With tender, marinated chicken on long skewers, chicken koobideh is the pinnacle of Persian outdoor grilling. My foolproof method helps ensure you have the clingiest and stickiest chicken mix that cooks evenly on each skewer.
By Candice Walker on July 16, 2024 (Last updated July 16, 2024) This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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With tender, marinated chicken on long skewers, chicken koobideh (koobideh morgh) is the pinnacle of Persian outdoor grilling. The sister of classic beef koobideh, the age-old challenge with this dish is getting the meat to stick and stay on those skewers, and I’ve got you covered!
The trick with chicken koobideh is not the same as the 10-minute knead necessary when making beef koobideh. With chicken, I leave the mixture uncovered in the refrigerator to evaporate out the excess liquid. My foolproof method helps ensure you have the clingiest and stickiest chicken mix that cooks evenly on each skewer and produces a juicy kabob. Read on for all the details.
🌟Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Unbeatable outdoor grilling dish: Like its sister dish beef koobideh, chicken koobideh (koobideh morgh) is best enjoyed outdoors over a fiery charcoal grill. The charcoal imparts amazing flavor and helps get that delicious crispy slightly-singed texture to the edges. I use a charcoal grill with joojeh kabob and kabob barg, too.
My secret to sticky chicken: For a sticky chicken mix, you want to remove some moisture from the mixture which needs to be done two ways: First, make sure you have squeezed all water out of the grated onion. Second, I leave the mixture uncovered in the refrigerator while it marinades to help remove additional water.
Tender, lip-smacking chicken: The chicken is juicy and tender when it’s cooked thanks to the marinade of onion and lemon juice. The acidic lemon juice and enzymes in the onion break down the chicken to remove any toughness and inject incredible flavor.
🧾Ingredients in This Recipe
Small to medium-sized yellow onion – A yellow onion is best to use for its flavor. You can use a smaller onion, but don’t go bigger.
Ground chicken – I have tested this recipe with dark meat, light meat, and a mix. My favortite is dark only meat (it comes out the juciest) but all combinations work. You can also make this recipe with ground turkey, but it does come out slightly drier.
Lemon juice – This adds citrus flavor and the acidic juice tenderizes the chicken.
Saffron – This recipe calls for a small amount of saffron, but it’s an optional addition. It adds an additional aromatic that is a special treat.
Flavorless oil – You can use any flavorless oil like canola oil or vegetable oil.
Salt & pepper – Use these to season the chicken mix to your liking. You can use any salt or pepper you have on hand as long as they are ground.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
The Right Skewers for Koobideh
The best skewers to use are long, flat metal skewers. These are traditional for koobideh and the shape helps hold the meat mix and cook it evenly.
👩🍳How to Make This Recipe
Start by grating your onion and squeezing out ALL the liquid, reserving the liquid for later.
To the squeezed onion, add the ground chicken, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of oil, the steeped saffron, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate this chicken mix overnight, uncovered to reduce water content.
Mix together 2 teaspoons of oil, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of the onion juice. This is for basting liquid.
Mix the rest of the onion juice and some ice water. Mold the chicken onto the kabob skewers with cold, wet hands. It is helpful to taper the bottom and top of the meat on each skewer. Using your pointer and middle finger in a scissor position, press the classic horizontal indentations along the kabob. If the kabob isn’t sticking, see my notes below for the best results.
Cook the chicken skewers over high heat flipping, them every 30 seconds to 1 minute until cooked through which should take about 8-10 minutes. You can do this on a charcoal grill or under the broiler. Baste the kabobs every time you flip them.
🥗 Perfect Pairings for Chicken Koobideh
Complete your meal with a colorful and vegetable-packed Shirazi Salad, charred barbecued tomatoes, and steaming Saffron Basmati Rice.
🏆 Tips for The Best Results
While recipe-testing this chicken koobideh, I have tried many different ratios of ingredients to find the perfect reliable formula. I’ve also refined my method, so follow these steps for ultimate success.
Remember that the wetter the chicken mixture is, the more likely it is to slide right off the skewers and into your barbecue. No one wants this!
Refrigerate that chicken uncovered! Without this step, the chicken is also more likely to fall off the skewer. I have found that this works better than kneading when it comes to chicken, unlike beef koobideh.
Chill the chicken if you need to. If you allow the chicken to get warm, this melts/breaks down the fat that helps it stick. If it takes you a long time to get the meat on the skewers, you can place each completed skewer in the refrigerator as you work.
Last resort trick: If after all of these steps, your chicken is still falling off the skewer, you can add ½ teaspoon of baking soda to help it stick on the skewer. Only use this if absolutely necessary, because this will change the texture of the final kabob to a slightly rubbery one.
🐔 More Persian Chicken Recipes
Chicken is the star of a diverse mix of flavor-packed Persian recipes. Try these next!
With tender, marinated chicken on long skewers, chicken koobideh is the pinnacle of Persian outdoor grilling. My foolproof method helps ensure you have the clingiest and stickiest chicken mix that cooks evenly on each skewer.
1yellow onionno more than 1/3 cup after grated and squeezed
1lb.ground chickenlight, dark, or mixed meat
1tbsplemon juice
1tspsaltplus more to taste
1/2tsppepperplus more to taste
1/2tspturmericoptional, for color
2tspoilflavorless, like canola, vegetable, avocado, etc.
1/2tspsaffronoptional, ground and bloomed in 1 tbsp hot water or over one ice cube
Instructions
Grate the onion and squeeze out all the liquid, reserving the liquid. Add the ground chicken, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, the steeped saffron, salt, and pepper. Knead for a minimum of 5 minutes, but preferably 10 minutes until it is very sticky.
Refrigerate overnight, uncovered to reduce water content.
Mix together 2 teaspoons of oil, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of the onion juice. This is for basting.
Mix together the rest of the onion juice and some ice water. Skewer with cold, wet hands. It is helpful to taper the bottom and top of the kabob of each skewer. Use your pointer and middle finger in a scissor position press the classic indentations along the kabob. If it isn't sticking, see note below.
Cook over high heat flipping every 30 seconds until cooked through, 8-10 minutes. Baste with the basting liquid when you have about 1 minute left.
Notes
Serve with bastmati rice, barbecued tomatoes, and sumac for seasoning the kabob and/or rice.Make sure you have squeezed all the water out of the onion. Too much liquid will make the chicken mixture not sticky enough. Too much onion will also keep it from sticking, so stay with the ratio in the recipe.If you allow the chicken to get warm, you’re basically melting/breaking down the fat, and this causes it to fall off the skewer. If it takes you a long time to get the meat on the skewers, you can place the bowl of ground chicken in a larger bowl of ice water to help keep it cool or transfer them to the refrigerator as you make them.If after all of this your chicken is still falling off the skewer, you can add ½ teaspoon of baking soda to help it stick on the skewer. Only use this if absolutely necessary, because this will change the texture of the final kabob to a slightly rubbery one.
Did you try this recipe?I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a Review to let us know how it came out, if you have a successful substitution or variation, or anything else.
