063Pork souvlaki

Method

Athenian kalamaki skewers. Eat straight off the skewer or slip into warm pita breads with tzatziki, sliced tomatoes, red onions, and chips.

You will need

• 8 to 10 wooden skewers (20 cm)
• Cast-iron ridged grill pan or charcoal grill
• Tongs
• Mixing bowl

1. Soak 8 to 10 wooden skewers in cold water for at least 30 minutes to prevent them from scorching during grilling. 30 min Ready when: Skewers thoroughly damp and waterlogged
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, grated garlic, 1 teaspoon of oregano, and black pepper; add the pork cubes and toss well to coat. 5 min Ready when: Pork glistening and evenly coated
3. Allow the pork to marinate at room temperature for 25 to 30 minutes, or refrigerate if marinating longer. 30 min Ready when: Flavours absorbed into meat surface
4. Thread 5 to 6 cubes of pork snugly onto each prepared wooden skewer, pressing them together lightly without squashing. 10 min Ready when: Neat, uniform skewers with fat evenly distributed
5. Heat a ridged grill pan or outdoor charcoal grill over medium-high heat until very hot, and season the threaded skewers on all sides with the salt. 5 min Ready when: Grill smoking faintly; salt evenly clinging to meat
6. Place skewers on the hot grill and cook for 10 to 12 minutes total, turning a quarter turn every 2 to 3 minutes, until all four sides are nicely browned, charred at the tips, and cooked through. 12 min Ready when: Firm springy meat with charred edges and rendered fat
7. Transfer skewers to a serving plate, sprinkle with the remaining oregano and coarse salt, and serve piping hot with lemon wedges. 2 min Ready when: Aromatic sizzling skewers ready to serve

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Make ahead and storing

Meat can be threaded onto skewers and refrigerated in an airtight container up to 12 hours before grilling.

Best served straight off the grill; leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Substitutions

• chicken thigh fillet for boneless pork neck or marbled shoulder. Produces classic chicken souvlaki (kotopoulo kalamaki), which remains juicy on the grill.

Common mistakes

• Using extra-lean pork loin. Lean pork loin dries out instantly on a hot grill; pork neck with interspersed fat is essential for tenderness.
• Marinating in heavy lemon juice for hours. Prolonged contact with acid cures and 'cooks' the raw meat chemically, making the surface mushy and chalky.

Regional variants

• Souvlaki Thessalonikis (in northern Greece, 'souvlaki' strictly refers to the skewer itself, whereas 'sandouits' refers to the wrapped pita)
• Kalamaki kotopoulo (chicken souvlaki wrapped with bacon or grilled plain with mustard-lemon dressing)

About the dish

Souvlaki, derived from the medieval diminutive of the Latin subula ('skewer'), is modern Greece's most enduring and widely consumed street food. Archeological finds in Akrotiri on Santorini demonstrate that skewered small meat roasted on ceramic fire-dogs existed in the Aegean since the Bronze Age. In Athens, plain skewers are traditionally termed kalamakia (little reeds) to distinguish them from wrapped pita sandwiches. Diced pork with generous marbled fat is lightly marinated with olive oil, lemon, and oregano, then cooked quickly over hot embers until browned on the exterior and succulent within.

Found in Attica, all of Greece. Cooked for everyday, summer, sunday lunch.

Cousins elsewhere

• Şiş kebap (Turkish). Skewered small cubes of meat grilled over hot coals, found across the entire eastern Mediterranean basin.
• Arrosticini (Italian). Small skewered meat grilled over narrow charcoal braziers in Abruzzo.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

566 kcal · protein 39 g · fat 44.5 g (saturated 14 g) · carbohydrate 3.2 g (sugars 0.8 g) · fibre 1 g · sodium 732 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. The unpretentious Athenian souvlatzidiko standard of plain, well-grilled skewers seasoned purely with oregano, salt, and lemon..