Chicken souvlaki with tzatziki
Lemon, garlic and oregano flavour juicy chicken thigh skewers with lightly charred edges. Serve with thick cucumber-yoghurt tzatziki and warm, soft pita.
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Servings
Originally developed for 4 servings.
Ingredient checklist
Method
- 30:00
Zest the lemon before squeezing it. In a non-reactive bowl, mix 30 ml olive oil, 30 ml lemon juice, all the lemon zest, 6 g garlic, the oregano, 7 g salt and the pepper. Cut the chicken into even 3 cm pieces, add it and coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours. Do not wash raw chicken. Wash your hands and clean the board and utensils before preparing the tzatziki.
- 10:00
While the chicken marinates, coarsely grate the cucumber, toss with 1 g salt and leave for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the yoghurt with the remaining 3 g garlic, 10 ml olive oil, 10 ml lemon juice and 1 g salt. Squeeze the cucumber firmly in a clean cloth until it stops dripping freely, then stir it into the yoghurt. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes and until serving.
- No timer needed
After the minimum marination, divide the chicken evenly between eight metal skewers, without packing the pieces tightly. Let excess marinade drip back into the bowl, then discard it. Preheat the overhead grill on high for 5–10 minutes, following its instructions for door position. While it heats, wash your hands and clean the raw-chicken work area. Set a grill-safe rack over a rimmed tray approximately 8–10 cm below the element; do not use baking paper. Keep clean serving utensils separate from those used for raw chicken.
- No timer needed
Grill four skewers at a time for approximately 15–20 minutes per batch, leaving gaps between them. Turn every 4–5 minutes and move them around to compensate for hot spots. Aim for lightly charred edges; if they blacken before cooking through, lower the heat or move the rack farther from the element.
Check the thickest pieces in each batch with a clean thermometer, inserting it from the side, clear of the metal skewer: the centre must reach 75°C and stay there for 30 seconds. The chicken should also be firm with an opaque centre, but appearance does not replace the temperature check. Transfer the first batch to a clean plate and cover loosely while grilling and checking the second batch in the same way. Clean the thermometer probe between checks if a piece is not yet cooked through.
- No timer needed
Let the final batch rest for at least 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a dry frying pan over medium heat and warm the pita one at a time for 45–60 seconds per side, until warm and pliable rather than crisp. Stack under a clean tea towel. Stir the chilled tzatziki and serve each person two skewers, one warm pita and a quarter of the sauce.
Chef tips
- The timeline uses a 30-minute marinade and approximately 18 minutes under the grill per batch. A longer marinade or weaker grill extends the schedule; cook to the temperature endpoint, not the clock.
- Avoid overnight lemon marination: prolonged acid exposure can make the chicken surface soft or chalky.
- If the tzatziki is loose, squeeze the cucumber more thoroughly next time. Additional thick yoghurt can improve a finished sauce that is too thin or sharply garlicky.
- If the pita is unusually dry, lightly mist it with water before warming; do not soak it.
- Oven alternative: while the chicken finishes marinating, preheat to 220°C conventional/200°C fan. Arrange all eight skewers without overlap on a rack over a roughly 40 × 30 cm rimmed tray. Roast for approximately 20–25 minutes, turning halfway, and check for 75°C held for 30 seconds in the thickest pieces. Use two trays if necessary and swap their positions halfway through. Rest while warming the pita as directed. This alternative has a different schedule and produces less char.
Equipment check
- 8 metal skewers, approximately 25 cm long
- Non-reactive marinating bowl and cover
- Chopping board and sharp knife
- Coarse and fine graters
- Clean cloth for squeezing cucumber
- Mixing bowl
- Overhead grill
- Grill-safe rack over a rimmed tray, approximately 35 × 25 cm, accommodating 4 skewers without overlap
- Tongs and clean serving plate
- Digital food thermometer
- 24–28 cm frying pan
- Clean tea towel
Tags
Behind the dish.
Overview
The goal is juicy chicken with browned edges, balanced lemon and oregano, and cool, thick tzatziki. Evenly sized thigh pieces, a short refrigerated marinade and space between the skewers help achieve this. The overhead-grill method uses two batches; keep the first loosely covered while the second cooks.
Ingredient notes
Use boneless, skinless thighs weighed after trimming. Chicken breast can replace them by raw weight, but needs closer temperature monitoring to avoid drying out. Choose genuinely thick, strained Greek yoghurt. If using thinner natural yoghurt, strain it in the fridge for 1–2 hours first, then weigh out 300 g; this is additional preparation, not included in the main method.
Squeezing the salted cucumber should leave roughly 100–120 g, giving approximately 425–445 g tzatziki. Ready-made Greek-style pita completes the meal. Allergens include milk in the yoghurt and wheat/gluten in conventional pita; check bread labels for sesame and other allergens. Gluten-free pita is an option if its ingredients and handling meet your requirements.
Serving & storage
Serve two skewers, one pita and a quarter of the tzatziki per person. Keep the tzatziki refrigerated until serving. Remove leftover chicken from the skewers and refrigerate it and the tzatziki promptly in shallow containers, within 2 hours, at 5°C or colder. Use within 48 hours, following any shorter product-label limit, or freeze the chicken sooner. Thaw frozen chicken in the fridge and reheat only once until steaming hot throughout; serve the tzatziki cold. Freezing tzatziki can make it watery.
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