Greek Lamb on Skewers (Souvlaki)

"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."
 
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Ready In:
50mins
Ingredients:
29
Serves:
6
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ingredients

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directions

  • For the marinade: Combine first 8 ingredients.
  • Cut lamb up into 1/2" thick, 1" wide, 3" long strips.
  • Pour marinade over lamb and chill overnight. Turning occasionally.
  • For the veggies: Combine the next 10 ingredients and let chill over night.
  • Skewer meat. If using wooden skewers, soak for an hour in water first. About 8 slices per stick.
  • Prepare grill. Add wood chips. Any type will do.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Peel and slice a cucumber down the middle, and spoon out the seeds.
  • Grate the cucumber. Squeeze out as much juice as you can.
  • In a bowl, mix the yogurt, cucumber, garlic, oil, salt, mint, and lemon juice. Let chill a few hours (over night is best).
  • For the pita: Buy pita flat bread (whole breads without the pocket).
  • Mix olive oil with paprika.
  • Brush each piece on both sides with a little of the olive oil.
  • Place on hot griddle and warm thoroughly (about a minute or so on each side).
  • Serve warm.

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Reviews

  1. These went over quite well at our BBQ
     
  2. 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.
     
  3. 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!
     
  4. 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.
     
  5. Love! Love this recipe. Thank you for the clear instructions. I have made this a number of times. Friends telling me to review with my changes. They were kind of big ones, but important in order to get my picky MN boys to try it. Here goes: I use venison in place of the lamb. Fresh mozzarella in place of the feta. Balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vingar. Half organic greek yogurt and half sour cream and fresh mint. The result is a milder flavor but such a very very good way to intro some culture in the kitchen. Thanks for sharing.
     
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Tweaks

  1. 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!
     
  2. Love! Love this recipe. Thank you for the clear instructions. I have made this a number of times. Friends telling me to review with my changes. They were kind of big ones, but important in order to get my picky MN boys to try it. Here goes: I use venison in place of the lamb. Fresh mozzarella in place of the feta. Balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vingar. Half organic greek yogurt and half sour cream and fresh mint. The result is a milder flavor but such a very very good way to intro some culture in the kitchen. Thanks for sharing.
     
  3. This is such a great recipe! I make it for our summer barbeques, and have never seen any left over. I substitute the lamb for pork tenderloin, and try to marinade it for 24 hours before cooking.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I'm a retired USAF pilot (32 years), now as a Systems Engineer, I'm 10 years into a second career with an engineering firm, supporting the military. I love to hunt, fish, camp, hike and, of course--cook. I collect cook books and recipes from all kinds of sources. I was so glad to find this web site to help me organize my favorite recipes, and find new ones. My favorite cooking style is BBQ/Smoking. I also love to cook elaborate meals for family and friends. Having lived overseas for many years, I've picked up a lot of recipes for German, French, Italian, Thai, and Greek dishes.</p>
 
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