Prep Time: ~25 minutes (plus 2+ hours to marinate) Cook Time: ~15 minutes Servings: 4–6

Kebabs are the ultimate choose-your-own-adventure over live fire. Once you've got the building block down — marinated protein, hearty veg, a sturdy skewer — you can swap in just about anything the fridge or the garden hands you. Here's the foundation. Master this one, and every other kebab is a variation on the theme.

Ingredients

The Marinated Chicken

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1½-inch chunks
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp coarse black pepper

The Hearty Veg

• 2 medium zucchini, cut into ¾-inch rounds
• 2 bell peppers (red and yellow look great), cut into 1½-inch squares
• 1 large red onion, cut into 1½-inch wedges, layers kept together
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper

For Serving

• Warm flatbread or pita
• Lemon wedges
• Chopped fresh parsley
• Tzatziki or garlic yogurt sauce (optional, but highly recommended)

Equipment

• 12–16 flat metal skewers, or bamboo skewers soaked in water at least 30 minutes

Steps

1. Marinate the Chicken Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, paprika, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken and toss until every piece is coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight if you're planning ahead.
2. Build the Fire Light your Cowboy Cauldron and let the flames burn down into a hot, even bed of coals. Set your grill grate over the fire and let it get good and hot — you want a clean sear the moment the skewers hit the metal.
3. Prep the Veg Toss the zucchini, peppers, and onion with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Keep the pieces roughly the same size as your chicken chunks so everything cooks at the same pace.
4. Thread the Skewers Here's the key move: use two parallel skewers per kebab, about ½ inch apart, so nothing spins when you flip. Alternate chicken, pepper, zucchini, and onion, leaving a little breathing room between pieces so the heat can reach all sides. Don't crowd them.
5. Grill Over the Coals Lay the skewers on the hot grate directly over the coals. Grill 3–4 minutes per side, turning a quarter turn at a time, until the chicken is charred at the edges and cooked through (165°F in the thickest piece) and the veg is blistered and tender — about 12–15 minutes total.
6. Rest and Serve Pull the skewers to a platter and let them rest a couple of minutes. Hit them with a squeeze of lemon and a scatter of parsley, and serve with warm flatbread and tzatziki on the side.

Pro Tips

• Thighs over breasts. Dark meat stays juicy over the high, uneven heat of a live fire and forgives you if you get distracted tending the coals.
• Double-skewer everything. Two skewers side by side keep chunks from spinning on the grate, so you actually get an even char instead of the same side burning twice.
• Pick veg that can take the heat. Zucchini, peppers, and onion hold their shape and pick up smoke without turning to mush. Cherry tomatoes and mushrooms are great too — just give them their own skewer since they cook faster.