Chicken skewers (espetinho de frango) are cubes of chicken on a thin stick. They are a cheap early round at a backyard fire and at a street cart. They are not young chicken (galeto). Galeto is a small whole bird with sage. They are not wings and they are not bone-in thighs. Those pieces have their own posts.
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Safety instructions
Cook chicken to 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part of the thigh, checked with an instant-read thermometer. Buy air-chilled birds when you can. Higher-risk people wait for 165°F (74°C).
Buy air-chilled
Buy air-chilled chicken. It skips the US water-chill tank, so chlorine or peracetic acid in that bath do not reach the meat that way. There is less water in the pack. The cubes brown better over embers.
When you go to the meat case, look for “air chilled” on the label. Boneless, skinless thigh is the better cube; it stays moist. Breast works if you do not overcook it. About 2 lb (900 g) serves six as an early round. Cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes.
Seasoning
- 2 lb (900 g) air-chilled boneless chicken thigh, in 1-inch cubes
- Juice of 2 Persian limes
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) coarse salt (sal grosso), crushed slightly so it sticks
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil
On the fire
A kettle grill grate often sits around 10 cm (4 in), closer than a churrasqueira. Use the cool side of a two-zone fire and only pass the sticks over the coals to take color. See two-zone fire.
If fat drips and flares, move the sticks. Flames touching the meat burn it rather than cook it.
Serving
Serve first, while the beef is still going, with Brazilian tomato-onion sauce (vinagrete). A squeeze of lime on the plate is enough.
Wings:chicken wings on the churrasco. Bone-in pieces:chicken thighs and drumsticks (coxas e sobrecoxas). Whole small bird:how to grill young chicken (galeto).
Method
- Cut the thigh into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes.
- Toss and refrigerate 30 minutes to 8 hours. Pat dry before you thread.
- Thread the cubes on thin bamboo skewers (soak 20 minutes so they do not burn) or thin metal skewers. Leave a little space between cubes so the heat can get around them.
- Work over embers, not flames. Thin skewers sit 20–30 cm (8–12 in) from the coals. Turn often. Total time is usually 12 to 20 minutes.
- Cook to 165°F (74°C) in the center of a cube.
How you know it is done
The cubes are opaque to the center, the juices run clear, and a thermometer in the middle of a cube reads 165°F (74°C). Color alone lies.
Make-ahead
The lime and garlic toss holds 30 minutes to 8 hours in the fridge, overnight if that is easier. Two days in lime makes the meat soft.
Next cooks
- Chicken hearts on the skewer
- Chicken gizzards, boiled then grilled
- Chicken thighs and drumsticks (coxas e sobrecoxas)
- Brazilian linguica on the grill
- How to run a two-zone fire on a Weber kettle grill
What to buy
The thermometer is so a cube hits 165°F (74°C). The usual mid is the one to get first.
- Low: ThermoWorks ThermoPop 2 — fast enough to pull beef and to know a cube hit 165°F (74°C).
- Usual mid: CHEF iQ Sense — wireless leave-in probe + hub.
- High: ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE — fast instant-read for spot checks at the fire.
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