Sauteed or Grilled (Pork Souvlaki)

Any chef, at least out here on the US East Coast has a Greek chef or two in their lineage.  As I said in an earlier blog, one of my first important cooking gigs was at a Greek owned restaurant in Rochester, NY.  Christos Petsos taught me a bunch or early lessons and let me know that maybe, just maybe, I had what it took to be a professional chef.  When chefs get to late-night, end of shift boozing, everyone has a Greek chef story, most of them profane, however all of them filled with grudging respect, sometimes awe. 

You see, in the northeast, I don’t know about the rest of the country, Greeks run many of the restaurants that are low to mid priced, just perfect for a stoner to get a job where no obvious skills are required.  Sometimes all it takes is showing up at the right time, like say when the chef has just punched out a cook and thrown his tenderized body out on the loading dock to marinate in the blood and the muck and the garbage juices that collect there.  Who would you look at that scene and say, “Hell yeah, I wanna work here!!!!”  Well, I did.  That’s how I was hired at a diner in Saylorsburg.   Later, I was to be the guy doing the thumping, proving that chef DNA can be transferred by osmosis.  I’ve mellowed since then.

Pork Souvlaki can either be made in a pan, as a sauté, or more commonly grilled on skewers over an open fire.  This is serious street food.  The butchering and marinade is the same.  I’ll be preparing this version sautéed with onions and peppers, served over bread that was browned in the pan before cooking the Souvlaki.  It could also be served with pita bread and garnished with crumbled feta cheese and Tzatziki sauce.  If bamboo skewers are to be used, be sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before skewering the meat.  Without soaking, they will quickly burn, making a big mess of your grill.    

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Pork Souvlaki (serves 6)

2 pounds pork country spare ribs, cut into 1 inch dice, ribs removed

3/4 cup olive oil

1 lemon, juiced, rind removed

4 cloves garlic, chopped

3 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 tablespoon dried)

1 Spanish onion, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon fresh black pepper

Here's what you'll need for the marinade.  Fresh oregano, lemons, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic.

Peel the lemon with a vegetable peeler, but not so deeply that you take off the bitter white pith.  Save the rind to cook in rice pilaf to serve with the Souvlaki.

 Combine 1/2 cup olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a large bowl to make a marinade for the Souvlaki.

Add the pork.  Mix to combine.  The acidic lemon juice will slightly whiten the pork.  Refrigerate for one hour.

Drain the pork.  You do not want to put wet meat cubes into a hot pan, because it will splatter and may flare up.  Heat a large sauté pan.  Add 1/4 cup olive oil.  When the pan is very hot, add the marinated pork. 

Turn the pork with tongs.  Brown each side.      

When the pork has cooked through, about 10 minutes, add to onions and peppers. 

Sauté for 2 minutes, until the vegetables have been cooked through.

We served the Souvlaki with sautéed kale and rice pilaf.