Collection
19 Souvlaki, Gyros and Grilled Greek Meat Recipes
Everything that comes off a charcoal grill or a vertical spit, plus the pita and sauces that go around it.
Everything that comes off a charcoal grill or a spit, and what goes around it.
Souvlaki is pork shoulder in oil, lemon, garlic and oregano, grilled hard. Gyros can be made at home without a vertical spit: the pork is stacked on a skewer, roasted, sliced thin and crisped in a pan. Chicken souvlaki is marinated in yogurt. Bifteki has feta inside it.
The big cuts take hours: spit-roasted pork, lamb souvla, chicken souvla, kokoretsi, the Cretan lamb propped facing the fire. Not everything here is meat. Octopus, sardines, swordfish and aubergine all go on the grill, and the smoky aubergine dip starts there.
Every recipe on Kalliopi's Kitchen carries the dish's Greek name and a pronunciation, its region where that is meaningful, ingredient quantities in both metric and imperial, and an honest note on what commonly goes wrong. Nutrition figures are calculated estimates and are labelled as such.
1. Pork Souvlaki
Souvlaki · Σουβλάκι · soo-VLAH-kee
Little skewer is what the word means, and to a Greek it is the meat, not the wrap. Order one in Athens and two bare skewers may arrive with bread, lemon and raw onion. The meat is nearly always pork, and shoulder has the fat to survive a hard fire. Beef barely comes into it.
Yiayia’s tip: Leave gaps between the cubes. Meat packed tightly against itself on a skewer cannot brown on the touching faces. Small gaps let the fire get in and give you crust on all sides.
Make Pork Souvlaki2. Smoky Aubergine Dip
Melitzanosalata · Μελιτζανοσαλάτα · meh-lee-tzah-no-sah-LAH-tah
The first ten minutes decide it. The aubergines are charred whole on a bare flame until the skin blackens and the flesh goes slack, and that smoke is the dish. An oven gives a beige puree that tastes of very little. Greeks still argue about vinegar or lemon, and whether walnuts belong in it.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not rinse the flesh. It is tempting when flecks of black skin get mixed in, but rinsing removes the smoke you spent twenty minutes creating. A few black flecks are a sign you did it right.
Make Smoky Aubergine Dip3. Pork Gyros
Gyros · Γύρος · YEE-ros
Nobody has a vertical rotisserie at home and nobody needs one. Marinated pork slices are pressed onto an upright skewer in a tin and roasted as one piece, so the fat runs down and bastes what is below. Then the meat is sliced thin and crisped in a hot pan. Most home versions skip that.
Yiayia’s tip: Freeze briefly before slicing. Forty minutes in the freezer firms the joint enough to slice thin and evenly. Trying to slice soft pork shoulder thinly is genuinely difficult.
Make Pork Gyros4. Grilled Octopus
Htapodi sta karvouna · Χταπόδι στα κάρβουνα · htah-POH-thee stah KAR-voo-nah
Octopus on a line outside a taverna is the picture everyone knows, and the drying does help. What makes it tender is a long, gentle simmer in the liquid the octopus gives up, with no water added. The grill only finishes it, in about four minutes. Raw on the fire, it turns to rubber.
Yiayia’s tip: Frozen is better than fresh here. One of the few cases where this is true. Freezing does the tenderising work that would otherwise take beating or luck.
Make Grilled Octopus5. Grilled Halloumi
Halloumi · Χαλλούμι · hah-LOO-mee
Cypriot, protected, and made from sheep and goat milk. The curd is heated in whey before it is brined, which is why the cheese browns and softens on the heat and still keeps its shape. Mint belongs to it from the start: a dried sprig is folded in before the brine. Cook it last.
Yiayia’s tip: No oil, hot pan. Halloumi releases its own fat. Oil just makes it greasy and encourages it to spit.
Make Grilled Halloumi6. Cypriot Sausages in Caul Fat
Sheftalia · Σεφταλιά · shef-tah-lee-AH
A sausage with no casing. Cypriot cooks wrap the minced pork in caul fat, the lacy membrane from around an animal's abdomen, and over charcoal it does two jobs: it holds the shape, and it bastes the pork as it melts. Inside is onion, parsley and a trace of cinnamon that few people can name.
Yiayia’s tip: Ask a butcher directly for caul fat. It is rarely on display but most butchers carry it or can order it in for you, since several cuisines use it the same way.
Make Cypriot Sausages in Caul Fat7. Paidakia
Παϊδάκια · pah-ee-THAH-kee-ah
Thin lamb rib chops, among the most ordered dishes in any Greek taverna. There is almost no technique in them, so the lamb you buy and how hot the grill gets decide everything. A grill that is not hot enough gives grey, steamed chops. Leave them alone, two to three minutes a side.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not over-marinate. Beyond about four hours, the lemon's acid begins to cure the surface of the meat rather than simply flavouring it.
Make Paidakia8. Bifteki
Μπιφτέκι · bif-TEH-kee
More a steak shaped by hand than a burger, and it takes a knife and fork, not a bun. Grated onion, herbs and, in some kitchens, a little soaked bread make it softer and juicier than plain beef. Many versions hide a core of feta. Medium-high heat, not fierce, so the centre cooks through.
Yiayia’s tip: Seal the edges properly. A poorly pinched seam lets the feta leak out onto the grill as soon as it melts. Press and smooth the whole edge firmly closed.
Make Bifteki9. Spit-Roasted Pork
Kontosouvli · Κοντοσούβλι · kon-doh-SOOV-lee
The name means short spit. It is the souvlaki idea stretched from minutes to hours: large chunks of marinated pork on a thick skewer, turned over the coals for two to three hours. The fire should be moderate and steady, never fierce. Without a motorised spit, somebody turns it by hand every few minutes.
Yiayia’s tip: Choose shoulder, not loin. The fat content in shoulder is what survives hours of slow cooking without drying out. Lean cuts are the wrong choice for this method.
Make Spit-Roasted Pork10. Cretan Spit-Roasted Lamb Facing the Fire
Antikristo · Αντικριστό · an-dee-kree-STOH
The Cretan way with a whole lamb or goat, where the rest of Greece turns a spit. The name means facing: large cuts on skewers stand upright in the ground around the fire and cook slowly from a distance. The meat leaves the bone with hardly any char. Food for Easter or a name day.
Yiayia’s tip: Burn the fire down to embers first. This method depends on steady radiant heat, not direct flame. Starting too early, over open fire, chars the outside before the inside cooks.
Make Cretan Spit-Roasted Lamb Facing the Fire11. Thessaloniki Kebab with Yogurt and Tomato
Giaourtlou · Γιαουρτλού · yah-oor-TLOO
Thessaloniki owes this to the refugees who came from Asia Minor after 1922, with a pairing of yogurt and grilled meat the mainland did not have. It is layered, not mixed: torn, toasted pita, then minced meat kebabs, then warm tomato sauce, then garlicky yogurt. The meat takes cumin, where mainland grills use oregano.
Yiayia’s tip: Add the yogurt last, straight from the fridge. The contrast between the cold yogurt and the hot meat and sauce is the entire point. Adding it early loses that completely.
Make Thessaloniki Kebab with Yogurt and Tomato12. Grilled Sardines with Lemon Oil
Sardeles ladolemono · Σαρδέλες λαδολέμονο · sar-THEH-les lah-thoh-LEH-moh-noh
Outside Greece the sardine mostly comes in a tin. Along the Greek coast it is grilled fresh, a few minutes on hot coals, then dressed with olive oil, lemon and oregano. The dressing goes on at the end, never as a marinade. On a lukewarm grill the fish steams instead of searing.
Yiayia’s tip: Freshness is not negotiable here. This dish has almost nowhere to hide a fish that is past its best. Buy from a source you trust and cook the same day.
Make Grilled Sardines with Lemon Oil13. Yogurt-Marinated Chicken Souvlaki
Souvlaki kotopoulo me giaourti · Σουβλάκι κοτόπουλο με γιαούρτι · soov-LAH-kee koh-TOH-poo-loh meh yah-OOR-tee
Chicken breast dries out fast on a hot grill, and yogurt is the fix. Its mild acidity tenderises the surface and helps the meat hold moisture, which oil alone does not do. Lemon, garlic and oregano do the flavouring. Shake off the excess before grilling, or it drips and flares.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not skip the marinating time. At least two hours is what lets the yogurt actually tenderise the chicken, rather than just sitting on the surface.
Make Yogurt-Marinated Chicken Souvlaki14. Grilled Aubergine Skewers
Souvlaki melitzanas · Σουβλάκι μελιτζάνας · soov-LAH-kee meh-leed-ZAH-nas
Aubergine handles the skewer and the charcoal as well as meat does. The chunks sit briefly in oil, lemon and oregano, then grill until charred outside and soft and smoky within. It is vegan without being a consolation prize. Be generous with the oil, because aubergine drinks it and dries out otherwise.
Yiayia’s tip: Cut the chunks large enough. Around four centimetres holds up well on the grill without drying out before the centre softens.
Make Grilled Aubergine Skewers15. Lamb Souvla
Souvla arni · Σούβλα αρνί · SOOV-lah ar-NEE
Greek Easter Sunday is built around this. Large chunks of lamb, often on the bone, turn on a long skewer over charcoal from morning into the afternoon while the family waits. The fire must be moderate and steady, or the outside chars before the inside is tender. A motor saves hours of turning by hand.
Yiayia’s tip: Keep the seasoning simple. Salt and perhaps oregano is genuinely enough. The slow render of fat and smoke is doing most of the flavour work over such a long cook.
Make Lamb Souvla16. Kokoretsi
Κοκορέτσι · koh-koh-REH-tsee
Nose-to-tail cooking in its most traditional form. Lamb heart, liver and kidney are seasoned and wrapped in the cleaned intestines, a casing like the one on a sausage, then turned over charcoal until crisp outside. It belongs to Holy Saturday evening, when everyone is waiting for midnight and for Lent to end.
Yiayia’s tip: Order the offal and intestines ahead. A good butcher can supply both properly cleaned, especially around Easter, but it is worth calling ahead given the seasonal demand.
Make Kokoretsi17. Charcoal-Smoked Aubergine Dip
Melitzanosalata kapnisti · Μελιτζανοσαλάτα καπνιστή · meh-leed-zah-noh-sah-LAH-tah kahp-nee-STEE
Most melitzanosalata starts in the oven. Taverna kitchens that already have charcoal burning put the whole aubergine straight over the flame, and no oven gives that smokiness however long you wait. That is the only change. The flesh is still scooped out, drained and mixed with lemon, garlic and olive oil.
Yiayia’s tip: Turn the aubergine constantly. This is what chars it evenly all over rather than burning through in one spot while the rest stays underdone.
Make Charcoal-Smoked Aubergine Dip18. Grilled Swordfish Skewers
Xifias souvlaki · Ξιφίας σουβλάκι · ksee-FEE-ahs soov-LAH-kee
Few fish can take a skewer over direct heat. Swordfish can, because the flesh is dense and meaty, and it has become the common summer alternative to meat souvlaki. Pepper and onion go on the skewer with it. There is very little fat, so it is grilled hot and fast or it dries out.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not marinate for too long. Swordfish has a delicate flavour despite its firm texture. Thirty minutes is genuinely enough; longer can make the flesh slightly mushy from the lemon's acidity.
Make Grilled Swordfish Skewers19. Chicken Souvla
Souvla kotopoulo · Σούβλα κοτόπουλο · SOO-vlah koh-TOH-poo-loh
Not a larger souvlaki but a different method. Pieces the size of a fist go on a long spit and turn slowly over charcoal for ninety minutes. Chicken is cheaper and quicker than lamb or pork, so most Cypriot families make it on Sundays. Only leg and thigh are used: breast cannot last that long.
Yiayia’s tip: Let the fire die down first. The commonest mistake is starting while there are still flames. Souvla needs low radiant heat for well over an hour, and a hot fire burns the skin black while the middle is still raw.
Make Chicken Souvla
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