Last Updated on December 6, 2023 by Carne Diem
Protein:
Origin: Italian, European, American Midwest
Method: Grill or Griddle
Jump to RecipeA Kansas City staple, these Grilled Chicken Spiedini skewers consist of tender all white meat chicken, marinated in a quick and easy amogio sauce consisting of oil, butter, lemon, herbs and spices. The chicken is coated in seasoned breadcrumbs and grilled to juicy perfection.
Chicken spiedini has been a Kansas City classic since Garozzo's first started selling these grilled skewers of tender, juicy, all white chicken. Spiedini, translating to skewered meat in Italian, has been around for centuries, but was traditionally beef or lamb. When restaurants in Kansas City began making the dish with chicken breasts, it quickly became a regional favorite. Since national chains like Olive Garden got ahold of the recipe, it has become popular nationwide.
Table of contents
Making Grilled Chicken Spiedini
Ingredients need to make Grilled Chicken Spiedini
To make this fantastic and easy Grilled Chicken Spiedini you will need the following ingredients:
2 Pounds Chicken Breasts
For the Marinade/ Easy Amogio Sauce
½ Cup Italian Dressing
¼ Cup Softened Butter
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
¼ teaspoon Black pepper
For the Chicken Spiedini Breading
½ Cup Italian Breadcrumbs
½ Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest
2 Tablespoons Parsley, finely chopped
Prepping your ingredients
Pound the chicken thin
Remove the chicken breasts and cover with a sheet of parchment paper. Using the flat side of a meat tenderizer, pound the chicken thin. Make sure not to overdo it or you will end up with holes in the chicken.
Alternatively, you can cube the chicken breasts and use cubed chicken. This will result in a slightly less flavorful chicken spiedini as there is not as much surface area for the marinade to adhere to. It will also result in a slightly firmer chicken.
Preparing the amogio sauce/marinade
Make the amogio marinade by combining the Italian dressing, lemon juice, softened butter, black pepper, and red pepper flakes in a medium sized bowl. Amogio sauce is a combination of oil, lemon juice, butter, and herbs and spices, commonly used to marinate and season chicken spiedini. For our quick and easy amogio sauce and marinade when use Italian dressing as the flavorful oil base for the sauce, to which we add the additional seasonings, butter, and lemon juice.
Marinate the chicken spiedini in the easy amogio sauce
Add the chicken breasts to the bowl with the marinade. Mix well to cover the chicken breasts.
Cover and refrigerate the chicken for 4 hours. If you elected to use cubed chicken, you can marinate overnight but we do not recommend going more than 4 hours with the thinly pounded chicken breasts or the lemon juice will begin to break down the chicken which can make it mushy and difficult to skewer..
Making the chicken spiedini breading
Now it is time to make the seasoned breading for the spiedini. First, zest the lemon and then finely dice the lemon zest.
Add the lemon zest to a flat dish or plate along with the breadcrumbs, parsley, and parmesan cheese. Mix to combine.
Breading the easy chicken spiedini
Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade and shake off excess marinade.
Roll each chicken breast tightly then slice into 1-2 inch chunks and place on skewers to hold together. If using cubed chicken, skewer the chicken cubes onto the skewers. If you are using wooden skewers for the spiedini we recommend soaking the wooden skewers for about 15 minutes to help prevent them from burning during cooking.
Roll the chicken skewers through the breadcrumb mixture until evenly coated.
Cooking the Chicken Spiedini on your grill
Finally, it is time to get cooking. Preheat your grill or BBQ to medium-high heat (about 400 degrees). We typically make these grilled chicken spiedini a couple of different ways, either directly on the grill or on a griddle like a Cooking Steel or Blackstone.
Cooking on a griddle
Oil your flat top or Blackstone griddle and cook the chicken spiedini skewers for about 90 seconds then flip over and cook for an additional 90 seconds. Continue to flip every 60-90 seconds until all sides are browned and the chicken is cooked through. This typically takes about 8-10 total minutes but can vary. Internal temperature of the chicken should be 165 degrees.
Cooking on a grill
To cook the chicken spiedini on a BBQ grill, set up for both direct and indirect heat. Oil your grates to keep the chicken coating from sticking to the grill. Cook the chicken skewers over the direct heat for about 3-4 minutes and then flip the chicken spiedini over. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes, then move the chicken to indirect heat and continue to cook until you reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees as checked with an instant read thermometer.
What to serve with your Grilled Chicken Spiedini
Once you are done cooking your grilled chicken spiedini, remove them from the grill and serve immediately. Serve as part of a larger family style Italian meal along with some Italian Style Parmesan Wings, salmon lasagna, giant meatballs with truffle burrata, Pizza Oven Meatball Grinders, and wood oven stromboli.
The chicken spiedini also works wonderfully as a main course with most pastas including spaghetti and angel hair pasta. Pastas that are lightly seasoned with a little butter, lemon and parsley make for a light and refreshing backdrop to the spiedini. Wash it all down with a glass or 2 of blackberry sangria or a blood orange bellini.
For more great chicken skewer recipes be sure to try our grilled chicken tikka, Peruvian Anticuchos de Pollo: Peruvian Chicken Skewers, and Grilled Souvlaki (Greek Chicken Skewers).
Frequently Asked Questions
If using chicken breasts, the chicken spiedini should be cooked to 165 degrees. If using dark meat the chicken is best cooked to 180-185 degrees to help with tenderness, though it is also safe to eat at 165 degrees.
Amogio sauce is a sauce consisting of lemon, herbs, olive oil, red pepper and garlic typically used as a marinade for dishes like chicken spiedini or as a simple sauce for pasta.
Chicken spiedini was made famous in Kansas City at local restaurants like Garozzos.
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📖 Recipe
Grilled Chicken Spiedini
Equipment
- Grill or Smoker
- 4 Skewers
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds Chicken Breasts
Marinade/Amogio Sauce
- ½ Cup Italian Dressing
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- ¼ Cup Butter softened
- ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
Breading
- ½ cup Italian Breadcrumbs
- ½ Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest
- 2 Tablespoons Parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Combine the marinade/Amogio sauce ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
- Pound the chicken breasts thin and place in the bowl with the marinade. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
- Combine the breading ingredients and place in a shallow dish or plate.
- Preheat your grill to medium-high heat (about 400 degrees).
- Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade and shake off excess marinade.
- Roll each chicken breast tightly then slice into 1-2 inch chunks and place on skewers to hold together.
- Roll the chicken skewers through the breadcrumb mixture until evenly coated.
- If cooking on a griddle or flat top, oil the cooking surface and cook the chicken spiedini skewers for about 90 seconds then flip over and cook for an additional 90 seconds. Continue to flip every 60-90 seconds until all sides are browned and the chicken is cooked through. This typically takes about 8-10 total minutes but can vary. Internal temperature of the chicken should be 165 degrees.
- If cooking on a grill, oil the grates and cook the chicken for about 3-4 minutes per side, until nicely browned, then move to indirect heat and cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Serve warm with your favorite pasta.
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