Spiedies

I spent last weekend in Vestal, NY at my good friend Ann's alpaca farm and I got to eat the famous local dish of Central New York, the spiedie. A spiedie is basically marinated meat on a stick, and it doesn't taste like shish kebab. Every restaurant has their own variation on the menu, and they are traditionally served on bread or a hot dog bun. I enjoyed eating chicken ones from the Spiedie and Rib Pit as well as the Skylark Diner, and on past trips I have sampled the pork and lamb ones and I love them all.

Ann says that when she makes them at home, she uses Salamida's State Fair Original Spiedie Sauce and since I haven't found it in Michigan, I set out to make mine from scratch. After much online research, I probably found 20 different spiedie sauce recipes, so I borrowed some ideas from each and made up my own recipe. The trick to making spiedies is to marinate the meat for at least 3 days before you put them on skewers to grill. This recipe can be used to marinate up to 3 lbs. of the meat or poultry of your choice.

Spiedie Sauce

8 bay leaves, crumbled into small pieces

4 t. oregano

8 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 c.up distilled white vinegar

1 tsp. pepper

3 tsp. salt

Mix marinade in a plastic bag and add meat or poultry of your choice cut into 1 - 2" square cubes. Marinate in the fridge for at least 3 days, turning the bag over 2x a day at least. Skewer meat and grill until cooked through. Remove skewers and serve on hot dog buns or white bread. Also, spiedies are great on salads!