If you are looking for a chicken shashlik recipe, this is a simple and reliable way to cook it at home. Shashlik is traditionally cooked on long metal skewers over a charcoal barbecue, and the result is very similar to what many people in the UK would recognise as chicken tikka or grilled chicken kebab.
It’s easy enough. Cubes of chicken are marinated in yoghurt, garlic and spices, then cooked over hot charcoal until lightly charred on the outside while remaining juicy inside. Cooked this way, the flavour from the charcoal barbecue makes a noticeable difference.
Across Russia and much of Eastern Europe, the word shashlik refers to pieces of marinated meat cooked on long skewers over charcoal. The exact marinade varies depending on the region and who is doing the cooking, but yoghurt, spices and garlic are very common ingredients.
This version is the one I tend to make most often. I first learned the basics of it during my time spent in Russia, but like most home cooking, it has picked up influences along the way from my travels in Hong Kong, China and elsewhere. I’ve even been to North Korea, so my food tastes are quite eclectic. There is much of the traditional Russian shashlik approach here, and a bit of the spice profile familiar from the chicken tikka we like in the UK.
The result is a slightly spicier marinade than you might find in a traditional Russian version, but one that works very well for British tastes and cooks very well over charcoal.
What Is Shashlik?
Shashlik is a very popular style of barbecue cooking across Russia, the Caucasus and large parts of Eastern Europe. The name generally refers to cubes of marinated meat threaded onto long skewers and cooked over charcoal.
While lamb and pork are more commonly used in Russia, chicken shashlik is probably a tad more popular in the UK, and works particularly well with yoghurt marinades and spices.
The concept will be familiar to anyone who enjoys chicken tikka or grilled kebabs. The difference is mainly the style of marinade and the use of long stainless steel skewers over a charcoal barbecue.
Preparing the Chicken
Start with one kilo of chicken breast, cut into reasonably sized cubes suitable for skewers. That will give you three decent skewers, enough for 2-3 people.
Before making the marinade, lightly coat the chicken with lemon or lime juice, give it a quick mix, and leave it to stand for around 20-30 minutes. You only need roughly the juice of one lemon, or the equivalent amount from bottled juice.
During this time, the acidity begins to work into the meat, and you will notice the surface of the chicken turn slightly white. This is normal and helps prepare the chicken to absorb the yoghurt marinade.
Once the chicken has rested in the lemon or lime juice for 20–30 minutes, it is ready for the marinade.
Chicken Shashlik Yoghurt Marinade Recipe
Any good quality natural yoghurt will work, but thicker yoghurts tend to cling better to the chicken. I like the Duchy Organic from Waitrose, personally.
Ingredients for the Marinade
- 250g natural yoghurt
- 2 teaspoons garlic puree or crushed garlic – more if you prefer
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1-2 teaspoons ginger (puree, grated or powdered) – to your taste
- ½–¾ teaspoon cumin
- 1 heaped teaspoon paprika
- 1 heaped teaspoon turmeric
- 1–1½ heaped teaspoons chilli powder – or blend in chillies if you prefer
- 1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander
- Fresh or dried coriander leaf – maybe a tablespoon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil (always avoid seed oils like rapeseed, canola and sunflower)
You can adjust the spices to your taste, add something you like, or take out something you don’t like.
Making the Yoghurt Marinade
The marinade can be mixed by hand or blended.
If you are using powdered spices, simple stirring will usually be enough. If you are using chopped garlic, chillies or fresh ginger, blending can help distribute everything evenly through the yoghurt.
Once mixed, you should have a thick yoghurt marinade with a deep yellow colour from the turmeric and paprika.
Pour the marinade over the chicken and mix thoroughly so every piece is coated.
Wearing gloves at this stage is usually a good idea. The spices have a habit of staining your hands and getting under your fingernails for days otherwise.
Marinating the Chicken
Once coated in the marinade, cover the chicken and place it in the refrigerator.
The longer it marinates, the better the flavour will develop.
One or two hours will work if you are short of time, but leaving it overnight is ideal. It can even be left for up to two days in the fridge.
Why Good Skewers Matter
The type of skewer you use for shashlik makes a surprisingly big difference.
Cheap thin skewers are widely available online at places such as Amazon (which is best to avoid anyway), but once loaded with meat, they often bend under the weight. When placed over a barbecue, they can end up curved like a banana.
When that happens, part of the meat sits much closer to the heat than the rest. The result is uneven cooking where one section burns while another remains undercooked.
You want thick stainless steel skewers, so the heat radiates down the metal when cooking. Cheap Chinese skewers are often rhodium-plated mild steel which doesn’t have the right properties at all.
For this reason, we use our long stainless steel Russian barbecue skewers.
These are catering-grade skewers with a three millimetre thick blade and a full length of 70cms. They are designed for large charcoal barbecues such as kettle grills and remain completely straight even when fully loaded. The video below tells you all about them.
How to Cook Chicken Shashlik on a Charcoal Barbecue
If you have the option, chicken shashlik is always best cooked over charcoal rather than gas.
A kettle barbecue, such as a Weber, works very well for this style of cooking. Using a chimney starter and a good bed of charcoal allows you to create steady heat, and the flavour of cooking over charcoal adds something that gas barbecues cannot replicate.
Thread the marinated chicken cubes onto the skewers, leaving a small gap between each piece.
A useful trick is to place half an onion on the end of the skewer. Here is how they cook with these skewers over a box barbecue at the dacha in Russia.
That is pork mixed with onion.
How to Tell When the Chicken Is Cooked
Because the chicken is coated in yoghurt marinade, it can sometimes be difficult to judge exactly when it is cooked.
The onion on the end of the skewer helps with this.
As the skewers cook over the charcoal barbecue, the onion gradually softens. When it becomes tender and can be moved freely on the skewer when nudged with tongs, it is usually a good indicator that the chicken is cooked through.
Cook the skewers over hot charcoal, turning occasionally so that the chicken develops a light char on all sides.
Serving Chicken Shashlik
Once cooked, the chicken should be lightly charred on the outside but still juicy inside.
Chicken shashlik can be served straight from the skewers alongside salads, flatbreads or grilled vegetables. Many people also cook vegetables on separate skewers at the same time, which works very well on the same charcoal barbecue.
Watch the Recipe Video
If you would like to see the entire process, including the marinade preparation and cooking over charcoal, the video below shows the full chicken shashlik recipe step by step.
You can get our skewers by clicking the button below.
