Chicken Sosaties
Chicken Sosaties are delicious barbeque chicken kabobs from South Africa. These marinated chicken thigh pieces are grilled with dried apricots and onions for a flavorful and easy meal.
Looking for an easy way to change up your grilled chicken game? These chicken sosaties from South Africa are exactly what you have bene looking for.
Tender chicken thighs are marinated in a spiced but sweet marinade (thanks to the apricot preserves!) and then skewered and grilled with onions and dried apricots. They are tender, flavorful, perfectly cooked, and just so good.
Interested in adding more flavors inspired by African cuisine into your daily meal plan and how you can help your children learn to enjoy these new flavors? Check out my kids guide to African food to learn all the tips and tricks you need.
These grilled chicken skewers are a great weeknight meal. You can make the marinade a few days in advance, marinate the chicken all day, and then just quickly skewer and grill the meat when it is time to eat.
How to make chicken sosaties
This recipe is very simple to make! Here is a brief overview of the recipe to give you an idea of how it works. For the full set of directions and measurements, please make sure you scroll down to the recipe card below!
Make the marinade
- In a small saucepan, saute onion until it is soft.
- Add in the garlic and ginger and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Deglaze the pan by pouring in the vinegar and stirring to remove any bits of caramelized stuff on the bottom of the pan.
- Stir in the remaining marinade ingredients.
- Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened.
- Transfer to a shallow bowl and cool completely. This will probably take 15-20 minutes.
- When the sauce is cool, remove 1 cup of the sauce to marinade the chicken in. The remainder needs to be saved and used as a glaze while grilling.
Marinate the chicken
- Cut the chicken thighs into 2” pieces and place in a container or plastic bag.
- Add 1 cup of the marinade to the chicken and toss to coat.
- Marinate for at least 20 minutes, or up to 24 hours.
- If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 20 minutes.
Assemble the skewers
- Slice the onion and gather your dried apricots and skewers.
- Arrange the chicken, onion slices, and dried apricots on the skewers in alternating pattern.
Grill
- Heat grill to medium-low heat.
- Grill the skewers low and slow, rotating every 5-7 minutes and basting with more glaze, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 F, about 20-25 minutes.
- Allow to rest for 5 minutes, and serve.
Timing of this recipe
This recipe doesn’t take long to make and is a great addition to your weekly meal plan.
- The marinade takes about 10 minutes to make, and then needs about 20 minutes to cool. (You can make this ahead of time)
- The chicken then needs to marinate for about 15- 20 minutes.
- The assembly of the skewers takes 5-10 minutes.
- Grilling the chicken takes about 15-20 minutes.
In total, this recipe will take less than an hour and a half.
Prepping ahead of time
Need this recipe to fit into your schedule? To prep this ahead of time, you can make the marinade up to 3 days in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.
The chicken can marinade for up to 24 hours.
How to serve this to your family
These chicken skewers are great to serve to your family. To make a complete meal, serve this with mealie bread (a cornbread recipe from South Africa) and a simple side salad.
Other kid friendly grilled kabobs from around the world:
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Chicken Sosaties Recipe
Ingredients
Marinade
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion diced small
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 Tablespoon minced ginger
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ cup apricot preserve
- 1 ½ Tablespoons curry powder
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 bay leaves (affiliate link)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Chicken Skewers
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 cups dried apricots
- 1 yellow onion sliced
Instructions
Make the marinade
- In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
- Saute onion until it is soft, stirring frequently.
- Add in the garlic and ginger and stir until just fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Deglaze the pan by pouring in the vinegar and stirring to remove any bits of caramelized stuff on the bottom of the pan.
- Stir in the remaining apricot preserves, and all the spices.
- Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened.
- Transfer to a shallow bowl and cool completely. This will probably take 15-20 minutes.
- When the sauce is cool, remove 1 cup of the sauce to marinade the chicken in. The remainder needs to be saved and used as a glaze while grilling.
Marinate the chicken
- Cut the chicken thighs into 2” pieces and place in a container or plastic bag.
- Add 1 cup of the marinade to the chicken and toss to coat.
- Marinate for at least 20 minutes, or up to 24 hours.
- If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 20 minutes.
Assemble the skewers
- Slice the onion and gather your dried apricots and skewers.
- Arrange the chicken, onion slices, and dried apricots on the skewers in alternating pattern.
Grill
- Preheat a grill to low.
- Grill the skewers over low heat, turning every few minutes and basting with remaining glaze until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 F, about 20-25 minutes.
