The Showroom · Greek-Style · Serves 4

Chicken Thigh Kebabs
with Fried Smashed Potatoes & Tzatziki

Name: Chicken Thigh Kebabs with Fried Smashed Potatoes & Tzatziki
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 900 g boneless skinless chicken thighs; 45 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 45 ml fresh lemon juice; 18 g garlic; 6 g dried oregano; 1 tsp sweet paprika; 12 g Diamond Crystal kosher salt; 2 g black pepper; Metal skewers, or wooden skewers soaked in water 20 minutes; 680 g baby Yukon Gold potatoes; 1 tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, for the boiling water; 80 ml olive oil; 2 g flaky sea salt; 300 g full-fat Greek yogurt; 150 g English cucumber; 6 g garlic; 15 ml fresh lemon juice; 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 5 g fresh dill; 3 g Diamond Crystal kosher salt

A Purple Pig favorite, brought home: lemon-and-oregano chicken thighs off the grill, crackly fried smashed potatoes, and a cool, garlicky tzatziki to pull it all together.

45 min active 30 min+ marinate Grill / broiler method

Spoon cost

Time ●●●○○ A Project

Gluten-Free

Fewer ingredients, shortcut steps — the same dish, less to track.

Servingsamounts scale to match

Units

Ingredients

Dry the boiled potatoes, then give them room in hot oil. After boiling, let the potatoes steam-dry in the colander for 5 minutes and pat the tops dry before they hit the pan — surface water is the enemy of crisp. Fry them in a single, uncrowded layer in genuinely hot oil, and don't move them until the underside is deep golden and releases on its own (about 4 minutes). Flip once. Crowding the pan or flipping too soon steams them soft instead of crisp.

Roast the potatoes hot, and pull the thighs at 175°F. A 230°C / 450°F oven does the crisping for you — spread the smashed potatoes out so they aren't touching, and don't flip until the undersides are golden. For the chicken, dark meat is best fully cooked: 175°F on a thermometer means juicy, not chewy.

Easier, if you like

Skip making tzatziki: a good tub of store-bought is a real shortcut — Cedar's Tzatziki (refrigerated dip case) or Trader Joe's Tzatziki are both solid. Stir in a little extra grated garlic and lemon to wake it up.
No grill? The broiler does the same job — thread the kebabs, set them on a rack over a foil-lined sheet 15 cm (6 inches) under the element, and turn every few minutes until charred and 175°F. A ripping-hot cast-iron grill pan works too.
Roast the potatoes instead of frying if you'd rather not stand over a skillet: toss the smashed potatoes with the oil on a sheet pan and roast at 230°C / 450°F for 25–30 minutes, flipping once. Less crackle, far less babysitting (this is the path in Simplify this recipe).
Buy the chicken pre-cut. Many stores sell boneless skinless thighs already trimmed; a quick knife pass into chunks and you're marinating.

Method

Cook's notes

Cook the thighs all the way to 175°F. Dark meat is the opposite of a chicken breast — it's best well-done, not just barely safe. Around 175°F the connective tissue melts into gelatin and the meat turns silky and juicy; pull it at 165°F and it can still be chewy. An instant-read thermometer (see the Tool Drawer) takes the guessing out of it. More on why in Kitchen Notes.

Why thighs, not breasts. Thighs stay moist on a hot grill where breasts dry out, they take a marinade beautifully, and they're cheaper. This is the cut The Purple Pig built the dish around, and it's the right call at home too.

Yukon Golds are the potato to use. They're the middle-ground potato — creamy enough to go fluffy inside, waxy enough to hold together when you smash them, with a thin skin that crisps. Russets fall apart; see the potato note in Kitchen Notes.

Everything but the frying can be done ahead. Marinate the chicken and make the tzatziki the night before; boil and smash the potatoes earlier in the day and leave them on the sheet pan. Then it's just grill and fry when people are hungry.

Squeeze the cucumber like you mean it. Watery cucumber makes runny tzatziki. After grating, wring it out in a towel until it stops dripping — you'll be surprised how much comes out.

Provenance: inspired by the Chicken Thigh Kebabs with fried smashed potatoes and house-made tzatziki that Chef Jimmy Bannos Jr. serves at The Purple Pig in Chicago. This is a home cook's version written from the components and technique, not the restaurant's recipe.

Cook's notes

Store-bought tzatziki is the real time-saver here — a squeeze of fresh lemon and a little grated garlic stirred in make it taste homemade.

Cook the thighs to 175°F. Dark meat wants to be fully cooked; at 175°F it's silky and juicy, not chewy.

Gluten-free as written; here's how to flex it

Gluten-free: nothing to change — the marinade, potatoes, and tzatziki are all naturally gluten-free.

Dairy-free: the only dairy is the tzatziki. A thick unsweetened coconut or cashew yogurt (Cocojune, Forager) makes a good stand-in — grate in the cucumber and garlic the same way.

Meatless: the same marinade and plate work beautifully with halloumi (cut into thick cubes, skewered, grilled until it takes color) or with big mushroom and zucchini chunks. It's a different dish, but the potatoes and tzatziki carry it.