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8 June 2013 By Jane Kotsiris and Kenton Kotsiris 19 Comments

Souvlaki Recipe

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Souvlaki | These Greek chicken skewers are simple to make the taste amazing! Get creative by adding in your favorite herbs and watch everyone ask for seconds.Souvlaki (soo-vlah-kee)

This dish is the Greek experience and can be referred to as the Greek “fast food.” Although, it’s far from being as unhealthy or unsavory as American fast food tends to be. These juicy bits of meat loaded on a skewer provide for the ultimate meat lovers snack. In the US/abroad, souvlaki is usually wrapped inside a piping hot pita bread and topped with fresh vegetables, however in Greece, it’s traditionally served on skewers (pictured) with a side of fries.

Souvlaki

Souvlaki is an amazingly delicious meal. We prefer it with pita, crisp onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a dollop of tzatziki sauce finish this dish off to perfection.

It’s been said before when referring to Greek cooking, “the holy trinity” of flavors. These refer to lemon, garlic, and oregano combined to form a perfect confection of flavors in your mouth. Yum! The “holy trinity” of flavors should be used, without a doubt, when making Souvlaki. The marinade is really up to you however and truly creates the direction in which you want your meal to flow. For example, using a red wine marinade or one full of only spices and olive oil can make this more robust rather than zesty. You get where I’m going with this. Pair it with pits, fries, rice pilaf, or even eat it alone for a brilliant meal.

καλή όρεξη!

Kenton & Jane

PS. Don’t forget to serve these with tzatziki and homemade pita bread!

5.0 from 3 reviews
Souvlaki Recipe
 
Print
Prep time
30 mins
Cook time
10 mins
Total time
40 mins
 
Souvlaki is skewers of meat grilled. The choice of meat can vary so make it to your specifications.
Author: Kenton & Jane
Recipe type: Greek Chicken Dish
Cuisine: Greek
Serves: 2-5
Ingredients
  • 3lbs beef, pork, or chicken
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons oregano
  • 1 tablespoon thyme
  • 1 clove garlic, grated (optional)
  • Zest from 1 lemon
  • Sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Clean meat (remove extra fat) and cut into small cubes.
  2. Putting the meat aside, in bowl combine all other ingredients and mix.
  3. Taste mixture and when happy add in raw meat - coating well.
  4. Cover and let marinate for 30mins in the refrigerator.
  5. Fire up the BBQ.
  6. Take skewers and add meat (start at bottom and work your way to the top of the skewer).
  7. Place souvlaki on BBQ and cook for about 5-6mins on each side (this will vary depending on what meat you are using, so cook to preference (e.g. med, well, etc.,).
  8. Once done, remove, and serve the souvlaki some fresh tzatziki!
Notes
Feel free to add more olive oil if you feel it's not coating all the meat. Also, have a favorite herb? Make it your own. Go Crazy!
3.5.3226

 

 

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Filed Under: All Greek Recipes, Favorites, Greek Chicken Recipes Tagged With: ares, greek chicken, greek meat dishes, souvlaki

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Comments

  1. Allison says

    16 January 2014 at 6:33 pm

    Holy hot damn! I’m eating this right now and it’s sooooo good! And sooo easy! And sooooo healthy! THANK YOU!

    Reply
    • Kenton Kotsiris says

      17 January 2014 at 12:56 pm

      Thanks for the comment! Glad you liked it 🙂

      Reply
  2. Connie says

    27 February 2014 at 12:18 am

    My favorite! Of course, I’ll say the same when I comment on your next post! I have never seen thyme added, but you can bet I will next thyme 🙂 I have enjoyed many hours exploring your site, keep up the good work. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Kenton Kotsiris says

      27 February 2014 at 9:21 am

      Thanks Connie for the nice words! Do give thyme a try – we love it and think it adds a fantastic flavor element to souvlaki. Let us know what you think! 🙂

      Reply
  3. jessica says

    29 April 2014 at 9:48 pm

    I used this method for chicken gyro meat and it was delish! I had lemon thyme on hand and used it since I thought it would pair well. It went awesome with the gyros but I cooked the chicken right from the grill.

    Reply
    • Kenton Kotsiris says

      30 April 2014 at 6:08 pm

      That’s great to hear Jessica. We’re glad you liked it!!

      Reply
  4. Jen says

    17 August 2014 at 5:23 pm

    Are the measurements for dry herbs or fresh?

    Reply
    • Kenton Kotsiris says

      18 August 2014 at 9:42 am

      Good question Jen! These are for dry herbs. We try to specify when they are fresh.

      Reply
  5. Jane says

    11 November 2014 at 4:26 pm

    Well I must try this recipe…first of all it looks yummy and secondly because my son’s name is Kenton and I’m Jane:)

    Reply
    • Kenton Kotsiris says

      14 November 2014 at 9:27 am

      Really?! That’s so cool 🙂 If you do, let us know how you like it.

      Reply
      • Jane says

        14 November 2014 at 9:38 am

        I ended up making your Greek yogurt chicken souvlaki…and it was fantastic. Everyone in the family loved it which was amazing since I have a demanding and picky crowd to feed:) Even Kenton cleaned his plate (usually he leaves half of his food uneaten). Thanks again for the great recipes.

        Reply
        • Kenton Kotsiris says

          14 November 2014 at 10:24 am

          Yay, so glad to hear!!

          Reply
  6. Katie says

    4 December 2014 at 7:54 pm

    Can you prepare the skewers in advance? Say the morning, when planning to cook that evening?

    Reply
    • Kenton Kotsiris says

      5 December 2014 at 11:27 am

      Hi Kate, yes, I think that will be ok. What we have done is add the chicken to the marinade, cover, place in the fridge, and cooked them when we got home.

      Reply
      • Katie says

        6 December 2014 at 7:25 pm

        Thanks! I will be cooking them this week for friends. Can’t wait!

        Reply
        • Katie says

          11 December 2014 at 2:47 am

          They were delicious! Thanks

          Reply
          • Kenton Kotsiris says

            11 December 2014 at 3:05 pm

            Yay! so glad you liked them and they turned out great

  7. Michael Hoyle says

    16 June 2016 at 12:41 pm

    Can you replace oregano with thyme? Personally love oregano but other half likes but less so.

    Also, is it better to marinade longer, if so how much longer?

    Thank you

    Reply
    • Kenton Kotsiris says

      15 August 2016 at 6:24 pm

      Yes, that would be perfect. Thyme goes great with chicken, too. Personally, I wouldn’t do anything more than an hour. We’ve tried it for longer, but couldn’t taste a different.

      Reply

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Hi! We’re Kenton & Jane of Lemon & Olives. This blog is dedicated to exploring Greek food and culture, the Mediterranean lifestyle, and traveling Greece. We’ve collected many Greek recipes over the years from Greece and family members, and we’re still learning as we go! This blog is our way of documenting our journey…read more

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