Grill Stand · Skewered Meat

Souvlaki (Σουβλάκι)

Name: Souvlaki recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 (8 skewers, 2 each) servings
Ingredients: For the souvlaki: 800 g boneless pork shoulder (or chicken thighs), trimmed and cut into 2.5 cm cubes, about 100 g of meat per skewer; For the marinade: 4 tablespoons olive oil, juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons), 3 garlic cloves, crushed, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1½ teaspoons fine salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper; For the tzatziki: 300 g thick Greek yoghurt (full fat), ½ cucumber (about 150 g), 2 garlic cloves, crushed, ½ teaspoon fine salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon chopped dill or mint; To serve: 8 pita breads, 2 tomatoes, sliced, 1 red onion, thinly sliced, a handful of chips (optional), lemon wedges; 8 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes (or metal skewers)

Souvlaki (Σουβλάκι) — street food from Greece

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The grilling method is Bronze Age old, but souvlaki as cheap grab-and-go street food is surprisingly recent — it only spread widely after the 1960s.

Souvlaki is small pieces of pork or chicken grilled on a skewer, usually wrapped in warm pita with tomato, onion, and tzatziki, or served plain off the stick. Grill stands sell it fast and cheap, making it Greece's default lunch on the move.

Why it's made this way: Skewer-grilling is ancient in Greece — stone cooking supports found on Santorini predate the 17th century BC — but today's fast, cheap street version only took hold after the Second World War, when vendors began selling it widely in the 1960s.

What is Souvlaki?

Souvlaki is small pieces of meat, usually pork or chicken, grilled on a skewer. At a Greek grill stand it is most often wrapped in warm pita with tomato, onion and tzatziki, a cool yoghurt and cucumber sauce, though you can also order the skewers plain, off the stick. It is cheap, quick and one of the most common lunches on the move in Greece.

The name is generally linked to souvla, the Greek word for a skewer. Cooking meat on skewers in Greece is very old, but the cheap, ready-to-eat street version is a much more recent habit that is generally said to have spread across Greece in the mid-20th century. Naming can be confusing: souvlaki is not the same as gyros, which is meat cooked on a vertical spit and sliced off, and in some places the plain skewer is called kalamaki to tell it apart from the wrapped version.

How to make pork souvlaki with tzatziki

Serves 4 (8 skewers, 2 each) · prep 30 min · cook 15 min

Ingredients

For the souvlaki: 800 g boneless pork shoulder (or chicken thighs), trimmed and cut into 2.5 cm cubes, about 100 g of meat per skewer
For the marinade: 4 tablespoons olive oil, juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons), 3 garlic cloves, crushed, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1½ teaspoons fine salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the tzatziki: 300 g thick Greek yoghurt (full fat), ½ cucumber (about 150 g), 2 garlic cloves, crushed, ½ teaspoon fine salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon chopped dill or mint
To serve: 8 pita breads, 2 tomatoes, sliced, 1 red onion, thinly sliced, a handful of chips (optional), lemon wedges
8 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes (or metal skewers)

Method

Mix the oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl, add the meat and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight. Do not go beyond 24 hours, as the lemon juice starts to make the meat mushy.
Make the tzatziki: grate the cucumber, mix it with the ½ teaspoon of salt and leave for 10 minutes, then squeeze out as much liquid as you can by hand. Stir it into the yoghurt with the garlic, oil, lemon juice or vinegar and herbs. Chill until needed. It tastes better after an hour.
Thread the meat onto the skewers, about 6 cubes each, pressing the pieces together lightly. Take the meat out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking.
Heat a barbecue or a ridged grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill the skewers for 10–15 minutes, turning every 2–3 minutes, until browned at the edges. Pork should reach 71 °C (160 °F) inside, and chicken 74 °C (165 °F). Check with a probe thermometer or cut a piece open: there should be no pink and the juices should run clear.
Warm the pita on the grill for about 30 seconds a side. Slide the meat off a skewer into each pita, add tomato, onion, a spoonful of tzatziki and chips if you like, then fold and wrap the bottom in paper or foil. Serve with lemon.

Tips

Pork shoulder has enough fat to stay juicy on the grill. Lean pork loin or chicken breast dry out quickly, so watch them closely.
Squeeze the grated cucumber properly, or the tzatziki turns watery.
Do not cram the skewers. Small gaps let the heat reach every side.
Greek yoghurt in the shop is already thick. If yours is runny, strain it through a cloth for an hour.

Regional versions

Chicken souvlaki is just as common as pork, and chicken thigh is more forgiving than breast.
In Greece the wrapped version is sometimes served with chips tucked inside the pita, and some stands add mustard or paprika.
Plain skewers served on a plate with pita, salad and tzatziki are sold in tavernas as a sit-down meal.
Gyros uses meat stacked on a vertical spit, which is not realistic at home. Souvlaki is the better choice for a home grill.

Questions

What is souvlaki?

Small pieces of pork or chicken grilled on a skewer, usually served in pita with tomato, onion and tzatziki, or plain on the stick.

What is the difference between souvlaki and gyros?

Souvlaki is cubes of meat grilled on a skewer. Gyros is meat stacked on a vertical rotating spit and shaved off in slices. Both are often served in pita with tzatziki.

How long should I marinate souvlaki?

At least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. Longer than that and the lemon juice can make the surface of the meat soft.

Can I make souvlaki in the oven?

Yes. Cook the skewers under a very hot grill for 12–15 minutes, turning them halfway, until the pork reaches 71 °C (160 °F). You will get less smoky flavour than from a barbecue.