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The Unmanly Chef

Joojeh Kabob (Persian Saffron Chicken Thigh Kabobs)

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Prep Time 6 hours
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 6 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Packages of Boneless Skinless Organic Chicken Thigh
  • 2 Cups of Water
  • 2 Tbsp of Salt
  • Yogurt Marinade
  • 2 Cups of Full Fat Plain Yogurt
  • 1 Onion Shredded and the Juice squeezed out
  • ¼ Cup Lemon Juice
  • 2 Tbsp. Garlic Powder
  • 2 Tbsp. Onion Powder
  • 2 Tbsp. Cumin
  • 1 Tbsp. Salt
  • 1 Tbsp. Pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. Saffron Water *
  • Yogurt Sauce Not pictured above, but seen below
  • 1 Cup Greek Yogurt Fage Full Fat
  • 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 2 Tbsp. Sour Cream
  • Some Salt & Pepper to season
  • Persian Barbari Bread
  • Roasted Veggies simply tossed with olive oil and roasted in the oven
  • 1 Summer Squash
  • 1 Zucchini
  • Handful of Green Beans

Method
 

  1. Saffron water? It's saffron that has been crushed with a sugar cube with a mortar and pestle. It is then brewed with some warm water. This helps your saffron last longer. Saffron is extremely expensive, so this will help make it less painful. See the transformation below:
  2. First, mix the salt and water together to make a salt water brine for your chicken thighs. Add the chicken thighs, let them soak for 3 hours.
  3. While this is happening, get your yogurt marinade ready. Peel an onion and put it in a food processor. (If you don’t have one, you can shred it, but it will make you cry.)
  4. Squeeze out the juice from the onion. Throw that in a big bowl. Now add the rest of your yogurt marinade into the bowl, EXCEPT THE SAFFRON WATER.
  5. Take the chicken out of the brine, and cut it into manageable chunks. Think of each chunk as one or two bites.
  6. Now add your chicken to the marinade, and let it marinate for a few hours or overnight if you are going to a tailgate.
  7. Take the chicken out of the marinade and put it in another bowl, and allow some of the marinade to dredge off when you take it out. Add your saffron water. The chicken should be a nice yellowish color now.
  8. Thread the chicken onto the skewers. Don’t overload it so the chicken doesn’t cook evenly. But also don’t underload it. (Underload? Is it a word? Spell Check says No.)
  9. Set up your grill, I really recommend a charcoal grill, because you want the burner to be extremely hot.
  10. Set up 4 bricks on your grill so you can set your skewers on them. Bring your coal tray as high up as you can so it’s as close to the grill grates as possible. Your skewers won’t be touching the grates, so no worries.
  11. Set your skewers onto the bricks and rotate the chicken thighs until they are cooked. Make sure they are cooked.
  12. Pull the chicken skewers off the grill, use one of the bread to pull the chicken off the skewer. Serve it with the yogurt sauce and enjoy.