Greek Lamb Souvlaki (Skewers)

Greek Lamb Souvlaki (Skewers) with delicious marinade served with a fresh Greek yogurt dill sauce and pita bread. One of the most delicious dinners you can make!

This easy lamb souvlaki recipe will have you hooked. So full of flavors and healthy too! If you skip making a lamb pita (wrap) and serve it plainly with the yogurt dill sauce and some salad on the side, you have a healthy Mediterranean meal!

Table Of Contents

• Making Greek Lamb Skewers
• What's The Difference Between Souvlaki And Kebabs
• Cut Of Meat
• Lamb Marinade
• Juicy Grilling
• Lamb Souvlaki Wraps
• How To Make The Best
• Serve With
• Recipe

Making Greek Lamb Skewers

In Greece, we make skewers aka Souvlaki's from almost any meat. The most popular are Chicken Souvlaki, Pork Souvlaki, And Lamb Souvlaki. Sometimes even veal too.

To make Greek skewers or Greek Souvlaki you need either wooden skewers or metal ones, your preferred type of meat (in this case lamb) cut into bite-sized cubes, and a grill.

You can make them on an outdoor grill like a charcoal or gas grill (char-grilled lamb is the best) but if you don't have that option then a grill pan or (last case scenario) your oven will do.

What was a game changer for me was buying a cast iron grill pan. I even prefer it over a grill. Because it produces 90% similar results in flavor (plus it heats up as strongly as a grill) and the only thing that's missing is the smokey flavor that you get from an actual fire.

But it's less fussy to cook on a grill pan than on an actual grill. The only downside to this is that you can't make too many portions like you can on a grill. But if you're cooking for 2 to 4 people, then a cast iron grill pan for me is the best option.

What's The Difference Between Souvlaki And Kebabs

The words Lamb souvlaki, Lamb kebabs, or Lamb kebobs are used interchangeably. There are two slightly different dishes that come under the same names. The one is the Souvlakis we mentioned above with small pieces of meat threaded on skewers. And the other is ground meat shaped like a cylinder threaded on skewers.

In Greece, when we say kebabs or kebobs we refer to the ground meat skewers. And when we say Souvlaki is the meat in pieces skewers.

Cut Of Meat

The best lamb for Souvlaki is a piece of meat either from the leg or shoulder. I have tried lamb fillet souvlaki but it wasn't as juicy and tender as the above-mentioned cuts. Because it's very lean and dries easily.

But a tender meat lamb for souvlaki depends also on the age of the animal. A younger animal is preferred over an aged one. So you can ask your butcher about it.

Lamb souvlaki meat should be cleaned from tough membranes and trimmed from excess fat. A very small amount of fat is welcome as it adds flavor and moisture to the meat. But the soft fat, not the thick and hard pieces.

With this in mind, the best cut of lamb for souvlaki is leg. Lamb shoulder souvlaki is also good but the leg is more meaty and slightly more tender.

Lamb Marinade

This Lamb Souvlaki marinade recipe is one you can use to marinade lamb souvlaki or even use it as a marinade for other lamb cuts like lamb chops for example. Whether you grill or roast in the oven.

Lamb Souvlaki marinade is made up of spices, olive oil, garlic, onion, and lemon juice. Salt is added right before the meat is grilled so it won't dry the meat the longer it sits.

The lamb souvlaki spices and herbs used are ground coriander, dried oregano, dried mint, ground cumin, ground fennel, and black pepper.

For the strongest aroma, use a pestle and mortar and ground the spices yourself, then add the garlic and turn it into a paste.

A slowly marinated lamb souvlaki is one of the tastiest of meats. And by slowly I mean left to marinate overnight in the fridge. Giving enough time for the flavors to blend nicely together and infuse the meat to its core.

Not that marinating for fewer hours (2 to 4 for example) won't yield very tasty meat but overnight marinating is pure perfection.

If you marinate for 2 hours do it at room temperature which speeds up the process.

Juicy Grilling

When you are ready to grill, heat your grill over high, it needs to be really hot to sear the meat properly and keep it juicy. Also, don't flip the meat before it sears. About 2-3 minutes from the time you add it to the grill.

After this turn the skewers every 2-3 minutes to grill nicely all around. Grilled lamb Souvlaki should be cooked for no longer than 8-10 minutes on high heat.

It is best to use an instant-read thermometer to check internal temperature for best results. Lamb meat doesn't need much cooking.

Lamb Doneness	Internal Temperature
Rare	120-129°F
Medium Rare	130-134°F
Medium	135-144°F
Medium Well	145-154°F
Well Done	155-164°F

To cook lamb souvlaki in oven, heat the oven to 230°C / 446°F. Add the skewers to the rack of a roasting pan or place them on the oven's rack with a pan at the bottom. Roast for 8-10 minutes.

Lamb Souvlaki Wraps

You can make a Lamb Souvlaki Pita by turning the lamb Souvlakis into wraps (like it's done in these Pork Souvlaki Wraps). Do this by unthreading a souvlaki and wrapping the meat together with the yogurt dill sauce, sliced cucumbers, shredded lettuce, and tomato slices (if you prefer) into a pita flatbread.

You can even add sliced onions or crumbled feta. Or if you like spicy foods some hot paprika.

How To Make The Best

To make the best Homemade Lamb Souvlaki follow these tips

• Prefer lean leg of lamb (ideally from a younger animal)
• Make the lamb marinade for souvlaki and marinate overnight
• Make sure the grill is very hot when you add the meat in order to sear it
• Use an instant-read thermometer and check internal cooking temperatures
• Rest the meat for 5 minutes before serving

Serve With

Serve these juicy Greek skewers over pita bread together with the yogurt dill sauce, and some cucumbers.

If you want to skip the pita bread, you can serve them with Greek fries with feta (can't get any better)!

You can also serve them with a classic Greek salad, or a Maroulosalata (Greek lettuce salad) as a side.

The yogurt dill sauce in this recipe is a great dipping sauce for these lamb skewers but if you want something more traditional you can serve Lamb souvlaki with Tzatziki.

Recipe