Why This Recipe Works

Souvlaki is a dish of marinated meat (or occasionally vegetables) threaded onto skewers or a spit (“souvla” means “spit” in Greek) and cooked over a fire. We had a version at Johnny's Restaurant in Homewood, Alabama, that we couldn't forget. Inspired by chef Timothy Hontzas's technique, we first marinated strips of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a bold mixture of lemon zest, olive oil, oregano, thyme, and other seasonings. We then threaded the strips onto skewers in an S shape, which allowed the potent marinade to get stuck in the crannies of the folded chicken, providing concentrated pops of flavor. After getting some good char on the meat by grilling it over high heat, we drizzled it with a tahini-butter sauce (also inspired by the version at Johnny's Restaurant) to cloak the chicken with an extra layer of richness and allure.

Before You Begin

You can serve the chicken with lemon wedges, pitas, thinly sliced red onion, tomato, cucumber, torn fresh mint, and/or plain yogurt or tzatziki sauce, if desired. We recommend removing the lemon zest with a vegetable peeler. If you use wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in water for 20 minutes before using them.

Instructions

for the chicken

Combine oil, thyme, garlic, lemon zest, salt, oregano, coriander, pepper flakes, and pepper in large bowl.

Slice chicken breasts lengthwise into ½-inch-thick strips. Transfer chicken to bowl with oil mixture and toss until chicken is evenly coated. Cover bowl and refrigerate chicken for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

Tightly thread chicken strips lengthwise onto skewers in S shape until no more than 1 inch of skewer is exposed on either end, 4 or 5 strips per skewer.

FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high; cover; and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.

Clean and oil cooking grate. Place kebabs on grill (over coals, if using charcoal) and cook (covered, if using gas) until chicken is lightly charred and registers 160 degrees, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to serving platter and let rest while preparing tahini-butter sauce.

for the tahini-butter sauce

Whisk tahini, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oregano in bowl until combined. Slowly whisk in melted butter until emulsified.

Drizzle tahini-butter sauce over chicken and serve.