BBQ Chicken
Sam Sifton
2538 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,538
45 minutes
Jerusalem Grill
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- ¼cup olive oil
- 1large red onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
- 2teaspoons plus a pinch of kosher salt
- 2teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1teaspoon ground cumin
- 1teaspoon ground fenugreek
- 1teaspoon baharat
- 1teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or a combination of 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, ½ pound chicken hearts and ½ pound chicken livers, trimmed and cut into nickel-size pieces
- 1lemon, halved
- Cooked Basmati or other long-grain rice
- Israeli salad, pita bread, sliced pickles and hummus, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Make caramelized onions: Swirl 2 tablespoons oil into a medium skillet set over medium heat. When it shimmers, add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until the onions begin to soften and turn translucent, about 7 minutes, then lower the heat, and continue to cook, stirring every few minutes, until the onions are deeply caramelized. This could take up to 45 minutes. Set aside.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, baharat, cinnamon and the 2 teaspoons salt. Add the chicken pieces — including the hearts and livers, if you’re using them — and toss with the spices.
- Step 3
Heat a large skillet over high, and swirl into it the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. When it shimmers, add the spiced chicken mixture, and spread it out in an even layer. Let the meat sear, undisturbed, for about 2 minutes, then lower the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring once or twice, until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Step 4
Remove the chicken mixture from the heat, and stir in the caramelized onions. Serve with rice and Israeli salad or, better yet, with pita bread, sliced pickles and plenty of hummus.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Ginger
Apparently, baharat is "A Lebanese blend of 7 spices including paprika, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg. It's a bit darker and more intense than Ras el Hanout but still works well with meat, poultry, seafood and vegetables. Best substitute for Baharat: Equal parts paprika, cumin and cinnamon OR ground cumin."
Kimi Weart
This is absolutely delicious, but I'm so surprised at how many instructions are missing—even after so many readers commented on it! Dice chicken thighs to 3/4" pieces; if you're adding livers, deduct the amount from the 2-1/2 pounds worth of thighs, or increase amount of spices; cut the livers into quarters; add the livers 3 minutes before the end and make sure all sides of them have been seared.
Jim
When I sauté onions, before I put them in the pan, I cook them in the microwave with a little oil for a few minutes. It cooks them faster and more evenly than pan-only cooking, and should speed up the caramelization.
Susanne
Allspice is a good substitute for baharat. You can get baharat in a Persian food store but it's not worth buying for one recipe...allspice is really close.
Carol J.
And what is "baharat"? did I miss an explanation?
Eli W
This is what I found on Wikipedia: A typical recipe for baharat is a mixture of the following finely ground ingredients: 4 parts black pepper 3 parts coriander seeds 3 parts cinnamon 3 parts cloves 4 parts cumin seeds 1 part cardamom pods 3 parts nutmeg 6 parts paprika
Bryan
Commonly Israeli salad is made up of diced cucumber (English/seedless variety work best) and tomato, dressed lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper. Onions and parsley are sometimes added but are not necessary. It's really flexible so feel free to adapt to suit your taste.
Bentwoode
Two points: 1. In Israel, the dish is called Me'urav Yerushalmi or Meorav Yerushalmi (Jerusalem mix). Lots of articles are available, including a Wikipedia entry. 2. Just about every family's baharat is different and, in Israel's open air markets, every spice shop's baharat is not only different but may differ with each batch. Mix your own, play with the flavors, and freeze what you don’t use for the next time(s).
Sue L
Just ordered Sahadi's Baharat online--used to mix my own, but with amazon's free shipping, why not let laziness prevail?! Am still confused, tho', by the stated cooking times--underdone thighs, overcooked livers, and inevitably chewy hearts don't have much to recommend them! Perhaps a little judicious "staging" would help even experienced cooks: I'd start with the hearts for at least 15', add the thighs for about the same, and the livers last--till still a bit pink inside.
Arthur Glaubermanm
We loved this recipe but found that we needed at least 3 red onions to caramelize to give the chicken the taste and texture it deserved. Next time I’m planning to use at least 4 to 5 inions. It’s true that caramelizing the onions takes the longest amount of time in this very easy recipe but it’s worth the extra effort. We also seasoned the chicken with the spices and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours and I think that helped to marinate the flavors.
Leslye Borden
What is baharat?
Jill
How many chicken hearts and livers to use? Suggestions? And what is the red sauce in the photo?
Rob
This recipe actually says how long it will take to carmelize onions. Kudos!
Becky
Henry, I have eaten Greek salad in Greece and Israeli salad in Israel. Both delicious but equating the two is like saying a dump truck and a motor scooter are the same. In Greece delicious fresh vegetables in olive oil and lemon each piece of vegetable bite size. In Israel the salad is cut very very small each bite made of multiple pieces of each of the vegetables.
caryn
What is baharat and where do you get it?
Mitchell Hirsch
I made this tonight on my cast iron griddle set on the grates of my old standby standard Weber grill. And used two green garlic bulbs in the hummus because they're available now at the farm market up the street. Made a lettuce salad with a bit of red onion, sliced mango, and a vinaigrette. Served as recommended with sliced pickles and pita bread. The family was ecstatic!
GPBoerne
Made this last night and it was great! I ordered Baharat, fenugreek and Israeli pickles off of Amazon because I couldn't get them locally, but they came next day so that was easy. I read in some of the reviews that there wasn't enough spice, so I used 1.5 times the spices and it was amazing. I also made the 5 minute Hummus, heated up pita in the oven and made a side salad and it was a fantastic meal! I will definitely make it again!
kristina cash
I have made this several times and it is a family favorite. Do you have recipes for the lentils and salad that are in the photo?
HEV
Note the notes: need more onions and the note re cutting chicken thighs re Baharat from Eli W2 years ago This is what I found on Wikipedia: A typical recipe for baharat is a mixture of the following finely ground ingredients: 4 parts black pepper 3 parts coriander seeds 3 parts cinnamon 3 parts cloves 4 parts cumin seeds 1 part cardamom pods 3 parts nutmeg 6 parts paprika
Laurel
I had a pound of ground turkey that I subbed in for the chicken, mixing in the spice mix for a bunch of merguez-like fresh sausages. It was good! And fast, once the onions were done.
Laurel
Made with bone in skin on thighs—browned 3 minutes/side and finished in 400° oven for 20 or so minutes.
Lou_LH
I find the offal is a necessary ingredient. All in all this recipe lacks flavor (due to incorrect timing and a amount of spicing). Also why with the skinless boneless...takes the life out of it.
Joyce
This is absolutely delicious. I made it with only about a pound and half of chicken thighs, since that's what I had. I made my own baharat from a recipe I found online - easy to do. Used yellow onion instead of red, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I served it with basmati rice, homemade hummus, and creamy cucumbers, but next time I'd skip the rice and creamy cucumbers and go with pita or naan, and a green salad. It's a keeper!
sck
serve with salad (not as sandwiches)
Diana Wild
I loved this dish, but a warning, the whole house still smells like baharat after several days. It smells good while you are cooking it and while you are eating it but it lingers for days. Maybe I will take my cast iron pan out and cook it on the grill next time :)
Diana Wild
What is the brownish/reddish condiment served with this dish in the picture?
Karen
Could one make this with lamb?
Alex Corner
Instead of the chicken hearts (and / or the chicken liver) I also substituted with calf liver. However, staging is important . The calf liver pieces need to get into the pan only after the chicken meat is done, and should be fried only for a couple of minutes, still maintaining some pink hue inside.
Maureen
What kind of pickles? Sweet, dill, gherkins, cornichons, bread and butter?
Renee
What is the reddish sauce looking stuff in the bowl at the bottom? It looks like there's pepper seeds in it?
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