New York-style chicken spiedies with homemade marinade full of garlic and lemon. Instructions for making these delicious skewers on the grill or inside on the stovetop!
My office is in a pretty quiet neighborhood where there aren’t many spots to grab lunch. We pretty much have the cafeteria – which does have some pretty great options – and then two sandwich places that are great, but get old after so many times.
But in the summer, food trucks line the park and our lunch options explode overnight. Opening day of food truck season is always a huge deal.
This year, things are different. There aren’t many people going into the office and from the pictures I’ve seen it looks like there are only two or three trucks out. I’ve been working from home – and I usually bring my lunch from home anyway – but I do miss the excitement of getting lunch at the trucks.
This chicken spiedie recipe, inspired by my go-to order of pasta salad topped with grilled chicken, is my attempt at recreating a little bit of that excitement at home. (If you’re looking for a healthier side dish, try these with my cauliflower tabbouleh recipe)
Spiedies are cubes of marinated and grilled meat, usually served as a sandwich similar to souvlaki. Chicken is the most common, but spiedies can also be made with pork, lamb, or beef.
They hail from Binghamton, in New York’s southern tier along the Pennsylvania border, but they’re commonly enjoyed at food trucks and local fairs across upstate New York. (For another classic Upstate NY recipe, be sure to check out my beef on weck!)
Homemade spiedies are all about the marinade
Spiedies are all about the marinade, which is a salty, garlicky mixture of oil, red vinegar, lemon juice, and spices. If you’ve ever marinated chicken in Italian dressing, the flavor is similar but spiedies are saltier and have a stronger garlic flavor. They’re so good!!
You can buy bottled spiedie sauce, but I love making my own homemade spiedie marinade. It’s really easy and uses basic pantry staples. Plus making your own allows you to control what goes into it. For example, I use olive oil instead of soybean oil.
To make it, you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Lemon juice
- Fresh garlic
- Fresh parsley
- Dried oregano
- Salt and Pepper
How to make chicken spiedies on the grill
Cut your chicken into 2-inch cubes and marinate it in the sauce for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
This is a great recipe to prep on Sunday night for an easy Monday night dinner! You know I love a good Marinade Monday.
For the most authentic spiedie flavor, you’ll want to grill your chicken – preferably over charcoal. After the chicken has marinated, arrange it onto skewers and grill over high heat until the chicken is cooked through. This will only take 10-15 minutes over high heat (about 400ºF), since the chicken pieces are so small.
Grilling Tip
If you’re using wooden skewers, you’ll need to soak them in water to prevent them from burning on the grill. To save time, I like to soak a full package of skewers, then freeze them. That way I’m always ready to grill and don’t need to remember to soak them before I start cooking. You could also purchase reusable metal skewers, which don’t need to be soaked.
How to make chicken spiedies on the stove
If you don’t have a grill – or if it’s a cold, rainy summer like this spring has been – you can still make spiedies inside! They won’t have that same char-grilled flavor, but they’re still fantastic.
When I make this recipe inside, I usually skip the process of skewering the chicken and just throw it right into a hot cast iron pan. Cook the chicken for 5-7 minutes on each side, until it’s deeply browned and cooked through.
You can serve the cooked chicken on soft Italian bread, over pasta salad, or on top of a salad. You really can’t go wrong. I usually end up eating a good amount straight from the hot pan because I just can’t wait.
Food Truck Food
Savory- Carne Asada Street Tacos (Gluten Free) – The Heritage Cook
- Chaffles (Low-Carb Cheese Waffles) – Shockingly Delicious
- Homemade Pupusas – Spiceroots
- Steak, Cheese, Grilled Onion, and Mushroom Sandwiches – Creative Culinary
- Chocobananas (Chocolate Covered Frozen Bananas) – Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Lemon Macarons – The Redhead Baker
- Milky Way Chocolate Chip Cookies – That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Chicken Spiedies
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 large lemon juiced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- lemon wedges for serving
- rolls optional, for serving
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into 2-inch cubes.
- Make the spiedie marinade: In a large non-reactive bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Add the chicken and stir to coat well. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours, or up to 2 days.
- Thread the chicken onto skewers; discard any remaining marinade.
- Grill the chicken over high heat for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through. Alternatively, cook the chicken in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for 8-12 minutes, or until cooked.
- Serve the spiedie chicken on a roll with lemon wedges.
I am from Binghamton, NY. Good take on this recipe. I moved to NC about 8 years ago. We can actually purchase Lupos spiedie marinade in our grocery stores now. The only thing I would do differently is to marinade 2-3 days. They were originally served on a slice of Italian bread. If you ever get a chance to visit Binghamton during their Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally… you will experience every kind of spiedie available. It’s a lot of fun. Outdoor concerts, hot air balloon rides, craft booths and of course spiedies! Thanks for sharing your take on these!
Aww I’m from Binghamton too! Burn the actually. I’ve never made the sauce on my own. Hope this works.
Can’t seem to find measurements. Do I jjst wing it? Lil a this lil a that?
So cool to learn about regional food! These sound delicious. I have made Kimmelweck rolls! I bet you are missing the trucks!
I did not know what this was ! I hadn’t ever heard of spiedies. Now i do.. thank you!! and I can’t wait to make these.
What a fun way to change up chicken for a fresh new dinner option! I can’t wait to give these a try!
We are fulling embracing grilling season! These skewers look terrific—easy and delicious!!!