Yogurt-Lemon Chicken Skewers for a Crowd

The Jamie Oliver profile describes outdoor cooking built around a group: a marinade from cupboard staples, meat cut small and threaded onto skewers, food that comes off the grill in batches. This page turns that approach into one dish you can cook for 4 people or for 20.

The marinade is yogurt, lemon, garlic, oil and dried spices, with fresh herbs saved for the end. Before any chicken touches it, you spoon some into a separate bowl to serve as the sauce.

The hub treats marinades as a formula. We fixed one version with exact amounts so it scales, chose thighs over breast (see section 06), and added a holding plan for cooking several waves on one grill, with separate raw and cooked trays and a thermometer check on every wave.

• Charcoal or gas grill with a hot side and a cool side (see the two-zone fire guide)
• Metal skewers, flat if possible so pieces don’t spin, or soaked wooden skewers
• Instant-read thermometer
• Two sets of tongs and two trays, one marked raw and one cooked
• Large bowl or zip-top bags, plus a small covered bowl
• Foil tray with a lid for holding cooked skewers
• Cooler with ice if the fridge is full

Base batch, serves 4 (about 8 skewers)

• 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1½ cups plain whole-milk yogurt, regular or Greek
• 1 lemon, zest and juice, plus 1 more in wedges for serving
• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp each dried oregano, ground cumin and sweet paprika
• 1 tsp fine salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley for the marinade
• A small handful each of chopped parsley and mint, for finishing
• Pinch of chilli flakes, optional

Scaling for a crowd

Everything scales in a straight line, spices and salt included. The sauce you set aside is one third of the yogurt base.

From 12 people up, marinate in two or more containers so each chills faster.

1. Make the yogurt base

Stir together everything except the finishing herbs and chilli. Taste and adjust now, while it is still safe to taste.

2. Set the sauce aside first

Spoon the sauce portion into a small bowl, cover and refrigerate. Only this portion reaches the table; the rest gets thrown away after marinating.

3. Cut and marinate the thighs

Trim large pads of fat and cut the thighs into even 1½-inch pieces. Toss them in the remaining marinade, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Raw poultry keeps 1 to 2 days in the fridge, so cook inside that window.

4. Thread the skewers

Thread 5 or 6 pieces per skewer, touching but not crammed, or the meat where pieces meet stays undercooked. Keep skewers cold on the raw tray until their wave goes on.

5. Set up two zones

Build a hot side for searing and a cool side for finishing and holding. Yogurt browns fast, so a fire that is too fierce blackens the outside before the middle cooks.

6. Grill in waves

Wipe off the thick excess marinade before each skewer goes on; heavy clumps burn and cause flare-ups. Grill over the hot side, turning every few minutes, until dark spots form and the pieces feel firm. If they char too fast, move them to the cool side. Switch from raw to cooked tongs once the first side has browned.

7. Check every wave with the thermometer

Probe the thickest piece on two or three skewers per wave. All poultry is safe at 165°F. For thighs, keep going to 175–185°F for texture, where the meat turns more tender. Colour is not a reliable test, least of all under a browned yogurt crust.

8. Hold or serve, then finish

Move cooked skewers to the clean tray. Serve each wave straight away, or hold them in the covered foil tray on the cool side, checking the chicken stays at 140°F or above. To serve, scatter over the fresh herbs and chilli, squeeze over lemon, and put out the reserved sauce.

Why thighs. Thigh meat has more fat and connective tissue than breast, so it stays moist past 165°F and holds well in a tray. Small cubes of breast dry out a few degrees past safe, which is hard to manage across a full grill. More on the cut in our guide to grilling chicken thighs; the full chart is in what temp is chicken done.

Marinate at least 2 hours, or overnight. Expect roughly 10 to 15 minutes per wave for 1½-inch thigh pieces; the thermometer has the final say. For 12 or more, start the first wave before guests are hungry so the holding tray fills early.

Confirm 165°F with a thermometer first. These signs help you judge texture afterwards:

• The yogurt coating has set into a dry crust with dark spots at the edges
• Pieces feel firm when pressed with tongs
• The skewer turns as one unit without pieces sliding
• The probe slides into the thickest piece with little resistance

• Chicken breast: works, but take it off once it reaches 165°F and serve straight away, since it dries out in a holding tray.
• Herbs: dill, coriander or basil can replace the parsley and mint. Keep soft herbs for the end, where their flavour survives.
• Vegetables: grill peppers, onion and courgette on their own skewers, since they cook at a different rate from the chicken.

The danger zone runs from 40°F to 140°F. Keep raw skewers and the reserved sauce cold, and hold cooked chicken at 140°F or above. Once a platter is on the table, it has 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F outside; then throw it away. The yogurt sauce follows the same rule, so put out a small bowl and refill it from the fridge.

Never serve the marinade the raw chicken sat in unless it has been boiled first. Setting a portion aside at the start avoids the question.

Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours of cooking. They keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge, or 2 to 6 months in the freezer for best quality. Reheat to 165°F (see how to reheat chicken). Source: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.