Traditional shawarma is made by layering strips of marinated meat onto a vertical rotisserie and then roasting it in its own juices until moist and tender. The meat is then shaved into small pieces and piled onto flatbread with garlic sauce, fries, and pickles, as a sandwich (wrap) or served with rice and sides as a platter.

Today I wanted to share with you the way I like to make chicken shawarma. For this recipe, either boneless skinless chicken breast, thighs, or a combination of both work well. Typically, we’re partial to thigh meat for most chicken dishes, but for this recipe my husband and I prefer the breast meat. But use whichever your family likes best.

Brown bits are delicious

I’ve prepared chicken shawarma in the oven, in a rotisserie, on the grill, and with a cast iron skillet. I’ve noticed whenever we reheated grilled or rotisserie leftovers the next day using a the cast iron skillet and a little olive oil that the edges of the chicken would get nicely browned and extra crispy. My family actually enjoyed it better and suggested we should always eat shawarma the “leftover way”.

The cast iron skillet

So keep in mind, you can certainly start by marinating smaller pieces of chicken and then baking them in a 425ºF oven or by slicing the chicken into tender strips, marinating, and then grilling, but the key to getting the brown tasty bits and crisp edges while maintaining the moistness is to finish the browning in a skillet.

In the method below, I first sear larger pieces of marinated chicken in a hot cast iron skillet, and then slice it into smaller pieces before returning it in batches to the skillet to finish browning.

Serving shawarma

One of my favorite ways to serve shawarma is by using large Romaine or Butter/Boston lettuce leaves as the wrap in place of bread and filling it with a smear of toum, a scoopful of the chicken, a drizzling of tabbouleh, and of course, a turnip pickle or two.

My family loves choosing their own filling so I usually arrange the toppings separately at the table allowing everyone the opportunity to build their own wrap or bowl.

Chicken Shawarma Lettuce Wraps

by Julie Awad

4 Servings

Ingredients

marinade

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon turmeric

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 pinch cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ cup olive oil

for the chicken

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (3 large breasts) or combination with boneless skinless thighs

serve with

pickled turnips

tabbouleh salad

toum

olives

fresh mint

Romaine or Boston lettuce leaves, large for scooping and filling

Method

The Marinade

In a small bowl, add spices and gradually add the olive oil and continue stirring slowly until mixture is blended into a smooth marinade.

marinate the chicken

Pat the chicken dry and slice any thick chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Skip the slicing step if using thighs.

Place the chicken in a marinating dish or large plastic zipper bag and add the marinade. Turn the chicken over until evenly coated. Cover the marinating dish with plastic wrap, or close the plastic bag. Place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.

Cast iron skillet method

The goal of this technique is to achieve small, crispy, moist bits of chicken. There are several ways to cook shawarma: rotisserie, oven, grill, or a cast iron skillet. But no matter which method you choose, finishing the chicken in the cast iron skillet achieves the best brown, delicious, crispy edges. This recipe uses cast iron skillet method.

Heat a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat until good and hot. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place a couple of pieces in the skillet with a little room between. Cook undisturbed until the edges of the chicken firm up and then flip to the other side. Remove and repeat until all of your chicken is seared. Keep the skillet hot.

Slice the chicken into small pieces and return it to the hot skillet in batches, arranging pieces to avoid overcrowding the pan. Drizzle with a little olive oil and cook until the edges are brown and the smaller pieces are crispy. Remove browned chicken, cover and keep warm, while repeating this process with the rest of the chicken.

SERVE

Chicken shawarma may be served in a wrap or with sides—tabbouleh, toum (garlic sauce), pickled turnips and fresh mint.

Leftovers

Leave the chicken larger pieces if they are to be saved for another time—if browned as bite-sized pieces and then reheated, the chicken will loose flavor and may become tough.

To reheat, slice the chicken into bite-size pieces and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add half of the chicken pieces into the skillet and sauté until the chicken turns brown and crisp on the edges. Remove and repeat for the remaining chicken.