Joojeh Kebab

Traditionally, joojeh kebabs are made with cubed, marinated chicken pieces threaded onto metal skewers and grilled. But in this version from Samin Nosrat’s new book Good Things, whole boneless chicken thighs stand in for a quicker prep—with no flavor sacrificed.

The marinade for this grilled chicken recipe, like every recipe in the book, is personal to Nosrat. “If I don’t have a deep relationship with it, and I haven’t made it countless times over the course of years and years and years,” she says, “it wasn’t going in the book.” It’s essentially a descendant of her beloved buttermilk-brined roast chicken—and a tribute to the Persian kebab restaurants she grew up visiting in Southern California. Saffron, onion, lemon juice, tomato paste, black pepper, and yogurt work together to tenderize the meat and create the signature balance of acidity, sweetness, and umami that defines so many Persian chicken kebab recipes.

No grill? No problem. Just lay the marinated thighs on a foil-lined baking sheet and slide them under the broiler on high heat until charred and cooked through.

Serve the saffron chicken with raw or lightly grilled tomatoes and warm lavash (baste it with olive oil and sumac for bonus points). Any leftover garlicky labneh is a gift. Nosrat recommends enjoying it with vegetables, fish, crudités, chips, crackers, or pita—basically, everything.

This recipe was adapted for style from ‘Good Things’ by Samin Nosrat. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.