Dry Rub Chicken Kabobs in Oven

Create delicious chicken kabobs in the oven with this fabulous Persian inspired dry rub chicken seasoning that tastes amazing without a long marinate time!

You have no idea who ridiculously happy I am to write about this recipe. Persian food is comfort food for my family. And yes, some Persian recipes can be time and labor intensive – for me, that is, not for my family who just sit and eat it!

So it should come as no surprise that I am always finding new ways to make these delicious recipes in faster and easier. I have already shared my air fryer ground beef kebabs and my instant pot ghormeh sabzi.

This recipe creates a shortcut to making delicious jujeh kabob (Persian chicken kebab) using a dry rub chicken seasoning instead of an overnight marinade that you can easily make in the oven.

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Why you must try this recipe

So back to why I’m so excited to share this recipe with you! Before, when I wanted to make chicken kebab quickly for my family, I would use this chicken kebab seasoning I found at the middle eastern store.

It was quick, flavorful and didn’t require overnight marinating. I used this for years and realized that I really wanted to create my own chicken kebab seasoning. And when my boys moved out recently and into their apartment together, I thought this would be perfect for them to recreate a home-cooked meal on their own.

My dry rub chicken seasoning works on boneless chunks of chicken or bone-in chicken. You can use it on lean chicken breast or more flavorful chicken thighs. Cook your chicken over the grill, on the stove or in the oven.

Now if you want to recreate the flavor and texture of grilled chicken kebab without a grill, this recipe also includes directions to make FABULOUS chicken kebobs in the oven.

This recipe makes enough for four servings, but you can easily double or triple it to serve a crowd. It is a very versatile recipe that I know your family will love as much as mine does.

Ingredients you need

• Saffron: You want high quality saffron. The amount you need depends on the quality. If you find that your rice is not a vibrant yellow, you are probably using a lesser quality saffron. Choose long crimson colored strands of saffron, not orange or yellow. You will also need a mortar and pestle. If you purchase already ground saffron, you could be getting colorants that are added and not pure saffron. This is why I recommend buying strands of saffron.
• Turmeric: Turmeric is bright yellow, aromatic and offers a different flavor than saffron. Turmeric and saffron are not interchangeable, but two totally different spices and flavors.
• Paprika: There are many varieties of paprika, from smoked to sweet, so use your favorite.
• Citric acid: So usually in chicken marinades, we use an acid like lemon juice. But since this is a dry rub, I use citric acid to tenderize and flavor the meat.
• More spices: Onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley, dried mint, salt and pepper.
• Boneless skinless chicken thighs: Because I am making these kabobs in the oven, I prefer to use chicken thighs. The extra fat keeps the chicken moist. I don’t cut them into chunks, but leave them whole.
• Extra virgin olive oil: Coating the chicken with a little oil adds moisture and flavor to the chicken. It also helps crisp up the chicken and gives something for the dry rub to stick to.

Tools to Use

• Chef’s Knife
• Cutting board
• Mixing bowls

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Step-by-step directions

1. Combine spices in a small bowl and coat chicken with olive oil.

2. You will need a roasting pan that will hold your skewers of meat by being propped on the pan walls. You want the skewered chicken to not touch the bottom of the pan. For easy cleanup, line your pan with foil.

3. Fold each chicken thigh in half then slide onto two skewers, separated by about one inch. Repeat with other thighs and push each piece of chicken snugly up against each other. I fit about 4-5 chicken thighs this way.

Continue skewering the rest of the chicken thighs, using two skewers at a time. By using two skewers and not one, the chicken doesn’t spin on the skewer and you can keep the chicken propped up and over the pan.

If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water for about 30 minutes prior to skewering.

4. Roast in the oven at 425ªF for 30-35 minutes, until golden and the edges start to crisp. Baste with the pan juices and carefully rotate the skewers and flip the chicken over. Baste the chicken again and cook for 15 minutes or until the edges char and the chicken is golden all over.

Expert tips and recipe FAQs

I have used this spice mix on a variety of different cuts of chicken. They are equally fabulous on chicken wings for when you are watching your favorite game on tv. If you want to use chunks of chicken breasts, cut down on the cooking time by half and baste more often.

If you are serving this as a meal, serve with Persian basmati rice (chelo), Persian cucumber salad (Shirazi salad), yogurt with cucumbers (mast o khiar), a platter of fresh herbs (sabzi khordan), and/or Persian pickled vegetables (torshi bademjan).

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Yield: serves 4-6

Dry Rub Chicken Kabobs in the Oven

Print

Create delicious chicken kabobs in the oven with this fabulous Persian inspired dry rub chicken seasoning that tastes amazing without a long marinate time!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon ground saffron
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon paprika (smoked or sweet)
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon coarse ground pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried parsley, measured then crushed with your fingers
• ½ teaspoon dried mint, measured then crushed with your fingers
• ½ teaspoon citric acid
• 2 ½ - 3 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF (200ºC).
2. Combine spices in a small bowl and coat chicken with olive oil.
You will need a roasting pan that will hold your skewers of meat by being propped on the pan walls. You want the skewered chicken to not touch the bottom of the pan. For easy cleanup, line with foil.
Fold each chicken thigh in half then slide onto two skewers, separated by about one inch. Repeat with other thighs and push each piece of chicken snugly up against each other. I fit about 4-5 chicken thighs this way.
Continue skewering the rest of the chicken thighs, using two skewers at a time. By using two skewers and not one, the chicken doesn’t spin on the skewer and you can keep the chicken propped up and over the pan.
If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water for about 30 minutes prior to skewering.
Roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until golden and the edges start to crisp.
Baste with the pan juices and carefully rotate the skewers and flip the chicken over.
Baste the chicken again and cook for 15 minutes or until the edges char and the chicken is golden all over.

Notes

You can also use 1-inch boneless chicken breast chunks, just cut the cooking time to about 15 minutes per side.

You can also use this dry rub for bone in chicken, baked in the oven or on the grill.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

2 boneless chicken thighs
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1432Total Fat: 69gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 48gCholesterol: 1038mgSodium: 2670mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 206g

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