Last Updated on June 11, 2022
What is Shish Tawook (Chicken Shish Kabob)
Lebanese Shish Tawook Recipe can be one of the tastiest Middle Eastern chicken Kabobs around. The name points to its Turkish origins (Tavuk ĆiĆ) however it is quite a common chicken bbq dish in virtually every Middle Eastern country, and with Persians having their own “Jujeh Kabob” version. It can also be spelled as Shish Taouk.
Lebanese Shish Tawook Recipe
Back to Lebanon, Shish Tawook can be found in most fast food restaurants. It is usually ordered as a sandwich of grilled chicken rolled in a “pita” bread with some Lebanese Garlic Sauce  and some salty pickles, fries and I’ve even had it once with lettuce/mayo. It can also be served in a plate with a side of rice and grilled veggies. In its most basic form, Shish Tawook is just grilled chicken breast, but the secret is in the marination. I’ve had Shish Tawook at home and in restaurants pretty much all my life, and despite the common flavors of garlic and lemon being shared in the Lebanese-style Shish Tawook, spices and flavorings may vary quite a lot.
While putting this recipe together, we experimented with a few different chicken marination and spices and settled on one that our guests and us loved the most. This recipe was inspired mainly from our family friend Mohammed who used to be a chef in a Lebanese restaurant in Michigan. In addition, we share a small secret later in the post that we learned from Laba, another family friend who owned and operated restaurants in Lebanon.
Shish Tawook Marinade
The Chicken Shish Tawook marinade has a whole bunch of spices, along with garlic, yogurt and lemon juice. You could possibly buy the ready-made spice mix online, but we always love to make the spice mix from scratch for freshness and to also tweak it to our liking.
Grilling the Shish Tawook (Chicken Shish Kabob)
If you use flat stainless steel skewers the meat will cook faster on the inside and you won’t have to grill them for as long, yielding a juicier outcome. The recommendation here is to grill on medium heat between 12-18 minutes max.
A Little Secret For Moist Chicken
Right when you take the chicken off the grill, place the skewers (if they fit) or chicken chunks in an empty warm pot, close the lid tightly and keep them locked for about 8-10 minutes. The trapped vapors and moisture inside the pot will make the chicken very moist. We first discovered this trick several years ago at “Gharakia Nehmeh Restaurant” in Hasroun, Lebanon, and which is operated by our family friend Laba Nehmeh and mom has since used this trick with all grilled chicken.
Shish Tawook Chicken Recipe - Grilled Chicken Kabobs Wraps
Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade
- 2 lbs boneless chicken breast cut into cubes/Kabab chunks
- 1 cup lemon juice
- slice lemon optional
- 15 cloves garlic crushed
- 6 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon white pepper ground
- 1/3 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme or ground oregano
- 1/3 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
Shish Tawook Kabob Wrap
- 4 teaspoons Garlic Paste Lebanese style
- 4 loafs pita bread
- 4 tomatoes grilled
- 2 cups French fries
- 8 salted pickles Lebanese style cucumber pickles
Instructions
Making the Marinade
- Cut the chicken breasts into cubes of about 2 inches each. The cubes shouldn't be too small otherwise they'll dry quickly on the grill.
- Place chicken cubes in a bowl, add all marinade ingredients and rub with hands until all ingredients assimilated well.
- Let marinate in a covered container in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Grilling the Kabob Skewers
- Skewer the chicken right before grilling.
- Grill on a BBQ on medium heat for 12-15 minutes maximum turning frequently. Overcooking can dry the chicken.
- Alternatively, you can lay the skewers on the edges of a deep Pyrex dish and bake in the oven at 400F for 15 mins.
- Once cooked, remove the chicken cubes and place in a pot while covering the lid tightly. Let rest for 5 minutes to help the chicken self-steam and turn juicier and softer.
Making the Shish Tawook Wrap
- Spread 1 teaspoon of Lebanese garlic paste along the center/diameter of a pita bread.
- Add 4-5 chicken kabobs.
- Garnish with salted cucumber pickles, French fries, grilled tomatoes or peppers (optional)., Roll and enjoy. You could also toast the wrap roll through a panini grill for 2-3 minutes.
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I’ve been using your recipe for Eid gatherings the past 6 years, it is a hit every single time. Absolutely worth all the garlic peeling, hahaha. Thanks for such an amazing recipe!
you’re very welcome and Eid Mubarak!
Thanks for sharing this!
How long can you keep the chicken marinated. Should you throw the marinade after 12 hour. Can you freeze the marinated chicken
Hi there! Thank you for this recipe I’m excited to try it in lockdown. Sorry if this question sounds stupid but I just want to make sure – when you say “grill” are you referring to using a pan on top of the stove (i.e. griddle pan) or inside the oven on a ‘grill’ setting? I think it would be a pan in order to get the char on the meat but just checking! Thank you!
Cara I hope you got a chance to try the Chicken Shish Tawook recipe. When re talk about grilling, traditionally it’s grilled on a BBQ over charcoal. However you can also try roasting it in an oven, when we do so we lay the skewers sideways on a pyrex tray so this way they drip inside the tray.
Thank you for your response, Edgard!
I tried this recipe twice already and loved it both times. The second time I could only find skinless and boneless chicken thigh pieces which actually ended up being even more tender. I used a griddle/skillet pan to cook and it was fantastic. A huge hit with my family – thank you!
You got it Cara. I’ve never tried making Shish tawook with chicken thighs thanks for the tip i’ll give it a shot.
A friend has made this and she loved it! I would also like to cook it in the oven…do you have a recommended temp and time?
Just grill it on charcoal, anything else just doesnât do it justice in my opinion.
I made this recipe but it came out very garlicky. Are the 15 cloves all for the marinade? That seems like a lot.
This is one of my favorite recipes! I like to make this chicken at least twice a summer. It’s best grilled :). I add more tomato paste and yogurt. I really like the marinade to stick to the chicken. Thanks for it!
You’re welcome Carla.
Hi,I made garlic sauce but it didn’t come right.would u pls help me?My email add is azita7@verizon.net
this ghasaan abu zaid from jordan and I am 55 years old..in my childhood my parents use to go with them to lebanon for vacations and holidays ….I still remember this resturant “picnic” near the airport area .they served shishtawook dish with garlic sauce …the taste is out of this world ..there was this spice or herb that made it unique and delicious….hope yr reciepe explained would be up to the challenge
This chicken looks so divine and tender. I love all the warm, aromatic spices that went into this!Thanks for this awesome recipe.
My grill is currently not working. Is there any way you would suggest making this indoors? Whether it be in the oven or stove top? Thank you!
Gerry one way you could cook the Shish Tawook indoors is by skewering the chicken using bamboo skewers, and then lining them on top of a pyrex tray that is about 2 inches deep. You can bake them that way in the oven at 400-450F for 10 mins then broil them for 2-3 minutes.
Is there a non dairy substitute for yogurt? This looks and reads tasty! Thanks, L
Hi Leah – Yogurt is optional in the Shish Tawook chicken marination. It just makes things a bit more tender but you can skip it altogether.
I made this recipe for the first time and used very less lemon and vinegar. Thick yogurt ( store bought) this dish are amazing
how much did you end up using? half the amount or quarter the amount?
If I bake this, at what temp should I do so, should it be covered in foil to retain the juices and opened towards the end of cooking time? I love the simplicity of this recipe and am waiting to try it out!
Hi! Can I use normal yogurt instead of greek yogut?
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi K Chandana yes regular yogurt works.. even Labneh (strained yogurt) works it’s only to make the chicken more tender
Hi thanks for the recipe. I marinated the chicken for about 24 hours and it tasted too much lemon… As I looked for other shisk taouk recipes, i noticed that they used a lot less lemon… I might try this recipe again but a I would marinate it less longer…
This is such a super recipe! We made this today and the chicken tastes absolutely delicious! It’s juicy and tender and has the most amazing flavors! Thank you for sharing this đ
What is the nutritional ibformation for this Recipe?
Hi. This is the second time I am trying this recipe. First time I over-cooked the chicken so I didn’t get to enjoy the recipe. Let’s hope this time it turns out great. My question is why isn’t the marinade thick ? It is not turning out to be paste- like. It’s very water- like . Is that normal? Is it because the recipe calls for a lot of lemon juice? The marinade literally turned out to be a thin like sauce.
The marinade doesn’t have to be thick but if you add more plain yogurt or labneh it makes it thicker. But at the end it’s the grilling that matters most. In my first few tries I overcooked the chicken too and always ended up with a dry chicken.. However I followed the advice of a friend who worked as a Chef in a Lebanese restaurant in Michigan and reduced grilling time to 12-13 minutes and got some nice moist chicken that is well cooked. This is the same cooking time we get in restaurants when we order shish tawook.
The recipe looks great!!! However, I am a a little short of ingredients- if i use white synthetic vinegar will it be okay?
Synthetic white vinegar should be ok albeit the flavour won’t be as strong as the apple cider vinegar
I’m excited to try this recipe. I love shish tawook and miss it. I have a question about the yogurt. Is it necessary? I love to cook chicken with yogurt but wanted to make this for a party and some guests have dairy allergies. Could I use a substitute yogurt or just omit it? Do you think it would come out fine? Thanks!!
Jennifer the yogurt is not critical you can skip it. It’s only used to help tenderize the meat.
Can please show me the size of your cup, i added 1 cup of lemon to 4 kilos chicken and the cup is a small cup which is used for drinking tea but it still does scare me đ can you please please PLEASE show me the size of your cup ?
Hi Mahmoud – the cup size we use is 250 ml.
I took 4 kilo chicken and it is with bone i added ingredients accordingly with the recipe will it be a disaster or will be the same ?
I think it should be just fine. This won’t be a shish tawook though because by definition it has to be boneless chicken. However it will still be a tasty grilled chicken once you try it. I hope you enjoy it.