Greek Lamb on Skewers (Souvlaki)

Pokey in San Antonio, TX's Note:

I spent a lot of time in Greece and this was by far my favorite dish. I love it served on a hot pita with marinated onions, tomatoes, and feta cheese; all topped with garlicky tzaziki sauce. I'm not sure where I got this recipe, but I've been making it for years with great success. Serve with fried calamari and French fries. Make a lot of tzaziki so there is plenty for dipping. Time to prep does not include the very important marinade time.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

Marinade

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 garlic clove (minced)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves

Guest of Honor

• 3 lbs lamb

Veggies

• 4 tomatoes (cut into wedges)
• 2 onions (cut into strips)
• 1/2 lb feta cheese (cubed)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 garlic clove (crushed)
• 2 tablespoons dill (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon dry oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Tzaziki

• 2 cups yogurt
• 1/2 cup cucumber (peeled, seeded, grated)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried mint
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Pita Prep

• 12 pita breads
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Directions:

1. For the marinade: Combine first 8 ingredients.
2. Cut lamb up into 1/2" thick, 1" wide, 3" long strips.
3. Pour marinade over lamb and chill overnight. Turning occasionally.
4. For the veggies: Combine the next 10 ingredients and let chill over night.
5. Skewer meat. If using wooden skewers, soak for an hour in water first. About 8 slices per stick.
6. Prepare grill. Add wood chips. Any type will do.
7. Grill until meat is done, brushing often with marinade. Meat should be brown around the edges, but still a little pink in the center. Don't dry the meat out.
8. Serve with warm pita. Guests should wrap a warm pita round the meat and pull the skewer our, then top their "taco" with marinated veggies, feta, and tzaziki.
9. For the tzaziki: Place the yogurt in cheese cloth. Twist to bind and squeeze the yogurt. Place in colander over a bowl to drain for an hour or so.
10. Peel and slice a cucumber down the middle, and spoon out the seeds.
11. Grate the cucumber. Squeeze out as much juice as you can.
12. In a bowl, mix the yogurt, cucumber, garlic, oil, salt, mint, and lemon juice. Let chill a few hours (over night is best).
13. For the pita: Buy pita flat bread (whole breads without the pocket).
14. Mix olive oil with paprika.
15. Brush each piece on both sides with a little of the olive oil.
16. Place on hot griddle and warm thoroughly (about a minute or so on each side).
17. Serve warm.

Reviews

[catalinacrawler]

fan-freaking-tastic! i thought i didn't like lamb but this recipe proved me wrong! i added a little more salt to the marinade than called for and it was just right for our tastes.

[705024]

This recipe was quite easy despite the long list of ingredients. I used Greek yogurt and skipped the cheese cloth step for the tzaziki, and it still came out great. Also, I used flank steak instead of lamb (didn't have any at my grocery store), and it was almost as good as the lamb I've had at Greek restaurants. My husband, who would never have eaten most of the ingredients on their own, said that the "whole" was absolutely delisous! I agree!

[Oolala]

I only made the marinade part of this recipe as I had cubed lamb that I wanted to grill on skewers and I had all the ingredients on hand. It marinated about 8 hours. It was yummy. My family liked it except for my picky son. Way too sophisticated for him! I served it with Nan's Orzo Pasta Salad but I just put it in tonight so I can't create the link. It was a perfect combo. Thanks for posting.