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. 

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!)

It’s 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 spidies 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. 

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.

How to make chicken spiedies in the grill

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 5-10 minutes, since the chicken pieces are so small. 

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. 

Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. This month’s theme is Food Truck Foods, and our host is Ansh who blogs at Spiceroots. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With Progressive Eats it’s a virtual party. A theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out. Come along and see all of the delicious Food Truck inspired dishes!

Chicken Spiedies

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 large lemon, juiced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

1. Cut the chicken into 2-inch cubes.
2. Make the spiedie marinade: In a large nonreactive bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper.
3. Add the chicken and stir to coat well. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours, or up to 2 days.
4. Thread the chicken onto skewers; discard any remaining marinade.
5. Grill the chicken over high heat for 5-10 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.
6. Serve the spiedie chicken with lemon wedges.

Nutrition Information

Yield 6 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 386Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 156mgSodium 504mgCarbohydrates 2gNet Carbohydrates 2gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 52g

Other Recipes you can read:

• Cake with chocolate eggs – recipe with 2 eggs – ..

  There cake with chocolate eggs it is a soft and delicious dessert that hides inside the small chocolate eggs. It is one of the ideal desserts to ..

• Spaghetti with tuna and tomato in the oven, the first ..

  The Spaghetti Tuna and tomato in the oven they are a chef's recipe Piero Benigni. This simple dish is a riot of flavors and aromas that come ..

• Fermentation: Homemade fermented foods – Gordon Ramsay’s version

  The art of fermentation has a long history in gastronomy, with fermented foods ranging from vegetables to alcoholic beverages. This ancient practice has become increasingly popular among cooking ..