Souvlaki, Greek Food-on-the-Go

Whether it's lamb or pork, I love souvlaki, the Greek meat on a stick specialty of every roadside cookery all over Greece. At least that's how it was when I lived there. Now there are specialty fast food cafes that sell souvlaki and gyro found in all cities. I know some people make it with beef and others use chicken, and while I enjoy eating beef and chicken, souvlaki will forever remind me of Greek food-on-the-go when it's made with lamb or pork.

Served with bread and a Village salad. All that's missing is more souvlaki!

At our house, Dewey is the grillmaster. I typically buy a Boston butt roast, remove the meat from the one big bone and cut it into uniform pieces.

I mix it up with salt, pepper, dry oregano, garlic powder, lemon juice and a bit of olive oil. Then I massage everything with my "immaculately clean hands," as Julia Child used to say, cover and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight or all day (or both). About one hour prior to grilling, I bring out the meat and thread it onto metal skewers, then put everything on a large pan (a broiler pan is fine) and leave it all on the counter. I cover the whole skewered meat pyramid with a large piece of parchment paper until it's time to grill. Removing the meat from the refrigerator an hour before cooking knocks the chill of the meat and will help everything cook evenly.

You'll need a very hot grill with a cover. Ideally a charcoal grill for the best results. Dewey turns everything several times, and if some cook sooner than others, he'll move those to a cooler part of the grill until the others catch up. Keep the lid on for maximum smokiness. Pour lathorigani (lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper...and sometimes a little freshly chopped garlic) over your mountain of souvlaki.

This is me rambling on about how I take shortcuts with the seasoning.

If you've got a large group coming over to help you eat, this will be plenty, but if it's just a weekend dinner for two or four people, freeze half of the cubed meat for easy grilling next time you're in the mood for an authentic Greek grilling experience.