This recipe is taken directly from Diane Kochilas, the Greek cookbook author and cooking teacher behind the My Greek Table television series — the Greek Lemon Chicken Skewers recipe published on dianekochilas.com. Her marinade of olive oil, lemon, garlic and oregano is the classic one, and the recipe takes about 15 minutes of hands-on time, plus marinating.
Kochilas’s page describes the skewers as suited to grilling, broiling or the air fryer, and lists tzatziki, lemon wedges, and warm pita as accompaniments. She notes that chicken thighs stay extra juicy, while breast works well if not overcooked.
Ingredients
Serves 4. Quantities are from the source; the metric figures marked “about” are our own conversions.
- 1.5 lb (700 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1.5-inch pieces (about 4 cm)
- 1/4 cup (about 60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dried Greek oregano
- 1 teaspoon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika; smoked paprika or cayenne, optional
- 8 wooden or metal skewers, 6 to 8 inches long
Method
- Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and paprika or cayenne (if using) in a large bowl.
- Add the chicken and toss well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours. Soak wooden skewers if you are using them.
- Thread the chicken snugly onto the skewers.
- If grilling outdoors, heat the grill to medium and grill the skewers, turning, for about 10 to 12 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Kochilas gives “medium” without a temperature.
- Move to a platter, squeeze over extra lemon, and sprinkle with fresh oregano if you like. Serve with tzatziki, lemon wedges, Greek salad or warm pita.
The same page gives a grill-pan version (medium heat, lightly oiled, 10 to 12 minutes, turning every few minutes, until lightly charred) and a broiler version (high, 10 to 12 minutes, turning once), which is useful if the weather turns.
What Makes It Souvlaki
In an article that first appeared in the L.A. Times, Kochilas explains that “souvlaki” is the diminutive of “souvla”, the Greek word for a skewer, so the name means “little skewers.” She says they were traditionally made from a kind of reed, though metal and wood are more common now. Metal skewers usually carry larger, meal-sized portions where cubes of lamb or pork alternate with green pepper, onion and tomato, while small wooden skewers are for hand-held snacks. She adds that souvlaki is tied to the old tradition of spit-roasting whole animals, and that the whole Pascal (Easter) lamb roasted across Greece is a living relative.
She also separates it from its sister, gyro, which is meat stacked on a vertical skewer, grilled rotisserie-style and shaved into shards, not served in cubes.
On flavour, she says pork and lamb remain the favourites in Greece, with chicken, turkey, veal, beef and thick-fleshed fish also skewered and grilled. The most typical marinade is olive oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic and oregano, sometimes with wine. Regional variations exist: in northern Greece and among the Greek diaspora around the Black Sea, she says, cooks are likely to sprinkle cayenne over the grilled meat, and cumin sometimes appears. For the hand-held version, she says, Greek souvlaki is wrapped in a doughy pita rather than the thin pocket kind, and the bread can be grilled over coals.
Doneness and Safety
Kochilas says “cooked through” rather than giving a temperature. USDA says poultry should reach 165°F (74°C) as measured with a food thermometer, and that raw and cooked foods must not share platters, cutting boards or utensils. If you swap in pork, which she calls a favourite (this changes her published recipe), USDA’s figure for pork chops, steaks and roasts is 145°F (63°C) followed by a rest of at least 3 minutes.
Keep reading
- Grilled Greek Chicken Gyro, Adapted from Mia Kouppa
- Greek Grilled Octopus (Ktapodi stin Skara)
- Mild Grilled Chicken Skewers Kids Actually Like
- Puerto Rican Pinchos: Delish D’Lites’ Grilled Skewers