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!
- 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
- Clean meat (remove extra fat) and cut into small cubes.
- Putting the meat aside, in bowl combine all other ingredients and mix.
- Taste mixture and when happy add in raw meat - coating well.
- Cover and let marinate for 30mins in the refrigerator.
- Fire up the BBQ.
- Take skewers and add meat (start at bottom and work your way to the top of the skewer).
- 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.,).
- Once done, remove, and serve the souvlaki some fresh tzatziki!
Allison says
16 January 2014 at 6:33 pmHoly hot damn! I’m eating this right now and it’s sooooo good! And sooo easy! And sooooo healthy! THANK YOU!
Kenton Kotsiris says
17 January 2014 at 12:56 pmThanks for the comment! Glad you liked it 🙂
Connie says
27 February 2014 at 12:18 amMy 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!
Kenton Kotsiris says
27 February 2014 at 9:21 amThanks 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! 🙂
jessica says
29 April 2014 at 9:48 pmI 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.
Kenton Kotsiris says
30 April 2014 at 6:08 pmThat’s great to hear Jessica. We’re glad you liked it!!
Jen says
17 August 2014 at 5:23 pmAre the measurements for dry herbs or fresh?
Kenton Kotsiris says
18 August 2014 at 9:42 amGood question Jen! These are for dry herbs. We try to specify when they are fresh.
Jane says
11 November 2014 at 4:26 pmWell I must try this recipe…first of all it looks yummy and secondly because my son’s name is Kenton and I’m Jane:)
Kenton Kotsiris says
14 November 2014 at 9:27 amReally?! That’s so cool 🙂 If you do, let us know how you like it.
Jane says
14 November 2014 at 9:38 amI 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.
Kenton Kotsiris says
14 November 2014 at 10:24 amYay, so glad to hear!!
Katie says
4 December 2014 at 7:54 pmCan you prepare the skewers in advance? Say the morning, when planning to cook that evening?
Kenton Kotsiris says
5 December 2014 at 11:27 amHi 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.
Katie says
6 December 2014 at 7:25 pmThanks! I will be cooking them this week for friends. Can’t wait!
Katie says
11 December 2014 at 2:47 amThey were delicious! Thanks
Kenton Kotsiris says
11 December 2014 at 3:05 pmYay! so glad you liked them and they turned out great
Michael Hoyle says
16 June 2016 at 12:41 pmCan 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
Kenton Kotsiris says
15 August 2016 at 6:24 pmYes, 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.