How to make souvlaki | Cooking souvlaki recipe | Cyprus food

Souvlaki is the most loved food in Cyprus. Learn how to make souvlaki that tastes delicious at home and impress everyone! I will tell you all the secrets and tricks that will help you make the most tender and succulent souvlaki you have ever tried! Easy!

I know many of you know very well how to cook souvlaki, but watch the video because you might learn something new. And write us in the comments your secrets and tricks if you want to share them with us or any questions! For the souvlaki today we will use pork. But you can also use lamb or chicken, they are made in the same way and about the same things apply. We will buy pork from the neck which is soft and little fatty, and optionally lamb fat (from tail) or pork belly to give more aroma and flavor to our souvlaki. If you do not want your meat to have fat you can use pork fillet. But the best choice for the traditional souvlaki that we all know and love is the pork meat from the neck.
When you buy the meat, make sure it’s color is light pink. This shows that it is fresh and tender. Make two compliments to your butcher to give you better meat! Cut the meat into approximately 4 cm cubes (it is 1.5 inches). You can ask them to cut it at the butcher shop for kebab in the size you want. Put it in a bowl with a little extra virgin olive oil, and aromatic herbs like rosemary and oregano if you have it, mix it and let it absorb the oil for a while.
There are two types of skewers we can use. The metallic ones, and the wooden ones that are disposable. If you are going to use the wooden ones, it is good to put them in water to swell for 1-2 hours before you pass the meat. We pass the meat from its center on the skewer, and we spread it with our hand so that it has the same thickness everywhere and is not pressed. On each skewer put 1-2 pieces of belly, 1-2 smaller pieces of fat and 4 pieces of neck. If you want, you can also add chopped onion, pepper or tomato on the spit, in between the meat. Add salt and we are ready for baking!
Put the coals on the grill and light them with tinder. We use charcoal made of natural wood, usually made of lemon tree. It takes about 25 to 30 minutes until they are ready. For two kilos of meat you will need three kilos of coals to be sure. Imagine the charcoal running out before the meat is cooked ... If you do not have a suitable grill you can light the coals on the ground and put two stones on the edges to cook the skewers on top. There is also the small disposable barbecue that you can buy from the supermarket, it costs about 6 euros. It contains everything you need to grill once.
You can also cook them on gas grills or in a grilling pan, or in the grill of your oven. They will certainly be delicious, but do not expect it to have the same effect as grilling on charcoal. We understand that the coals are lit and are ready for cooking when 2/3 of the quantity turn red and have been covered by a layer of ash (they are no longer black). Spread them with a stick and put the kebab on top. The distance that the skewer should have from the coals depends on the amount of coals we have and the heat they give. We keep only the amount of charcoal needed to cook the meat in about 15 to 20 minutes without burning it. We push the rest to the side because we may need them later.
Let it cook for a while and turn the skewers from the other side. Initially we will see the meat change color and turn white. If we see that it starts to burn at some point it means that we have to remove some of our coals or move the skewers higher so that they do not burn. We turne the skewers to cook on all sides. When the fat starts to melt from the meat and falls on the burning coals, if a fire breaks out we must immediately throw a little water to extinguish it because the meat will turn black. Or we can take the kebab off the coals until the fire goes out and put them back. If we see that the heat from the coals is decreasing and it is not enough for the souvlaki to continue to be cooked, we can add some of the lit coals that we have removed before.
I will tell you a secret to make your souvlaki even softer, used by professional chefs. In the middle of the cooking, remove the skewers from the coals and wait for 10-15 minutes and then put them back on the coals and continue cooking normally. When the meat is away from the coals it continues to cook with the heat it has already received without getting dry. In the last minutes, I spread them with a sauce that I prepare in advance with mustard, lemon juice, olive oil and oregano. It makes them very delicious, try it and you will love it too.
We understand that they are ready when they get a dark brown-golden color. The more well done we want them, the darker their color will be.

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