Can Shashlik be Healthy?
Can shashlik be healthy? Â I don’t see why not. Â After all, grilling is a wonderful way to deal with meat, and choosing leaner meats such as chicken thighs is a great way to enjoy the centerpiece of summertime grilling without compromising a healthy regime.
This Eastern European tweak of the worst-kept culinary secret of the American South turns out to be a great way to avoid the main pitfall of chicken shashlik: having to cook it for too long on the kostor until it is dry and tasteless. The kefir and salt and sugar in the rasol’ breaks down the proteins while also infusing it with the subtle flavors of dill, mustard seeds, and fennel fronds. Add a few spices and some garlic, and the result is a tender, tasty shashlik, that requires very little preparation and half the time on the kostor!
Tangy Chicken Shashlik with Kefir and Rasol’
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. 1.5 kilos of boneless chicken thighs cut into 2-inch (5 cm) chunks
- 1 quart 1 liter of kefir or buttermilk
- 2 cups 475 ml of pickle juice or rasol’ (use a combination of vinegar and lemon juice if you don’t have pickle juice)
- Salt and pepper
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 2 tsps. pepper flakes
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Combine the buttermilk, rasol,’ chopped garlic, and red pepper with a generous pinch of salt and several grinds of the pepper mill.
- Pour the mixture over the chicken into a non-reactive bowl or into a Ziplock bag and refrigerate for at least 5 hours and up to 24.
- Get your grill, mangal, or broiler heated up. to its hottest setting and adjust the rack to the highest level.
- Before serving, drain the chicken and pat it dry. Impale the chunks on to skewers. Brush very lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- A few hours before you are ready to grill, get the chicken out of the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature. Pour off the marinade, pat the meat dry with paper towels and thread it onto the shashlik skewers.
- Place the skewers on the mangal, gas grill, or under your oven’s broiler and grill for about 15-20 minutes, turning each 2-3 minutes to ensure the meat is cooked evenly. Note the recommended minimum internal temperatures for poultry should be at least 165°F (73.9°C). If you plan on being a regular griller, invest in an instant-read thermometer to be sure the meat has reached the correct temperature.
- Tent the skewers with tin foil for 3 minutes to allow the juices to go back into the meat and serve to your impressed guests!
This recipe can be applied to chicken drumsticks, which look phenomenal on the skewer.  To prepare the drumsticks, make small indents in the skin with the tip of a small, sharp knife.  Grill the drumsticks, turning them every 2-3 minutes until the meat reaches the minimal internal temperature of 160°F.
Photo credit | Jennifer Eremeeva
Be sure to review my ultimate guide to grilling shashlik here. Â This will give you all the information you need on how to choose the best cuts of meat, the equipment that will get the job done, how to win the marinade game and everything else you need to produce juicy and tasty shashlik!
