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Chicken Skewers with Red Onion and Bell Pepper
The perfect juicy but light addition to any bbq spread, and an easy way to break into grilling if it’s something that intimidates you! Chicken breast bathed in olive oil, garlic, fresh parsley and spices, threaded with sweet red onion and bell pepper, all perfectly charred and smoky from the hot grill… we end up making these once a week all summer long and leftovers go with everything — enjoy!
Chicken Skewers with Red Onion and Bell Pepper
Makes: 8-10 Skewers
INGREDIENTS
4 chicken breast
4 red bell pepper
2 medium red onion
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley, small leaves and stems
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
4 garlic cloves, pressed, grated or creamed
INSTRUCTIONS
•Start by prepping your vegetables and chicken into evenly sized pieces. I core the peppers by cutting away each side before removing ribs and chopping each section into roughly 2” x 2” squares. Continue by peeling the onions and slicing each in half, and then slice each half into thirds and in half crosswise again to create 6 smaller sections. Prep the chicken breast by cutting each in half lengthwise and then into 4 even sections.
•Add all of this to a large bowl along with your olive oil, parsley, spices, and garlic and toss to combine well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to marinate up to 30 minutes on the counter, or place in the refrigerator to marinate longer, up to overnight. Make sure you remove the chicken to the counter top 30 minutes before you are ready to cook to allow any chill to wear off so it will cook quickly and evenly.
•When you are ready to skewer, soak wooden skewers in a bit of salted water to help season the chicken from the inside out and avoid scorching — or use metal skewers — to stack layers of pepper, onion and chicken along the length of the stick, leaving 2-3” of skewer on either end. I usually start and end with a pepper to work as bookends, and aim to have onion on either side of chicken pieces for maximum flavor infusion.
•When you are ready to cook, clean and season your grill with a bit of olive oil and get it scorching hot over high heat. Drop the heat to medium high and place chicken skewers along the hot grate. They should take 10-14 minutes to cook, making sure you rotate periodically to ensure all sides are evenly golden brown with nice grill marks. A good rule of thumb is that they will release easily when they are ready to flip and you will see strong char marks where the grill seared and created a bit of crust.
•Pull a skewer off the grill and test to make sure chicken is cooked thoroughly though not over done — they will continue to cook with the residual heat even after you pull them off the grill, but chicken should not be translucent in any parts and you can test with a thermometer that they are at 160F — before removing all the skewers to your serving plate.
Note: These store well and make an incredibly succulent protein addition for easy weekday lunches or dinners, or make a pile as a light but flavorful addition to your next barbecue!
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