Big Green Egg Chicken Shawarma Recipe

Making chicken shawarma on the Big Green Egg has been on my list for a while. Shaving crispy and juicy chicken off a spit isn’t something you usually think of doing in the backyard.

So, I picked up a pretty inexpensive vertical skewer, marinated a big stack of chicken thighs overnight, and set aside an afternoon to make it happen.

The end result? It was a lot of fun, it was a showstopper for guests, and it was some of the best chicken I have ever made. We were still talking about it many days later.

So yes, I will share the recipe and how I did it. But the key takeaway, and this is not breaking news: you should be careful what you believe when it comes to using AI for your recipes. Or you could end up eating your delicious chicken as the sun goes down.

Let’s get it started.

TL;DR: Marinate 19 boneless skinless chicken thighs overnight in a yogurt and spice mix. Stack on a vertical skewer with onion and garlic. Cook indirect at 200C (400F), rotating every 30 minutes. Budget 3.5 hours. Probe five spots. Pull at 162-163F. Serve immediately with pita and garlic sauce.

What You Need

Skewer: I used the Vida by Paderno 2-in-1 Poultry Roaster from Canadian Tire. It’s designed for beer can chicken, but the vertical spike is exactly what you need here. Solid for the price.

Charcoal: Just lump. No wood chips needed. The spice marinade is doing enough work on its own. If you want a light smoke note, add a small chunk of apple or cherry wood.

If you’re new to cooking on the Big Green Egg, the beginner’s recipe guide is a good place to start.

The Marinade

This covers 19 boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Mix everything together in a large bowl.

• ¾ cup plain full-fat yogurt
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 2½ teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons coriander
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• ¾ teaspoon turmeric
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ teaspoon allspice
• ½ teaspoon cayenne
• 2½ teaspoons salt
• 1¼ teaspoons black pepper

Coat every thigh, cover, and refrigerate overnight. The yogurt tenderises the meat and helps the spice crust form properly. Three hours works if you’re short on time, but overnight is noticeably better.

Building the Stack

Pull the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before you light the Egg.

Half an onion at the base of the spike first, to raise the chicken off the bottom. Thread each thigh on, rotating 90 degrees with each one. You’re building an X pattern as you go. Press the stack down tight between each layer and tuck garlic slices in as you go. The tighter the stack, the better it bastes itself as the fat renders. Half an onion on top and a tomato (if you are fancy) at the very end.

The Cook

ConvEGGtor in, indirect setup, target 200C (400F). Once it’s stable, the skewer goes on, and the lid goes down.

Rotate 90 degrees every 30 minutes.

At the two-hour mark, I pulled out the thermometer. The internal temp was barely over 100F. The recipe told me it should be finishing up around now. It wasn’t close.

So I did more research. A 19-thigh stack is a denser mass than most recipe writers account for. Standard timing assumes a smaller, thinner build. A full stack like this needs at least 3.5 hours.

I raised the temperature. I paced around. The family waited. Dinner was 1.5 hours late. Not ideal when you’re the one who promised dinner at 6:30 pm. But in the end, the chicken made everyone forget about it.

Probe in five spots before you pull. Target 162-163F. Normally, you let meat rest, but since you are cutting off the outside, you can serve immediately and skip the rest. At this size, resting just cools it down. Plus, while you eat, it means seconds will taste just as good.

Serving

Warm pita, sliced cucumber, red onion, feta, and toum (garlic sauce).

Garlic Sauce

Two options depending on how much time you have.

Toum (the proper version):

1. Blend 1 cup of peeled garlic cloves with 1 teaspoon of salt until finely minced.
2. With the processor running, drizzle in 2 cups of neutral oil very slowly, alternating every 30 seconds with small additions of 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of ice water.
3. Takes 8-10 minutes. Don’t rush the oil or it breaks.

Finished toum is white, thick, and spreadable. Keeps in the fridge for a month.

The easy version: Stir some blended garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil into sour cream. Adjust to taste. Done in two minutes, and it works fine for a backyard cook.

FAQ

If this got you into a Big Green Egg chicken phase, the jerk chicken is the next one to make. The Big Green Egg chicken recipes roundup has everything else.

For more recipes and technique posts, head to the Big Green Egg guide.