Sirloin Souvlaki

* We linked this post at Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade *


I've been on a Greek food kick this week, and I had this sirloin tip roast in the freezer and a pile of fresh organic lemons shipped in a care package from AZ, so I thought it made a lot of sense to put some souvlaki together.  It was also a good opportunity to make sure my tzatziki sauce was seasoned right in preparation for the lamb gyros...



Sirloin Souvlaki (marinade):

1. 4-5 lb sirloin tip roast
2. 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
3. 1/4 C chopped fresh oregano
4. zest of one lemon
5. juice of two medium lemons
6. 1/4 C. dry red wine
7. 1/4 C. olive oil
8. 2 tsp sea salt

 Souvlaki Veggies:

1. 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
2. 1 medium onion, cut into 1" pieces
3. several cloves of garlic sliced 1/4" thick
4. 3 medium tomatoes, cut into eigths
5. 1 lb mushrooms, quartered

I had this sirloin tip roast in the freezer, so I thought I would make some souvlaki with it:

Begin the night before you plan to cook this dish, to allow the optimal marinating time.  Start by trimming the silverskin and fat off as best you can.  The silverskin is the semi-translucent stuff on the outside -- it's very chewy and I don't like it on kebabs.  The fat is less critical, but you should remove the biggest pieces:

Cube the meat into 1-1/2 inch cubes:

Mix all of the remaining marinade ingredients together and put the meat into it.  Let it marinate overnight if possible, or at least for several hours.  The acids and fats in the marinade will help make the meat tender and moist.

After the meat has had a good long time to marinate, make your skewers.  There are two main schools of thought on this, and I think both ways have a lot to offer.  The first way is to mix the meats and veggies together on the skewers, trying to make a good presentation. The other way is to make skewers of just one thing (a meat skewer, onion skewer, etc.) and grill everything by type.  The first way has the advantage of making a nice looking kebab, but the second way lets you cook each ingredient to just the level you like.  This time around I did the mixed kebabs:

If you do the mixed ones, put the delicate stuff that falls off easily next to the meat so the meat can help hold it on.  The most problematic parts for me are the garlic slices and the mushrooms, so I try to keep them next to meat when possible.

Grill them over high heat until the meat is medium rare and the veggies are nicely charred.  I could have used a hotter fire, but they came out tasty anyway:

I served these with some wilted spinach dressed up with olive oil, lemon juice, dried cranberries, and feta that was pretty good.