Fire & Smoke
Harissa Chicken
— RECIPE

Harissa Chicken

This chicken's like a spicy road trip through North Africa and India, with lemon pit stops and harissa fireworks. Grilled to crispy-tuxedo perfection, the ginger and garlic are the unsung backup dancers in this flavor concert. 🎤🍗🎉

by Rob K
Total time 3 hr 9 min
Serves 4
Per serving 600cal

Alright, let’s cut to the chase: this chicken is a flavor bomb that’s like a road trip through North Africa and India, all in one bite.

First up, that marinade. The yoghurt makes the chicken super tender, like it’s been to a spa day or something. The lemon’s zing is like a splash of cold water on a hot day—wakes you right up. But the real MVP here? Harissa paste. That stuff’s like the fireworks in this flavor fiesta, giving you heat, spice, and smokiness.

Now, grilling it over hot coals? Genius. The outside gets this amazing, smoky char, while the inside stays juicy as heck. It’s like the chicken’s wearing a crispy tuxedo while staying chill on the inside.

And let’s not forget the ginger and garlic. They’re like the backup singers that you didn’t know you needed but totally make the song. They add a bit of warmth and kick, wrapping up the whole experience like the perfect encore to a killer concert.

In short, this isn’t just chicken. It’s a flavor-packed, juicy, smoky masterpiece that’ll make you go “Whoa, where have you been all my life?”

You’ll need to skewer the chicken, but I prefer to use one of these: Gyros Plates. These work really well in the oven or in the BBQ. They have 3 different skewer lengths which ensures you can find one that fits your oven/BBQ perfectly, it also ensures you don’t lose any of the amazing sauce that renders with the chicken fat.

The Recipe

Directions

  1. 01

    Make the marinade

    — 2 min

    , combine harissa paste, garlic; ginger; lemon juice; greek yoghurt, salt and pepper in a bowl big enough to hold the chicken

  2. 02

    Marinade the chicken

    — 2 hr

    , mix the whole chicken thighs into the marinade using your hands to make sure each piece is thoroughly coated with the and place in the fridge to marinade for at least 2 hours but ideally overnight

    Step 2: Marinade the chicken
  3. 03

    Skewer the chicken

    — 5 min

    , using 3 metal or bamboo skewers, spear the chicken so that each thigh lays flat on top of the other. Build up layers until all the chicken is used

  4. 04

    Heat your grill.

    — 45 min

    If you're using an oven set it to 200C you want to cook the chicken through first then you'll switch the grill on an get a nice char on the outside. If you're using your BBQ you'll want to set it up for indirect cooking with the coals piled around the rim of the BBQ. You're looking to get the chicken to 60C, then you'll move the coals back into the middle and get a nice char on the outside

  5. 05

    Slice!

    — 2 min

    Once your chicken is cooked and has lots of nice charred gnarly bits on it take it off the heat and transfer to a chopping board. It's going to be juicy, so use one that catches the juice if possible. Using oven gloves to hold skewers hold the chicken vertically and slice along the skewers. Remove the skewers and pile the meat into your serving plate

    Step 5: Slice!
  6. 06

    Serve

    — 15 min

    , with tzatziki, tomato salsa and fresh chillis, sorry there won't be any leftovers

— That's it

Now go eat.

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