Chicken Skewers with Dukkah Crust
TIME/SERVINGS
Total: 1 hr
Active: 20 mins
Makes: 12 servings (24 skewers)
By Aida Mollenkamp
Dukkah makes everything better. This Middle Eastern spice mix, often including sesame seeds, sumac, and hazelnuts, is most commonly combined with oil and used as a dipping sauce. This recipe coats the chicken in mustard and dukkah and is accompanied by a sweet-sour sauce of honey and balsamic vinegar.
What to buy: If you have the time, you can make your own dukkah. Otherwise look for it at gourmet grocery stores, at Middle Eastern stores, or online at Spice Bazaar.
Game plan: The vinegar-honey sauce and dukkah (if making) can be done up to 5 days ahead. Coat the chicken in the dukkah mix up to 2 hours ahead of time and then refrigerate both. When you’re ready to eat, bake the skewers and warm up the sauce over low heat until it is syrupy. For a slacker solution for the coating, substitute toasted fine breadcrumbs mixed with cumin and sesame seeds.
This recipe was featured as part of our Wii Gaming Menu.
- 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 24 chicken tenders, also called chicken tenderloins
- 1 cup Dukkah
- 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 1 ounce)
- 24 metal or bamboo skewers (if using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes before cooking)
- Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange the rack in the middle.
- Combine balsamic vinegar and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Combine mustard and olive oil in a shallow bowl and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss chicken in mustard mixture until well coated.
- Combine dukkah and Parmigiano-Reggiano in a wide, shallow dish and mix thoroughly. Roll each tender in the dukkah mix until well coated.
- Thread a chicken tender on each skewer. Place chicken skewers on wire cooling racks. Nest each wire rack in a baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake until the meat is firm and the dukkah crust is golden, about 25 to 30 minutes. Serve the skewers with the vinegar-honey sauce.
Beverage pairing: Taittinger Brut La Française Champagne, France. There’s a lot going on in this dish, making it difficult to match with wine. A good rule to remember in cases like this is that champagne goes with everything. For this recipe, it really does work well: It has the fruit to work with the honey-vinegar sauce and a slight nutty-toastiness to pair with the dukkah.
COMMENTS | ADD YOUR OWN
Yum. I am absolutely trying this tonight. What an easy and my guess is tastey way to shut your friends yappers for five. Thanks chow.
Where did you get the skewers in the phorograph? Are they available in SF?
Hi Guys,
I have a small spice company called the Occasional Gourmet.
We sell a number of middle eastern spice blends, including
Dukkah. It is super fresh and hand made.
You can buy it locally at Rainbow, 6001 California,
Cheese Plus on Polk and at Whole Foods on Franklin, and at
the Village Market in the Ferrry Plaza Building.
If you want more information about other stores in the bay area- you can email me.
I apologize if the company plug is considered bad form- but i couldn't reisist.
kf@theoccasionalgourmet.com
To KitchenBeard:
I've seen those skewer sticks at Japanese stores in the SF Bay Area. I know that Daiso, the Japanese knick-knack store in Daly City where almost everything's a $1.50, has them.
I can vouch for OG's Dukkah - it's delish!
I think that the baking time is too long for chicken breast "tenders". I also think that in most ovens, the chicken won't get browned at that low heat.
I may be wrong, but I don't think so. What are others' opinions?
I made this last night. The chicken coating, the dukkah, did get browned in the oven, but the chicken also got dried out. It was very dry, actually. It would have been inedible without the dipping sauce. I had to make my own dukkah, maybe I did it wrong?
sarahross - I know a few mouths I'd like to shut with this recipe ^^.
Man this looks so good, and its not only good for parties but I'd bet it would be even great for BBQ's or even for family dinners as a substitute for shake n bake ^^