Pork Souvlaki and Tzatziki

Tonight we had pork souvlaki and tzatziki from Kalofagos. Oh my goodness, this was sooooo good!! All three of us loved it! The meat had such a great flavor. I'm already planning to make chicken or lamb souvlaki using this method sometime. The tzatziki was very good, too. Though I doubt I'll make it again just because I am the only one that ate it, so now I have a ton of leftover tzatziki that I'm not sure what I'll do with... I can only eat so many pita chips dipped in it before I'll be sick of it... but I guess maybe I'll take it for a snack at work or something. Anyway, definitely try this souvlaki sometime - it is just so delicious! We had ours with some grilled summer squash and zucchini. And I forgot to take a picture of the tzatziki - check out Kalofagos, there's a picture there.

Pork Souvlaki

1 boneless pork butt/shoulder (we used some of our yummy pork from my BFF's brother)
1 medium onion, grated (organic, I just chopped mine)
3 cloves of garlic, minced (organic)
1 heaping tsp. salt
1 heaping tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
1 heaping tsp. dried Greek oregano
wooden skewers, soaked overnight

Trim excess fat from your pork butt and cut into uniform pieces. In a large bowl, add your remaining marinade ingredients along with the pork pieces and toss to mix and coat all the meat. Place in the fridge for at least 5 hours and for best results, overnight. (I soaked mine overnight) Place your wooden skewers in a shallow baking dish that’s filled with water. Allow the wooden skewers to soak overnight (so they don’t disintegrate when grilling).

The next day, a couple of hours before you are going to grill your souvlaki, allow the pork to come to room temperature and then start skewering your meat - it’s easier when your meat’s at room temperature.

Pre-heat your grill and when you have a medium-high heat, grill your souvlakia for 3-4 minutes a side and then keep warm until all the souvlaki are cooked. Squeeze fresh lemon juice on your souvlakia with a sprinkle of fine sea salt and dried Greek oregano.

Serve with some crusty bread and Tzatziki.


Tzatziki

500 gr. of greek (strained) yogurt
1-2 cloves of minced garlic (depending how garlicky you like it)
1/2 English cucumber, seeded and grated
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill
splash of Ouzo (left this out)
salt
extra virgin olive oil

Take your cucumber and seed it then box grate it into a strainer. Sprinkle some salt to help draw out the moisture. Give the cucumber 30 minutes and use a cheese cloth or your hands (in batches) to squeeze out the water.

Add your shredded cucumber to the yogurt and now add 1-2 cloves of minced garlic, your chopped dill, season with salt to taste and lastly, a splash of Ouzo....yes Ouzo. It gives your Tzatziki that "je ne sais quoi"! (I didn't use Ouzo)

Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, give it a dill garnish and serve with toasted pita bread.