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Greek Chicken Souvlaki

By Brian Lagerstrom

I wanted to make a recipe with a fast and delicious way to make pita bread, so I made a recipe with a fast and delicious way to make pita bread. Combine that with delicious marinated chicken thighs and some fresh toppings and you have yourself a mighty fine meal. Try out this Greek Souvklaki recipe and you will not be disappointed.

Prep Time: 1 10

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 1 30

Servings: savings

Ingredients

CHICKEN SOUVLAKI:

900 g boneless skinless chicken thighs
125 g olive oil
15 g kosher salt
30 g garlic, minced, 5-6 cloves
5 g dried oregano
5 g black pepper, ground
100 g Dijon mustard
zest of 2 lemons
30 g lemon juice, about 1 lemon
skewers, for grilling

PITA BREAD:

350 g all-purpose flour
7 g instant yeast
5 g kosher salt
8 g sugar
15 g olive oil
210 g flavorful yeasty beer, warmed to 86-90°F/30-32℃

TZATZIKI SAUCE:

160 g english cucumber, grated
200 g plain Greek yogurt
75 g mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
5 g kosher salt
5 g fresh dill, chopped
15-20 g lemon juice, approx ½ lemon

TOMATO-ONION RELISH:

120 g tomatoes, diced
60 g red onion, finely diced
20 g fresh parsley, chopped

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

TO MAKE TZATZIKI SAUCE:

Begin by grating the cucumber on a box grater. wrap the cucumber up in a wad of paper towels and squeeze out as much of the excess moisture as you can.
Combine tzatziki sauce ingredients and mix to combine. This will last in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

TO MAKE THE TOMATO RELISH

Combine the ingredients and mix thoroughly. this will last in the refrigerator for 1-3 days.

TO MARINATE THE CHICKEN

If using wood skewers, soak for a few hours before grilling.
Cut the chicken thighs into roughly 1-inch pieces.
To the chicken, add olive oil, salt, garlic, oregano, black pepper, Dijon, lemon zest and juice. Mix well & refrigerate to marinate for at least 30 minutes, up to 24 hours.

TO MAKE THE PITA

While chicken marinates, heat your beer to 98℉/36℃ in a small sauce pan. Then, in a food processor, combine flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil. Pulse about 5 times to mix. With the processor running, slowly stream in the warmed beer until the dough forms. It will be shaggy.
Flip the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about a minute or two, until it becomes slightly elastic.
Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces (about 150g each). Shape each into a ball, cover with a damp paper towel, and let them rest at room temp for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, lightly flour a surface and flatten a dough ball with your hands slightly. Then switch to a rolling pin and roll dough into a 6-8 inch round. Repeat this with the next 3 dough balls.
Once the dough is rolled out, allow the pita to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

TO GRILL THE PITA AND CHICKEN

Preheat your grill to 550°F/285°C.
Assemble the marinated chicken onto the soaked skewers. This should make roughly 6-8 skewers.
Using a can of pan spray or a towel soaked in oil, lubricate your grill grates well and grill the chicken and pita alongside each other. Grill the pitas on one side until the top begins to bubble up and you can see the edge browning. Flip the pita and cook for about two minutes. Cook the pita for a total of about 2 minutes per side.

Grill the pitas one at a time so you have plenty of room to grill the chicken

To grill the chicken, place the skewers on the other side of the grill from the pita. Grill the chicken for 12-15 minutes, flipping every few minutes or so until the outside is well caramelized but not burnt and the chicken is fully cooked to at least 170℉/76℃.

Be sure to use separate utensils for the chicken and the pita to avoid cross-contamination

TO ASSEMBLE THE SOUVLAKI WRAP

Remove the chicken from the skewers and cut it into smaller pieces. Just run your knife through the chicken 2 or 3 times. Place the chicken in a pita and top with tzatziki sauce, tomato-onion relish, and pepperoncini.