Cubes of chicken thigh or breast marinated in yogurt, tomato or pepper paste, and garlic, then char-grilled on skewers. The yogurt marinade tenderizes the meat and helps it take on color without drying out.
Also known as: tavuk şiş, shish tawook Turkish style, chicken shish kebab, tavuk kebabı, piliç şiş
Visual recipe guide
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Ingredients
- 800 g boneless chicken thighs, cut into 3 cm cubes
- 150 g plain yogurt
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 tbsp Aleppo pepper (pul biber)
- 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp cumin
- 1.5 tsp salt, juice of half a lemon
How to make it
- 1
Whisk yogurt, tomato paste, oil, garlic, spices, salt and lemon into a thick marinade.
- 2
Coat the chicken and refrigerate at least 4 h — overnight is better.
- 3
Thread snugly onto flat skewers, scraping off excess marinade so it chars instead of burning.
- 4
Grill over hot coals 12-15 min, turning every few minutes, until blistered at the edges and cooked through.
- 5
Rest 3 min and serve over rice or lavash with sumac onions and grilled peppers.
Pro tip: Thighs, never breast — the fat keeps the cubes juicy through the char. If you must use breast, shorten the cook and baste with melted butter.
The story of Chicken Shish
Tavuk şiş is the chicken member of the Turkish grill table, and it is a relatively modern addition — chicken was not a common grilling meat in Anatolia until industrial poultry made it cheap in the second half of the twentieth century. It took its format directly from lamb şiş and its marinade from the yoghurt-based traditions already used for tenderising tougher meat.
It has since become the most-ordered skewer in Turkish restaurants abroad, particularly in Britain and Germany, partly because it is milder and partly because it sits comfortably alongside the doner as a lighter option. Inside Turkey it is standard on every mixed grill but rarely the thing a serious kebab house is judged on.
The technique that defines it
The yoghurt marinade is doing chemistry, not decoration. Its lactic acid and calcium loosen the muscle proteins gently, without the mushy surface that a lemon marinade produces, and the milk solids brown on the grill in a way that plain oil cannot. Tomato or red pepper paste adds colour and sugar for the same reason.
Chicken thigh needs eight to ten minutes over medium-hot coals with regular turning; breast needs less and punishes inattention immediately. Because chicken has to reach a safe internal temperature, the trick is a slightly gentler fire than for lamb — hot enough to colour, not so hot that the outside blackens before the centre catches up.
Choosing your ingredients
Thigh is materially better than breast here. It carries enough fat to survive the grill, it forgives an extra minute, and it tastes of something. If you use breast, cut it slightly larger than you think and pull it the moment it firms up. Skin-on pieces are excellent but need a two-zone fire, because rendering skin drips and flares.
The marinade wants full-fat yoghurt, grated onion juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, and either tomato or red pepper paste. Four to twelve hours is the useful range. Adding lemon shortens that window dramatically — an hour or two at most before the texture turns.
Mistakes that ruin it
Using breast and treating it like thigh
Breast has a two-minute window between done and dry. Either switch to thigh or watch it constantly.
Lemon-heavy marinade left overnight
Acid denatures the surface into a soft, chalky layer. Use yoghurt for long marinades and lemon only at the end.
A fire that is too fierce
Chicken must reach the centre. Very hot coals char the outside first and leave you guessing.
Skewering pieces too tightly
Unlike lamb, chicken benefits from a little air between pieces so the heat reaches all faces evenly.
How it is served
It comes with the same accompaniments as its lamb cousin — flatbread underneath, grilled tomato and pepper, sumac onions, rice or bulgur pilav — but usually with a bigger role for garlic yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon at the table. In a mixed grill it plays the mild part against Adana's heat, which is exactly why it exists on the menu.
Questions about Chicken Shish
Should I use chicken thigh or breast for shish?
Thigh. It has enough fat to stay juicy and it forgives an extra minute on the grill. Breast works but dries out fast.
How long should chicken shish marinate?
Four to twelve hours in a yoghurt-based marinade. If the marinade contains lemon juice, keep it under two hours.
Why yoghurt in the marinade?
Yoghurt tenderises gently without turning the surface mushy the way citrus does, and its milk solids brown attractively over coals.
Can I cook tavuk şiş in the oven?
Yes — broiler on, skewers on a rack over a tray, high shelf, turning once. You lose the smoke but the marinade still delivers most of the flavour.
