I cannot believe I’ve lived my entire life, until this past weekend, without tasting and loving a Spiedie, a summer sandwich favorite of upstate New York. Up there, Spiedies always appear next to burgers and hot dogs at neighborhood summer cookouts. An Italian import, they also can be found in beer joints, diners, drive-ins, on street carts, food trucks, in bowling alleys and most any dive worth its salt.
“I grew up in Binghamton and really miss the Spiedies,” recalled one Army vet. “I remember going to Sharkies and getting steamed clams, Spiedies and a cold beer. I’m retired Army and was working in Afghanistan just after we went into the country. We had our own safe house and did our own cooking. I asked one of our Afghans to get some lamb cubed, no bone. For bread, we had baguettes. One of the guys said he didn’t like lamb. I told him he wouldn’t taste the lamb. Ten pounds were finished in two hours.”
Spiedies are a mainstay sandwich of Binghamton, New York and its surrounding burroughs. They’re made of meat (chicken, pork, beef, lamb or venison) marinated for a long time (12 hours for chicken, or 24 to 36 hours for red meats) in what amounts to homemade Italian dressing, then threaded onto skewers, grilled and slid onto a buttered, garlicky sub roll, sometimes with a drizzle of reserved marinade and hot sauce.
The long marination time results in chunks of meat that are so deeply flavored that they taste great even when cold or slightly overcooked. The meat also turns out beautifully tender when cooked just right. Serve the Spiedies with an additional drizzle of lemon juice and good olive oil on top of Italian bread or alongside rice.
Spiedies:
- 2-3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast (or meat of choice), cubed into one-inch squares
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Marinade:
- 1 cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- Zest of one lemon
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 4 cloves of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon basil leaves, chopped
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Add meat to the marinade, cover and refrigerate 10-12 hours for chicken, up to 36 hours for other meats.
Remove meat from marinade and thread onto metal skewers or wooden ones that have been soaked in water for an hour.
Allow the meat to grill for 3-4 minutes, turn it over and repeat for the other side, until meat is crisp at the edges. Remove to the cool side of the grill. Slice length-wise and butter hero rolls, toast on grill until lightly browned. Remove meat from skewers and serve on rolls. Serve with hot sauce on the side and desired side dishes. Mangia!
About the Writer:
Rebecca Jackson is a veteran newspaper person/journalist based in Bedford County, VA. A native of California and an M.A. graduate of Arizona State University, she has a passion for pets (animals), good food/cooking, music, wine, horticulture, photography and travel.
