Braided Lemon Pepper Chicken Skewers

I love chicken!  It is the perfect blank canvas for any flavor.  One of my favorite flavors to impart on chicken is lemon pepper. A little tart with a little bite.  The perfect combination.  Lately, I have come up with a new way to skewer chicken that gives you an added oomph of flavor.  It works with any sauce and works especially well with marinades.  The chicken is thinly sliced and then braided onto a skewer.  That way you have little nooks and crevices that allow the sauce and marinade to pool.  Then when you eat the chicken you get flavor bursts that enhance the experience.

Braided Lemon Pepper Chicken

Thinly slice 1 lb of chicken and then cut the chicken into about 1 inch wide strips.

I like to buy the chicken thinly sliced. If you can not find thinly sliced chicken, partially freeze chicken breasts for about 30 minutes and then thinly slice them.

Mix together lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, pepper, salt and garlic in a 1 gallon zip top bag.

Add the thinly sliced chicken to the bag and marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

While the chicken marinates, soak the wooden skewers in water to prevent burning.

In addition to soaking the skewers I am going to be trying out Steven Raichlen’s Skewer Shield.  Basically it is a piece of metal that shields the ends of the skewer so that they do not get burned by the flames.

A cool feature of this shields is that it has a raised serrated edge that holds the skewers in place.  No more worrying about turning your skewers and having them continue turning and not cooking on the intended side.

During this time I would also preheat your grill for two zone grilling. One side hot and the other side cool. That way you can grill the chicken directly over heat while keeping the side where the skewer handles will be, cooler.  If you don’t have a skewer shield it is fine but if you have one you will have a little more control.  Also if you want a similar result you can place a sheet of aluminum foil under the skewers.  However, the serrated edge of the skewer shield allows you to have total control over the cooking.  I am a huge fan.

After the chicken has properly marinated, remove it from the refrigerator and it is time to create the skewers.

Take two of the strips of chicken and skewer one end of the chicken strips. Then alternating the chicken, skewer the chicken further up on the strip. Continue alternating the pieces until you get a fully braided skewer.  I found that each skewer can handle two separate braids of chicken.

Place the chicken on the grill over the high heat and cook.

Rotate the chicken 1/4 turn every 3-5 minutes. Cook until the chicken is nicely browned and cooked to a 165 degree internal temperature.

Serve with your favorite side and/or over rice.

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Braided Lemon Pepper Chicken

Prep Time

40 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

55 mins

 

A slightly tart and bold marinade that gives each bite of chicken a pop!

Course: Outdoor Grilling

Servings: 4

Author: Rex

Ingredients

• Zest and Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3-5 cloves garlic minced
• 1 lb chicken breasts thinly sliced and then cut into strips

Instructions

1. Thinly slice 1 lb of chicken and then cut the chicken into about 1 inch wide strips.
2. I like to buy the chicken thinly sliced. If you can not find thinly sliced chicken, partially freeze chicken breasts for about 30 minutes and then thinly slice them.
3. Mix together lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, pepper, salt and garlic in a 1 gallon zip top bag. Add the thinly sliced chicken to the bag and marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
4. While the chicken marinates soak the wooden skewers in water to prevent burning.
5. Also Preheat your grill for two zone grilling. One side hot and the other side cool. That way you can grill the chicken directly over heat while keeping the side where the skewer handles will be, cooler.
6. After the chicken has properly marinated, remove it from the refrigerator and it is time to create the skewers.
7. Take two of the strips of chicken and skewer one end of the chicken strips. Then alternating the chicken, skewer the chicken further up on the strip. Continue alternating the pieces until you get a braided skewer.
8. Place the chicken on the grill over the high heat and cook. Rotate the chicken 1/4 turn every 3-5 minutes. Cook until the chicken is nicely browned and cooked to a 165 degree internal temperature.
9. Serve with your favorite side and/or over rice.

This chicken was fabulous!  It was slightly tart from the lemon, with a little bite from the pepper.  A perfect meal.  Plus, the braided chicken created crevices that held in the flavor.  I will only be making braided chicken now, at least when I make skewers.

The skewer shield worked perfectly.  At first I was like, I can use just a piece of foil.  However, this thing was heavy and did not move.  Plus, the serrated edge held the skewers in place.  It was freaking awesome!  Usually when I grill skewers you have a few of them that just won’t sit and cook on a certain side.  This tool holds the skewers in place and doesn’t let them move around, allowing you to completely cook your skewers to perfection.

Also not a single one of the skewers burned.  I have to give a ton of credit to Steven Raichlen for this one.  It is one the best grilling tools that I own now.

It is noted that I purchased the skewer shield and did not get for free and was not paid to do a review.  I just really like it and wanted to share my love of it with my readers.

If you are interested in purchasing one you can pick up a Steven Raichlen Best of Barbecue Stainless Grill Shield for Skewers you can find them at Amazon.