blackstone version had better caramelization of the sauce. Both were very good though. 







A few notes- the marinade tastes and smells downright electric with all that lemon, cumin, and turmeric but it does mellow during the cook. Im a bit of an under-taster so I think it does benefit from a little splash of umami and a squeeze of fresh lemon as it’s rests. I like to rest these in a long bowl to catch all the drippings and lemon juice and toss the chicken chunks in that before plating

this one is pretty good and definitely worth a try. Great on the griddle, and great grilled raised direct on the bge. 

caliking

Looks killer!

I'm a fan of the raised direct cook on skewers. Those cripsy bits are where its at. Its not quite the same on a grid.