Celebrating with a Feast!

This week we celebrate Pentecost and the Holy Spirit with a fast free week!

These previously marinated pork pieces were frozen and after they thawed I sautéed them in a cast iron skillet.

Here's the recipe from an earlier post... http://presvassi.blogspot.com/search/label/souvlaki

PORK SOUVLAKI, Greek Style

 

 

Souvlaki, like its cousin Shish K Bob, implies "cooked on a stick."  You can have chicken souvlaki, pork souvlaki, lamb souvlaki, shrimp souvlaki... I'll stop now to avoid sounding like Pvt. Benjamin Buford 'Bubba' Blue, from the movie "Forrest Gump."  The point is, find a good cut of meat, season it right, skewer it and grill it... you will be the hero of any summer meal. 

 
PORK SOUVLAKI Greek Style.

I started out with 6.5 pounds of Boston Butt (Pork Shoulder.)  I forgot to ask the butcher to de-bone and trim it, so I had to do that myself.    
 

 
 I cut the meat into 1-1.5 inch steaks...

 
And then 1.5 inch strips...
 
 

 
And then 1.5 inch pieces.
 

 
I put it all in a large bowl and pulled out my seasonings. 
 
 

 
It's just your basic Greek seasonings: olive oil, lemon, garlic, oregano, salt & pepper.
 
 

 
INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1/4 c wine vinegar
• 1/4 c lemon juice (1 medium lemon)
• 4 t salt
• 1 t pepper
• 4 t  garlic
• 4 t oregano
• 4 t parsley

 
 

 
 
I simply squeezed a lemon over a strainer to keep the seeds from falling in.  If you can fight the temptation, marinate the meat in the fridge overnight, maybe even a day or two.  But if you can't wait, it will still taste good after resting for 30 minutes.   
 
 

 
Skewer 5-6 pieces on a wooden skewer.  If the skewers are metal and large, you will need to cut your pieces larger.  Squeeze the meat in the palm of your hand to evenly distribute it on the stick. 
 
 

 
 
The six pound Boston Butt made about 25 Souvlaki.
 

This next step is the most important part of my recipe... you might have your own traditions... but at this point, my "secret" to grilling is my husband.  I hand the skewered meat over to him, and he does his magic at the grill. 
 
 
 

 
 
 
When they are done, he brings them back to me, and I finish the meal with a salad, rice and some homemade tzantziki, a cucumber yogurt sauce. 
 
Enjoy!  And be generous! 

Greek Fries Are a Great Treat.

 

One tip for a successful fast is to save some foods for a treat.  Ours are fried foods.  We save fried foods for the weekend: fried zucchini, loukoumathes, shrimp... Today's lunch was Greek Fries.

 

• Using a potato cutter, cut 4 potatoes, rinse them in cool water and place them in a large bowl.
• Dust 2T of flour over the damp potatoes
• Season with garlic powder, dried parsley and dried oregano.  But be warned, this late in lent, they smell like souvlaki! 

 

 

• Heat oil to HOT

• Fry the spuds

 

 

 

• Drain on a paper towel, or coffee filter
• Salt and serve