Donal Skehan’s favourite chicken dishes for the BBQ — gnarly kebabs, lemon & oregano thighs and a Vietnamese vermicelli bowl (2024)

The brighter season brings a bounty of fresh ingredients, perfect for firing up the grill and creating memorable meals which capture the essence of summer.

One of my standby, old reliables around this time of year is grilled chicken. Versatile and the ideal vehicle for whatever your kitchen pantry has to offer. Spices from the middle east, deep south BBQ sauce or fish sauce or soy sauce borrowed from Asian store cupboard staples.

Here are three standout dishes that celebrate the joy of a summer grilled chook.

Firstly, a classic — lemon & oregano chicken with fennel Salad. The combination of fennel and orange is one that works wonderfully together, bitter and sweet and intensely fresh.

Normally saved for the winter months as a burst of colour, it features on my summer menu well into August. I would happily eat the salad by itself, or with thinly sliced onions and herbs like dill and mint, but it really shines alongside these lemon & oregano chicken thighs.

I cook the thighs on the BBQ to give them deep, smokey char marks and crispy skin. The marinade for the chicken is incredibly simple but highly effective — olive oil, lemon zest and orange zest and plenty of dried oregano — a back-pocket recipe for the summer months.

For the chicken kebab recipe, the chicken is marinated in yoghurt, which prevents it from drying out during cooking. Chicken thighs are best for this recipe as you will be left with tender chicken once cooked. Toum is a Lebanese garlic sauce which is essential to serve with these kebabs. Once made, the toum keeps really well in the fridge for several weeks as it is very stable.

Serve it all with the salad and it’s a very yummy meal indeed. Served straight off the grill, they’re a fantastic option for casual summer gatherings — tin foil boxes optional!​

While the Irish summer has nothing on a humid day in Hanoi, the recipe here for Vietnamese vermicelli bowl with lemongrass chicken will hopefully help transport you there. Grilled lemongrass chicken is the star of the show — aromatic, spiced and vibrant, it is best devoured with the light and fresh ingredients of the bowl.

Thin rice noodles, fresh herbs, crisp veggies, and the essential Vietnamese nuoc cham dressing, it’s all my favourite things in one bowl. Ideal for hot summer days!

Whether you’re hosting a barbecue, enjoying a family meal, or simply craving something fresh and delicious, these dishes are sure to ramp up grill season.

Gnarly Chicken Kebabs

Total time: 1 hour plus marinating

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 1kg skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into pieces
• 180g natural yoghurt
• 1 ½ tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 6 cardamom pods, cracked and seeds roughly ground
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

​Method

1. Place the chicken in a large dish or container. In a separate bowl, combine the yoghurt with the spices, cider vinegar, olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken, mixing well. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least two hours, or overnight, for best results.

2. Thread the chicken pieces onto metal skewers.

3. Heat a large griddle pan (or a BBQ) to a high heat. Cook the chicken, in batches, turning every few minutes, until they are cooked through and slightly charred. Keep the cooked kebabs in a warmed dish to catch the resting juices.

4. When the kebabs are cooked, serve them, with the resting juices, on warmed flat breads in foil containers, kebab shop style, adding dollops of toum (below) and the macerated cabbage, tomato and cucumber, baby gem leaves, herbs, a good squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkle of sumac.

Toum

Ingredients

• 90g garlic cloves (about 2 bulbs)
• 230ml light olive or other neutral oil
• 75ml lemon juice
• Sea salt

Method

1. Peel the garlic cloves and remove the cores with a knife.

2. Add the cloves to a small food processor with plenty of salt and blitz for a few minutes until they are really chopped down.

3. With the motor running, start to gradually add the oil, alternating with the lemon juice, until you have a really smooth and glossy light sauce, like mayonnaise.

Kebab Shop Salad

Ingredients

• ½ red cabbage, shredded
• 2 tbsp sweet cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 250g ripe medium tomatoes,
• sliced into wedges
• ½ cucumber, peeled, cored and
• sliced into half moons
• Flat breads or pittas, warmed
• Leaves of 2 baby gem lettuce heads
• Small handful mint leaves
• Small handful coriander leaves
• Lemon wedges, to squeeze
• Sumac, to sprinkle
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. In a bowl, toss the red cabbage with the sweet apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil and plenty of salt & pepper.

2. Add the tomato and cucumber in a dish and drizzle with the remaining oil and a good sprinkle of sea salt.

Lemon & Oregano Chicken with Fennel Salad

Serves: 4

Time: 1 hour + marinating time

For the chicken:

• 8 free range skin on, bone-in chicken thighs
• Juice and zest of ½ lemon
• Juice of 1 orange
• 4 garlic cloves
• 50 ml olive oil
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves

For the salad:

• 2 oranges
• 1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 head of chicory, leaves separated
• Small handful of dill, roughly chopped
• Small handful of fresh mint, leaves picked
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 50ml extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. In the bowl of a small food processor or spice grinder, add the juice and zest of ½ a lemon, orange juice, garlic cloves, olive oil, salt, dried oregano, thyme leaves and blitz until smooth.

2. Pour over the chicken thighs and leave to marinate for at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours.

3. When ready to cook, heat a BBQ — placing the coals only on one side — or place a griddle pan over a high heat. Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade, shaking off any excess, and cook over a high heat for 3 -4 minutes, skin side down, until charred and golden. If using the BBQ, move the chicken thighs to the side with no coals underneath and add the lid. Cook for 25-30 minutes, until the meat is tender. If using the griddle pan over a hob, once the thighs are charred and golden, move to a tray and place into the oven at 200C/180C fan/400F/Gas Mark 6 for 25-30 minutes, until cooked through.

4. To segment the oranges, using a flexible knife slice a little off the top and bottom of the orange so you can place it flat onto a chopping board. Using the knife, slice the skin and pith from the orange, following its natural curve — be careful not to take off too much of the flesh! Now, holding the orange in one hand, use the knife to slice gently in between the membrane of each segment, prising them out from the centre until completely removed. You should be left with a segment of just flesh. Repeat until you have removed all the segments then squeeze the leftover bit of orange over a small bowl to reserve the juice. Place all the segments into a different small bowl.

5. Using a mandolin, thinly slice the fennel and red onion into a bowl and add the chicory leaves, orange segments and half of the dill and mint.

6. Add the Dijon mustard and extra virgin olive oil to the bowl with the reserved orange juice. Season well with salt and pepper and whisk to emulsify. Pour the dressing over the salad and then place onto a serving platter. Scatter over the remaining herbs and serve with the cooked chicken on a separate platter.

Vietnamese Vermicelli Bowl with Lemongrass Chicken

Serves: 4

Time: 25 minutes + marinating time

For the chicken:

• 1 red chilli, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 stalks of lemongrass, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp light brown sugar
• 50ml neutral oil, plus extra for frying
• 50ml water
• 8 chicken thighs

For the dipping sauce:

• 4 tbsp fish sauce
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 3 red and green chillies, finely chopped

To assemble:

• 250g vermicelli noodles, cooked according to packet instructions
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 1 cucumber, julienned
• ½ iceberg lettuce, finely shredded
• Handful of bean sprouts
• Handful of fresh coriander leaves
• Handful of fresh mint leaves
• Lime wedges

Method

1. Place the red chilli, garlic and lemongrass in a mini blender and blend until a chunky mixture forms. Add the fish sauce, soy sauce, light brown sugar, oil and water and blend again until a paste forms — add more water, if necessary. Place into a zip-lock bag and add the chicken thighs, giving them a quick mix to evenly coat then set aside in the fridge to marinate for 2 hours or overnight, depending on how long you have.

2. For the dipping sauce, whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing until the sugar has dissolved, then loosen with 1-2 tablespoons of water. Set aside.

3. Cook the vermicelli according to the packet instructions then set aside.

4. Prep the vegetables and place them all on a platter ready for everyone to assemble their own bowls.

5. Place a griddle pan on the hob over a medium heat and add a drizzle of neutral oil. Remove the chicken from the marinade, shaking off any excess and cook for 6-8 minutes on each side, until the chicken is golden, charred and cooked through. Allow to rest for a few minutes then thinly slice.

6. Divide the vermicelli between 4 bowls then serve to the table with the platter of vegetables, the sliced chicken, the dipping sauce and the herbs and lime wedges and allow everyone to build their own bowls.