Greek Beef Souvlaki

Photo from Table
for Two

I have officially entered the world of beef souvlaki! And now that I’ve made it, I might actually make it again. Although, if I’m being honest, I still think chicken souvlaki is better. That may or may not have something to do with the fact that I got a wee bit overzealous with the seasoning. Ahem.

Let me explain how this culinary adventure went off the rails.

The recipe called for 2 tablespoons of Greek seasoning for 1.5 pounds of chuck roast. Now, I didn’t make 1.5 pounds of chuck roast. I made about 3/4 of a pound. And apparently, reading the recipe for the Greek Seasoning all the way through before starting would have been a good idea, because the homemade Greek seasoning recipe makes an entire ounce, or 4 tablespoons.

You can see where this is going, can't you?

Yep. I dumped ALL FOUR TABLESPOONS of seasoning into my marinade for HALF the amount of meat. Because apparently, math and I were not on speaking terms today.

When it came time to grill, I had to scrape most of the seasoning off the meat. I’m pretty sure I could have seasoned the entire neighborhood with what I removed. The beef was doing its best to be souvlaki, but it was fighting a losing battle against my seasoning enthusiasm.

And because the culinary universe apparently wasn't finished messing with me, the Pantry Goat was visiting when the grill ran out of gas. So the beef didn't cook to my preferred level of doneness. It was acceptable to her, of course. The more it moos, the happier she is. Me? Not so much. I gave mine a little extra time in the microwave to put an end to the mooing.

So, between the seasoning incident and the grill's untimely death, I'm declaring this recipe a do-over. I have a feeling beef souvlaki could be really good when prepared correctly.

And next time? I'll read the entire recipe, measure the seasoning like a responsible adult, and check the propane tank BEFORE inviting the Pantry Goat over.

No promises about the math, though.

Greek Beef Souvlaki

Recipe from Table for Two

Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons Greek seasoning (This makes a full ounce of Greek seasonsing)
• 1 ½ pounds (680 g) chuck roast, trimmed and cubed into bite-sized pieces

In a large bowl, mix together marinade then add the beef pieces. Using your hands or spoon, toss together until incorporated and beef is fully coated in marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat your outdoor grill to high and in the meantime, if you’re using wooden skewers, soak them in water. If you’re using metal skewers then you can skip this step.

Skewer the beef pieces onto the skewers. We used 8 inch wooden skewers.

Grill beef until the beef reaches your desired level of doneness. Let rest before removing from skewer and plating.

Sprinkle with fresh parsley as garnish.

Serve with rice, tzatziki sauce, pita bread, red onions, etc.