Name: Souvlaki (Grilled Skewers)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 600 g Pork shoulder (or chicken thigh); 3 tbsp Olive oil; 2 tbsp Lemon juice; 3 cloves Garlic; 1 tbsp Dried oregano; 1 tsp Salt; 0.5 tsp Black pepper; 4 Pita bread; 1 to serve Tzatziki; 1 to serve Tomato & red onion; 8 Wooden skewers

Ingredients

4servings

Pork shoulder (or chicken thigh) · 2.5cm cubes600 g
Marinade
Olive oil3 tbsp
Lemon juice2 tbsp
Garlic · minced3 cloves
Dried oregano1 tbsp
Salt1 tsp
Black pepper0.5 tsp
To serve
Pita bread4
Tzatziki · separate recipe1 to serve
Tomato & red onion1 to serve
Wooden skewers · soaked 30 min8

Steps

Mix the marinade in a bowl, add the cubed meat, and toss to coat. Marinate in the fridge for 1 hour, and no longer than 2.
⏲ 10 min
Soak the wooden skewers in water 30 minutes so they don't burn. Thread the meat on, leaving small gaps so it cooks evenly.
⏲ 5 min
Heat a grill pan or skillet over high heat (lightly oiled).
⏲ 2 min
Grill the skewers, turning, 2–3 minutes per side until charred outside and cooked through (8–10 minutes total).
⏲ 9 min
Rest 5 minutes off the heat. Meanwhile, warm the pitas in the pan or on the grill.
⏲ 5 min
Wrap the meat in pita with tomato and red onion and a big spoon of tzatziki, or plate it with a Greek salad.
⏲ 1 min

Variations

Chicken souvlaki: Use chicken thigh for a leaner version.
Pita wrap (gyros-style): Wrap in pita with fries and tzatziki.
Lamb: Lamb shoulder for deeper flavor (shown).
Veg skewers: Thread peppers, onion, and zucchini between the meat.

Tips

A lemon-oregano-garlic marinade is the heart of the Greek flavor.
Soak wooden skewers so they don't burn.
Char over high heat for aroma but don't overcook or it dries out.
Rest 5 minutes after grilling so the juices settle.
Serving with tzatziki takes it to another level.

More detail and the reasons why (4)

Do not marinate it overnight. Acid does not tenderise; that is the most widespread misconception. Vinegar, lemon and wine denature surface proteins, which can read as tender, but they do not reach the interior (what marinades do). Cut into meat marinated overnight and the colour has travelled one to three millimetres. So whatever an overnight lemon marinade is buying, tenderness in the middle of a cube is not it.
A strongly acidic marinade wants under 2 hours, always. Days are only for salt-based marinades going on to a long cook, never for something grilled quickly — which is this dish, eight to ten minutes over high heat. A yoghurt marinade, as on tandoori chicken, can sit overnight because yoghurt combines mild acid, calcium and milk protein and acts far more gently than vinegar or lemon; a lemon marinade does not get that timetable.
What the hour genuinely buys is the salt and the oil. Salt is the thing that gets in, and oil distributes fat-soluble aromas — chilli, spices, herbs — evenly across the surface while having nothing to do with penetration. That is the oregano and the garlic arriving, and an hour does it. Past two hours the lemon starts leaving the surface "dry and chalky" — the texture the long marinade was supposed to prevent.
Cubing the meat is what makes the call sharper rather than softer. The action is at the surface, and a 2-3cm cube has far more surface for its volume than a steak does, so the seasoned layer is most of each bite. A short marinade therefore does more here than it would on a chop — and the acid damage, when it comes, shows up sooner for exactly the same reason.

The basics behind this dish

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