Classic Souvlaki Recipes

CHICKEN SOUVLAKI

Steps:

• Whisk together lemon zest, 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice, half the garlic, the oregano, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add chicken, and toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, for 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stir together remaining lemon juice and garlic, the cucumber, yogurt, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.
• Heat grill to medium-high. Thread chicken, tomatoes, and onion onto 4 metal skewers. Brush with remaining 2 teaspoons oil, and season with pepper.
• Grill skewers, turning, until browned on all sides and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Grill pitas until charred, about 2 minutes per side.
• Serve skewers with charred pitas and cucumber-yogurt sauce. Garnish with oregano leaves.

SOUVLAKI

Steps:

• In a large glass bowl, mix together lemon juice, olive oil, soy sauce, oregano, and garlic; add pork, onions, and green peppers, and stir to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
• Preheat grill for medium-high heat. Thread pork, peppers, and onions onto skewers.
• Lightly oil grate. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or to desired doneness, turning skewers frequently for even cooking.

SOUVLAKI

Steps:

• Cut off any excess fat or membranes from the meat, then cut it into equal sized cubes.
• Toss the meat in a large bowl together with all the marinade ingredients, then refrigerate for a minimum of five hours (best overnight). Also, place the wooden skewers in a shallow container filled with water overnight.
• The next day, take the meat out of the refrigerator and first wait until it comes to room temperature and then skewer it.
• Grill the souvlaki over medium-high heat, about 3-4 minutes per side. Keep warm until ready to serve. Sprinkle the grilled souvlaki with lemon juice, salt, and Greek oregano.
• Serve just with bread, or inside a pita with tzatziki sauce and toppings of your choice.

SOUVLAKI (WICKED KEBABS)

Steps:

• For the kebabs: Put the pork chunks, dried mint, dried oregano, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and black pepper into a bowl and use your clean hands to mix everything together really well. Cover with plastic wrap or clingfilm, then pop into the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or longer if you want the flavours to get a bit more intense. Meanwhile, blacken the peppers directly over the flame of your hob, in a hot dry griddle pan or under a hot grill. Turn them every so often and when they look almost ruined, pop them into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap or clingfilm and put to one side to steam for 5 minutes or so, this will help their skins to come off.
• To make the tzatziki: Coarsely grate the cucumber into a sieve set up over a bowl. Add a few good pinches of salt, then use your hands to squeeze out as much water as you can. Pour the water away, then tip the cucumber into the empty bowl and add the yoghurt. Pound the garlic in a pestle and mortar with a good pinch of salt until you have a paste, and spoon that into the bowl with the cucumber. Add the dried mint and red wine vinegar and mix really well. Have a taste to make sure you've got the balance right, then put aside. Preheat a griddle pan or grill on a high heat. Thread the skewers through the marinated pork pieces, leaving little spaces between them so that the heat cooks everything evenly. Cook the kebabs on the screaming hot griddle or grill for about 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally until done on all sides. Warm your flatbreads in the oven or in a hot dry pan while your kebabs are cooking. Just before your kebabs are ready, peel and deseed your blackened peppers, then tear them into strips and put them into a bowl. Roll up your mint leaves, finely slice them and add to the bowl along with the dill. Add a few splashes of red wine vinegar, a pinch or two of salt and pepper and a lug of extra-virgin olive oil. Toss and mix together, then have a taste to check the balance of flavours. Cut your lemon into wedges. Put a dollop of tzatziki and the meat from 1 skewer on each warmed flatbread. Top with some of the pepper mixture, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Life doesn't get much better.

CLASSIC GREEK CHICKEN SOUVLAKI

Steps:

• Over a medium bowl, zest the lemon, making sure you do not grate any of the pith (white part of the peel). Add the juice of the lemons.
• Mince the garlic and add it to the bowl. Next, add the olive oil, oregano, spearmint, salt and pepper. Mix well. Reserve one third of your marinade to brush on your kebabs before serving.
• Cut the red onion into quarters, separate each one into 3 or 4 sections and then set aside.
• Cut the chicken in 1½-inch cubes and add to the bowl with the lemon, oil and herbs. Mix well to coat the chicken with the marinade, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4-6 hours (another trick is to mix them all in a large, zip-lock-style bag, tossing regularly).
• Prepare a grill or set a grill pan over two burners and heat over medium-high heat. Loosely thread the pieces of chicken onto the skewers, alternating the chicken with sections of onion. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken kebabs with salt and pepper. Place the skewers on the hot grill and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, turning a couple of times, until the chicken has nice grill marks and is cooked through. Brush some of the reserved marinade on the hot kebabs and remove to a serving plate. Cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
• Place the pita on the hot grill until just heated through.
• To serve, cut the pita into wedges and arrange on the plater, alongside some tzatziki sauce (made with Fage yogurt), chopped red onions, cubes of Greek Feta cheese, grape tomatoes cut in half. Generously sprinkle with some dried oregano. Add the warm kebabs on the platter and serve right away. Enjoy a real Greek feast!

CLASSIC SOUVLAKI

Steps:

• Trim lamb. Cut into 1 inch cubes.
• In a bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Marinate for up to 24 hours in refrigerator. Room temp, 30 minutes.
• Soak wooden skewers at least 10 minutes to prevent charring during cooking.
• Remove meat from marinade, Thread meat on skewers. broil under broiler or BBQ over med-high until done to personal preference. (approx. 5 min rare, 7 minutes per side for medium).
• Serve with your favorite tzatziki sauce and savour the efforts of your labour.