Chicken Souvlaki

Souvlaki is basically Greek grilled meat on a stick. In fact, the word itself comes from the medieval Greek word for skewer. It is then often wrapped up in pita bread. It dates back at least to Homers time...Not Simpson, doh! as there are references to it in the Iliad and Odyssey.

Of course one of the key components of the wrap, in my opinion, is the yogurt-based tzatziki sauce. In Greece and Cyprus pork is the meat of choice, but I think chicken is pretty awesome cooked this way.

Every year where I live there is a big Greek festival, which is where I fell in love with it a decade ago. So of course, I set about re-creating my own version.

What you'll need

Approximately 1 hr total time

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/3 cup olive oil

The juice of two lemons (1/4 cup +1 T) plus one tsp of the zest

1 tsp honey

1 tsp dried oregano

1 green bell pepper quartered then quartered again (16 pieces)

1 small red onion halved then quartered (8 chunks)

1 clove garlic minced into a paste

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/2 cucumber seeded and diced (1/2 cup)

1/2 tsp pepper

2 T +1/2 tsp salt

3 T fresh mint finely chopped

4 pita breads

4 12” skewers

First off, make that tzatziki sauce. The longer it sits, the better it tastes. Cut up the cucumber and mince the garlic. Whisk the garlic and 1 T of lemon juice together and let stand for 10 minutes. While that's going on, cut up the bell pepper and onion and set aside. Take the yogurt and wrap it in paper towel to remove the surface moisture. Add it, the mint, cucumber and about 1/2 tsp of salt to the lemon garlic mixture and mix thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge.

Go outside and light your grill. If you are saying to yourself “I don’t need to go outside, my grill is inside” we got some serious problems.

Next, cut the chicken up into bite-size cubes, about 1 inch.

Mix the 2 T of salt in 1 quart of water in a large bowl and brine the chicken in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. If you don’t care about dirtying an extra cutting board, you could start brining the chicken first then make the tzatziki sauce. You’ll save about 12 minutes or so. While the chicken brines, mix the olive oil, lemon zest, ¼ cup lemon juice, honey, oregano and pepper. Transfer 1/4 cup of this mixture to a bowl to be used on the cooked chicken.

Now remove the chicken from the brine and toss it with the remaining oil mixture. Take your skewers and thread four pieces of bell pepper onto one. Next thread 1/4 of the chicken onto it. Then thread 2 chunks of onion on the end. Repeat skewering the remaining chicken and vegetables on the other three skewers.

Lightly moisten 2 pita breads with water. Sandwich 2 unmoistened pita breads between the moistened pita bread and wraps tightly in heavy duty aluminum foil.

Place the skewers on the hot grill, turning occasionally until the chicken and vegetables are well browned on all sides, about 15 to 20 minutes. During the last 5 minutes, place the pita pack on the coolest part of the grill. Remove the chicken and vegetables from the skewers and toss in a bowl with the reserved oil mixture.

Wrap in the pitas and serve with the tzatziki sauce. Eat up.